Thursday, September 15, 2011

Again with the folic acid

It's been about six weeks now. I started on this particular acid trip around the first of August and, aside from that first euphoric week, I haven't been much impressed. The second week was a bitch of a week and gave me plenty of legitimate reasons to be depressed and since then I really haven't gotten back up.

I know that for some it takes up to 90 days and I probably should plod on but, shouldn't I have felt something by now? I'm pretty sure during that first week I was caught up in a placebo affect.

I'll probably order more and ride out the full three months but right now I'm feeling pretty pessimistic.

16 comments:

Melanie said...

That's pretty crappy. Sorry things are going very well.

the first week sure could have been a placebo effect for sure but a placebo effect is REAL. Why not ride that for a while. :) Just pretend it works...and then, it will.

i believe 90% of recovery is retraining your thinking. I found Donald's blog from your blog actually. He posted this video from youtube http://youtu.be/Z8QpaKYZHUM It all about retraining your thinking...you should give it a look. Some of it's a little interesting but a really good message over all.

Ariane said...

Thanks Melanie, for the reminder about retraining your thinking, in addition to treatment. A book that I have found very helpful in assisting me with this is called, "Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy," by David Burns. This book became very instrumental in helping me through my recovery process. It has been rated the number one best self help book. It is definitely not a short, quick read, kind of a book, but the principles taught in it can be very instrumental in depression treatment. It's definitely worth the purchase if you are committed to finding depression treatment.

nochnoch said...

i agree with melanie and ariane - i took medication as well but at the same time went through cognitive behaviour therapy to retrain my thinking . much better now at controlling my negative thoughts...

noch
be me. be natural.

Anonymous said...

I'll be the dissenting voice and ask you point-blank: blunt: So what are you going to do if it still doesn't work after the full 90-day period?

I'm also still trying to understand the reasoning behind your decision to upload that guest-post about the "benefits" of depression here, because you know, crazy and curiosity often go hand in hand.

The Pursuit of Happiness said...

If it doesn't work, it doesn't work. I'll stop taking it. I don't know what the next step will be.

Regarding the guest post, I did it because the author asked me to. If someone emails me with such a request I'll usually do it.

Me said...

How much are you taking? I've been taking 6 mg/ day and my 7 yr old son takes 2- the difference I feel in myself (sans anti-depressants! Whoo!) is great- and the difference in my son? Amazing! But I guess if you Don't have the defect of not being able to absorb folic acid, then it may not be the same "miracle drug" for you as it is for others. And I also second third and fourth those who are talking about retraining your brain...but are you up to teaching that old dog new tricks? ;)

Anonymous said...

"Regarding the guest post, I did it because the author asked me to."

Meh, that's disappointing. I thought maybe there was some deeply profound development going on, that you've maybe found a new way to deal (or not) with depression.

Me, I'm not doing anything any more. No therapy, no medication, no prayer, no nothing. And I'm no better, I'm no worse, I just am.

Anyhow, I'll look forward to your next folic acid update.

davidrpharmboy said...

You touched on the MTHFR gene mutation, my question would then be. "are you taking the L-methylfolate form over folic acid?" Studies show as much as 70% of depressed patients that are partial/non responders have this gene mutation and because they cannot metabolize folic acid to the L-methylfolate (this crosses the blood brain barrier, folic acid does not) they seem to have low levels of neurotransmitters. This may be why some SSRIs and SNRIs do not seem to work properly. If you visit the Deplin website, it explains how Deplin, as the L-methylfolate form, aids your SSRIs and SNRIs. folic acid is the beginning of a better pathway.

Anonymous said...

Don't give up just yet. I work in a pharmacy and one thing I have learned is that it takes time for supplements and medications to really integrate into your system and begin working as intended.

Anonymous said...

Have you tried The Mood Cure by Julia Ross? It's all about treating depression with food and supplements. I think it helps. I need to be more strict (not that it's difficult to stick to, but no sugar, no wheat can be hard to do sometimes). Meditation is meant to work wonders too, again -- can't verify, am trying but not consistently. (I'm a bit rubbish.) ;)

Help depression said...

Don't give up, just ride it out for the 3 months. If don't feel any change, see a doctor.

Parwathy Narayan said...

I have manic-depression and I never heard about folic acid as a treatment for depression. I hope it works for you. What works for me is exercise. I don't know if you already know this, but it's a natural antidepressant. Hope you find peace and happiness.

Anonymous said...

Do you ever get tired of hearing everyone telling you to: hang in there, go see a doctor, go talk to a therapist, go out and exercise, try other medication, try this, try that, try whatever, etc.?

Or does it help you to actually "hang in there"?

Me, I'm really sick of it all.

Katie said...

Desperately waiting for an update from you.

Anxiety Panic said...

The matter is that negative thinking tht slips into the brain under the radar of conscious awareness and becomes one of the strongest of habit patterns. People generate negative thoughts so automatically they are unaware that it is happening, that it is actually a choice they are making.

Anxiety Panic said...

The matter is that negative thinking which slips into the brain under the radar of conscious awareness and becomes one of the strongest of habit patterns. People generate negative thoughts so automatically they are unaware that it is happening, that it is actually a choice they are making.