If your flaring in October- SERT levels

Thanks, Old Mike. I also wondered if this time of year causes too much stress...holidays, the year ending, etc...I also have my twin sons' birthday, my deceased mother's birthday, my anniversary, my own birthday in addition to all the holidays....wow, as I'm typing this...maybe you are right it's SAD. Maybe it's combined with an immunological overload of allergies.

Yes... a lot seems to be misunderstood about the gut these days, in terms of the role it has in regulating moods. It houses everything from vitamin-D receptors to neurotransmitters like serotonin (as London Lurker just alluded to), which can be wiped out with antibiotics. Sunlight also plays a crucial role in serotonin synthesis.

From a scientific vantage point, it's worth noting that over 2,000 genes in the body are regulated and expressed/unexpressed by vitamin D (or plain ol' sunlight). We know that deficiency is often a precursor to depression, autoimmunity and cancers.

In general, supplementation of 1,000 IU vitamin D3 daily (seen as a lower dose estimate) has been estimated to reduce the medical costs of cancer treatment by about $16-$25 billion by exerting a general protective and preventative effect.

More here

Interesting topic, thanks. *off to google more about this*