
Probiotics for bipolar disorder mania - chmaynard
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/probiotics-for-bipolar-disorder-mania-2018062514125
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code_duck
My mother was diagnosed with bipolar and treated with lithium and other drugs
for years before she was diagnosed with celiac, and autoimmune disease that
centers around the small bowel. It was assumed that I would have this issue
myself, and indeed I've had many times where my moods dominated my life. It
never felt like 'me' to be depressed, or hyperactive, and I had a wide variety
of other mood and neurological issues such as anxiety, confusion, constant
fatigue and insomnia, along with a variety of unexplained groups of physical
symptoms. So, obviously I turned out to have celiac disease too.

Now that I have stopped consuming gluten, the trigger for celiac, my moods are
much more stable. When I inadvertently consume some, part of the reaction I
have (which is days long) includes psychological symptoms. Now, in the absence
of frequent gluten poisoning, these symptoms stand out.

However, with all this experience, I have no idea how my microbiome affects my
mental health. The effects could easily be explained by the immune storm
kicked off in my body by gluten. I also have little idea of how my health
observations relate to normal people who don't have celiac. Probiotics don't
seem to affect my sense of well-being.

There is a startup in Los Alamos focused on personal microbiomes. I'm thinking
of getting analyzed: [https://www.viome.com](https://www.viome.com)

~~~
sbinthree
Same experience. Bipolar relatives, volatile in childhood, diagnosed at 20,
way more stable now since switching my diet. From severe diagnosed anxiety
disorder to calm in one week after removing gluten from diet. Symptoms,
especially self harm ideation , grandiosity and anxiety come back for exactly
48-72 hours when I ingest it and then subside. Life changing. Probiotics and
other vitamins never made that much difference by comparison. Bipolar has many
causes though. The only biological difference between those who self harm and
those who don't is zinc deficiency.

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rednerrus
Do you take magnesium? I have the same kind of thing. When I add magnesium,
and stick to the diet, I feel like a normal human being.

~~~
pasbesoin
I started taking vitamin D (D3). I did so because of a family history of
cancer et al. I had no expectation of a psychological effect.

Two days later, I was asking myself what the heck had changed. My mood seemed
much more stable, even, comfortable.

The only thing that had changed, was the vitamin D.

Now, if/when I run out of it and don't get to the store for a few days, I
notice my mood regressing. Particularly when I haven't recently gotten
significant, direct skin sun exposure.

As for magnesium, more recently I read that, among other things, it helps with
vitamin D absorption and/or utilization. This is not its only apparent
benefit. And, unlike some other supplements, there appears to be direct
observation of subjects/people to back up claims of these other benefits. I
don't know about studies that elucidate the relative biochemical mechanisms.

~~~
code_duck
Vitamin D improves my mood and also peripheral neuropathy (extremity
tingling). I was probably fairly low on it from living in a sunless place and
having celiac. Apparently, some of the effects like peripheral neuropathy in
celiac are linked to poor absorption of vitamins due to the typical intestinal
damage.

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black6
Dr. David Perlmutter has a fantastic talk (called Brain Maker, and associated
with his book of the same name) on this mind-gut link. Synopsis here:

[https://experiencelife.com/article/healthy-gut-healthy-
brain...](https://experiencelife.com/article/healthy-gut-healthy-brain/)

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cozzyd
I wonder if gut flora has more to do with absorption of the medicine than
anything else.

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vegardx
Sure - there are plenty of things you can eat or drink to increase absorption
and metabolism, one famous interaction is with grapefruit:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grapefruit–drug_interactions](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grapefruit–drug_interactions)

~~~
LinuxBender
Also garlic extract, curcumin and piperine (or bioperine), change how things
are metabolized and processed in the liver. I take those and they amplify the
effect of a medication I take, so I have to be extra careful with dosage.

~~~
vegardx
On the flip side you can often get by with lower dosages, which in some cases
mean less side effects.

~~~
LinuxBender
I concur. The medication was in fact causing nasty side effects and I was able
to cut the dosage in half. I may even be able to ween myself off it entirely
once I find the right combination of natural alternatives.

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oceanghost
So, there was a book called GAPS-- Gut and Psychology Syndrome published in
2004, whose author claimed you can relieve some psychological disorders with
her protocol designed to heal your gut and populate it with better flora. I
don't think it is a cure-all, but there are thousands of Amazon reviews saying
this changed their life.

I have ADHD, and had moderate success with it when I could stick with it...but
the protocol is brutal. Absolutely brutal. With the added difficulty that I'm
allergic to some of the staples of the diet. I've never been able to make it
more than a couple weeks. The suggested duration is 18 months. Those who have
stuck with it have reported good results.

I believe the GAPS diet is based on something called the "specific
carbohydrate diet." Which, if I understand correctly is from the 1920s.

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robocat
> The suggested duration is 18 months. Those who have stuck with it have
> reported good results.

Perhaps being able to stick to a "brutally" difficult task for 18 months is
also highly correlated with already having good mental health, or a remission
period?

~~~
oceanghost
I have often wondered something similar about these self-help books. I've
tried a number of these diets over the years and they all have a thing in
common: the diet is very if not outright impossible to follow.

When the diet fails to achieve its goals, inevitably, I blame myself.

