Nutritional Therapies for Bipolar, and Biochemical Individuality

Therapeutic choices ultimately resolve down to the individual's unique biochemical needs.
Everyone is different, has different genetics, and different environmental experiences, and so has different therapeutic requirements.

The task of the physician is to look deep, and ferret out each individual's specific needs (e.g.,  by attention to symptoms, individual and family history, biochemical and physiological labs, and response to treatment, etc.)


Thus, the statements in this blog cannot help but be generalizations, and will not apply to everyone. As they say:  One man's meat is another man's poison.
Hence, keep in mind, that my purpose in this blog is certainly not prescriptive, but solely educational.

And, if you need treatment for bipolar disorder, or any other medical condition, please seek the services of a knowledgeable physician. 

 See the introduction, by Jeffrey Bland, PhD, to the classic on the subject, Biochemical Individuality, by Roger Williams, PhD.

 For more on bipolar,  see Natural Healing for Bipolar Disorder

Therapeutic Moderation, & Attention to Causes

Bipolars are highly reactive to changes in stimulation.

So when you give a bipolar too potent, too lengthy, and/or too frequent an antidepressant, you just might cause the depression to end in a mania and, perhaps, some time later, a more severe depression than usual.  (Frye, Ketter 2001, Post 2003, Brigham 2001)  In fact, psychiatrists have become a lot more cautious about giving antidepressants to bipolars.

Similar concerns are beginning to surface around the antipsychotic meds used for mania and psychotic depression. (Whybrow 1997, Brigham 2001) 

So that mainstream psychiatry has given voice to the advisability, where possible, of weaning antidepressants and antipsychotics around the time that the corresponding episode resolves. (Unfortunately, when such meds are stopped, especially if done abruptly, rebounds can be disastrous.)
 
In the same manner, street drugs, trauma, psychosocial stress, even seasonal change and junk-food diets, can trigger episodes.

And as a general rule, with each additional episode, the illness becomes increasingly difficult to treat. (Masters 1996, Goldberg 1999)

New episodes are rarely triggered by nutrients, although potent, rapidly-acting, symptomatic nutrients can do so (e.g., SAMe, mistakenly given to people prone to brain overmethylation).

So when symptomatic treatment is required (e.g., to stop a depression), the ideal goal might be the mildest treatment strong enough to achieve the desired degree of response.


As the focus of treatment moves toward underlying causes this yo-yo effect phases out.
I like the vision of health care put forth by Hyla Cass, MD, on her website:

"Treat the whole person - mind, body, spirit, and environment.

Determine the deepest root causes, using scientific lab testing if needed.

Treat as deeply, naturally, and safely as possible,"

For further discussion, and for sources, see my book, Natural Healing for Bipolar Disorder