I searched my entire area for a psychiatrist who practices natural remedies for depression. I found one...one in my entire area! Something seems profoundly wrong with this. Why, in the field of psychiatry, would one not want to try natural remedies BEFORE subjecting someone to man made chemical experiments? In addition, the Doctor that I found does not accept insurance. For me this is a clear message that he is not playing prescription and insurance big business games. That's a whole different blog subject altogether though. So now my decision is whether to take this path as it could be costly (money wise), but worth it if I feel human again.....I'm doin' it!
When I walked into Dr. Natural's office I was immediately taken aback by how much it didn't look or feel like a Dr.'s office. Dr. Natural was very personable and seemed to have a sincere interest in my well being. He actually listened to me instead of having me fill out some one-fits-all check list in the waiting room. He actually spent two hours with me just understanding my history and current situation - TWO HOURS! Has anyone out there spent any more than 15 minutes with a psychiatrist during one visit? After we finished I told him I really appreciated him spending so much time with me and that I was not used to that. He just shook his head and said "modern day psychiatry sucks".
He gave me a solution to swish around in my mouth. He said to let him know when I began to have a metallic taste in my mouth as he timed me swishing. After 30-45 seconds I tasted nothing. He said I have a confirmed zinc deficiency and probably other undiagnosed mineral deficiencies. So, he ordered-up some blood tests to confirm. Some of you may be familiar with one of the tests that he ordered which shows the conditions of your adrenal, thyroid, and hormones. The other one that he ordered was by a company called Spectracell who test your blood for vitamin, mineral, and amino acid deficiencies. Imagine a scientific approach to figure out what may be going wrong BEFORE prescribing (i.e.: experimenting) medications that may or may not work...novel. Being that it will be two to three weeks before all the test results are ready he gave me some supplements while we waited.
He said that the SAM-e that I self prescribed myself was a good choice, but added a high potency multi-vitamin from Douglas Labs (Ultra Preventive X) which has 66 different components. He also added a zinc picolinate supplement and Omega 3 & 6 (fish oil).
When the test results came back they showed that my adrenals, thyroid, and hormones were within normal ranges, but certain items were on the low end and a combination of these low readings may indicate adrenal stress. In life I push things to the extreme especially work, diet and exercise. Combined with all the previous medications, a stint in the mental hospital, ECT, and life in general - he theorizes that my adrenals are stressed and combined with critical vitamin and mineral deficiencies is root cause. Keep in mind that if you look back a few chapters (My Kryptonite) this all began when I started feeling fatigue for no apparent reason. He also theorized that while "depression" may be small component of this problem it is probably not root cause. He said that because my depression came on much later in life than my fathers that he doubts there is a hereditary thread. This is a complete reversal of 7 previous years of "modern day" psychiatry diagnosis', and one that makes much more sense to me. I can actually see how these pieces of the puzzle fit together as opposed to 7 previous years of being a lab rat.
When the Spectracell results came back it showed that I also have a magnesium deficiency and a borderline CoQ10 deficiency. In addition, Dr. Natural did an iodine deficiency test, in his office, that showed I was deficient in that as well.
Right now the supplementation regime that I am on is - SAM-e, high potency multi-vitamins, zinc, magnesium, CoQ10, fish oil, taurine, and iodine. That's a lot of daily pills, but guess what...I feel much better! I have reduced my extreme exercise routine, I am trying to sleep more, I meditate whenever I get the chance and I am trying, trying, trying not to expect too much of myself.
The "depression" portion of this saga (bad mood, no sense of well being, morbid thoughts, etc.) has mostly lifted! That's huge! I am beginning to feel again, I am having pleasant, calm, peaceful thoughts. I am laughing more. I am interacting with people more. I am actually starting to look forward to things. I am beginning to feel like myself again. It's not all the time because I am still up and down throughout the day. Recently, I actually felt good for two consecutive days - that's a milestone. Even 5 minutes of feeling normal is welcome as compared to never feeling good like before.
Now I have to figure out the differences between adrenal stress/fatigue, anxiety and depression as they affect me. Am I experiencing the effects of all three? Is there one of these factors that is more predominant than the other? Does one bring about the other? Can I remedy my situation by mind power alone or will some kind of supplementation always be necessary? I have to remember that even natural supplements can build-up in your system over time, and that may trigger some other issues.
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