When I first saw a psychiatrist years ago, I was given 4 "Laws" to follow. The rules haven't changed, so a single post that can be referred to will save my having to post over and over again the same thing for helping folks having a chemical imbalance in the brain:
1. Do not use anything containing alcohol; it makes the illness worse.
2. Do not eat or drink anything containing caffeine; it makes the illness worse.
3. Take your prescribed medications.
4. Get your rest.
1. Alcohol is a depressant and causes the depression to be more intense, and feeling tone is lowered after drinking. It also affects vitamin levels and does many, many other harmful things to the body and brain! Alcohol is frequently used to medicate mental illness pain and is detrimental to one's well-being.
2. Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant and causes a speedup of mental processes. When it wears off, there is a significant drop below normal feeling tone. In addition, caffeine is not metabolized as other substances are. It builds in the brain (after long-term use) and other organs and becomes a serious problem for the person who is sensitive to it. Please read Ruth Whalen's research on caffeine sensitivity and what doctors have found regarding its use. (The website is called ruthwhalen.com/caffeine.) She has asked me to keep relating her data to people--one at a time--regarding the seriousness of the problem in people. You will be surprised at how much information she compiled as a medical laboratory technician regarding this matter. (If you are sensitive to caffeine, you are likely sensitive to tea, also--which can contain caffeine or theophylline and chocolate which contains theobromine. They are the big three for removing to reduce central nervous system stimulation.)
3. Prescribed medications are designed to stabilize the chemical imbalance. The use of two of the most recent ones, Abilify and Lamictal, have been designed for that purpose. Lamictal was originally created to treat epilepsy, but was found to be effective in the treatment of bipolar, type II, illness, as well.
4. Sleep patterns are often disrupted in bipolar and depressive illnesses. They may require the addition of a sleeping aid. Often, folks will use Clonazepam (Klonopin) or other medications to assist. The use of melatonin, (an over-the-counter natural sleep aid) is effective for a maximum of three months only. After that, it is no longer beneficial. Patients need a more enduring form of sleep assistance.
Diet plays a significant role in helping bipolar patients and depressed patients in maintaining good feeling tone. It is helpful to try to keep the diet slightly more on the alkaline side than the acidic side. You may learn which foods are alkaline or acid-reacting by going to Alkaline Foods.com. It will provide you with a list of both types of food, and you may change your diet as you wish and think could be helpful. It is interesting to learn which foods you use most frequently and whether you are leaning in your diet toward a more acid-reacting or alkaline-reacting food ingestion.
Two things are significant about this: all medications leave an acidic residue when metabolized and the system must overcome that. If it cannot do so within a 24-hour period, you are left with high acidic level of fluids. That continues to circulate in the blood stream until the kidneys are able to catch up in removing the residue. The second point is that in older people, metabolism slows down, so that it is possible you might need a lower level of medication than another person would take for the same condition. These are all personal matters that you must use your intelligence to solve, along with the help of your psychiatrist. Often, when bipolar or depressed folks have a low feeling tone and irritability, it is possible that the causes may very well be related to diet.
I would add that the B-Vitamin series is particularly important for health of the nervous system, as are most vitamins. One relatively new discovery involves the use of folate addition to the diet to help in the function and productivity of three brain neurotransmitters: dopamine, norepinephrine, and sereotonin which affect feeling tone. (Please go to Deplin.com to learn more about folate and its use in certain people who are unable to metabolize folate from folic acid--vitamin b9.) It may be very helpful, since about 70% of people who are depressed have low folate levels in the brain.
This is what I know about the illnesses and when I write I will refer you to this site for answers to questions I had about chemistry in bipolar and depressive illnesses.
There are many, many other helpful ways of management in these illnesses, and you could be on an interesting journey if you decide to do your own research into these matters.
Stay healthy; you can do it!
I.G.
Post Edited (It's Genetic) : 10/24/2011 1:01:35 PM (GMT-6)