SAD - Seasonal Affective Disorder

My doctor diagnosed me with SAD and mentioned putting me on medication. I said no way. What are some natural alternatives I could use instead to treat this?

google "light box"

johnt - A lot of options here. I would recommend for starters the following:

Vitamin D3 - 5000 - 1000 IU's/day
Krill Oil (i.e. omega's are excellent for depression) 1000 - 1500 mg/day
Magnesium aspartate 1000 mg/day
Zinc 15mg/day taken with B6 250mg (i.e. can take up to 1000 mg/day of B6)
Thyroid glandular
Adrenal glandular
Lugol's solution

NOTE: Keep your gut healthy as possible (i.e. your brains health is related to gut health). Kefir to re-colonize your friendly bacteria. Not matter what you take as far as food or supplements. If your guts unhealthy then your not going to properly absorbe nutrients to feed your brain. Depression from what I've read is a symptom of a starving brain.

Check out thread on Re: increasing testosterone. There are some great suggestions to improve mood. Keep reading threads, there's lot's of information within the threads.

johnt wrote:My doctor diagnosed me with SAD and mentioned putting me on medication. I said no way. What are some natural alternatives I could use instead to treat this?

I swear most doctors these days are nothing more than drug dealers in white coats.

Its funny that this topic was up first when came here tonight. Not funny HA HA but more like ironic. I was going to post about how my perception of myself and with it my angst about my hair loss has changed over the past few weeks.

I am not sure if things have physically changed because I am not taking pictures or anything like that but, I can say that when I look in the mirror I feel better. I attribute that to the changes I have made: better diet, supplementation, exercise. I have more energy, I feel better about myself when I look in the mirror. There are post all over the place about how a good regimen and diet can affect hair loss and physical appearance but not enough about how it can make you feel.

Since starting my new regimen I feel better, I have more energy and quite frankly I have more self confidence. Much of this probably come from knowing (believing) that I am doing something good about my hair loss and health. However, after thinking about it a little I am positive that much of it has to do with how doing healthy things not only has a positive physical affect but changes your self-perception. Instead of looking in the mirror to see how much more hair I have lost each day, I now look and think “Hey I look pretty good”. I’m no brain surgeon but I am smart enough to know that physically nothing has really changed in this short of time. However, my self perception has changed dramatically. I don’t think enough is said on this board on the positive psychological effects that can be realized by being healthier. I know that this is kind of sac religious on these boards but, in the end, what is important, its how we feel about ourselves that is important. It is that self image that makes us feel good or bad, confident or not so much.. Whether you have a full head of hair or not is not as important as how you feel about yourself.

Anyway, I attribute my new and better mental outlook to the change I have made and I thank IH and the rest of you for that. I still want more hair but I already feel better about what I have left.

Thank you all!!

MadGreek

Scottyc33
Your right, when I was 22 now 29 my doc at the time put me on a antidepressant for anxiety not telling me that there were things that I could do instead of taking drugs. Now I tried to go off of them a couple of times and I feel like I need them to make me feel good. I wish I could get off of them for good.

Thanks for the suggestions. Gibson have you tried one of those light boxes? Do they actually work?

Hey John, I haven't used one. However, I double-checked with my mom who is a shrink and she said, without hesitation, that it works for SAD.

Also, it occurred to me that exercise that triggers endorphin release should help--if I am correct, I recall that you jog (that should be a great adjunct to the box). Seems like between the box and exercise the physiological component should be in check.

On a personal note, since I have been doing yoga, I haven't gotten the blues. Sometimes I actually postpone work-outs to induce the blues for creative purposes.

I had the winter blues mid-december. I started supping extra Vitamin D and I think it helped.

I have also tanned a couple times a week and think that may have helped as well.

Never got around to buying a light box though.

johnt,

I've suffered from this for years, only recently started really addressing it (only recently really found out what it was).

Lightbox should be the first thing to try - these work for something like 80% of people that try them. I would suggest you buy/hire a powerful one if you do try it. The less powerful ones can take an hour+ of treatment per day, the better ones only about 20 minutes. If you are going to stick with it, the less time required the better.

Natural herbal/supplement alternatives which have a very good reputation are:

5-HTP
SAM-e
Rhodiola

...although there are many other possibilities out there. The three I've mentioned are some of the best studied / with the best reputation.

If you do try supplements, it is important to cycle them, usually on a 3:1 basis. E.g. 3 weeks on: 1 week off. This stops your body adjusting to them.

I've done a lot of research into this condition, so do let me know if you'd like more info.

The light box sounds like a good idea, I'll definitely give it a try.

Gibson- yeah, I love running. When the cold weather comes around though (I live in Minnesota) I usually stop, and I'm sure that doesn't help the equation.

Anyone know which lightbox would be the best to purchase? There are so many kinds and brands out there that i don't know where to begin. I'm supposed to look for a 10 000 lux?

This is the most informative site I have found. My hat off to all of you . Your wonderful. I am female, a young healthy fit 62 years oldwith very Long hair. Since summer of 2007 I have been having horrid spring/summer shedding. Something mus have knocked my hrmones into a tizzy? After 14 different doctors and numerouse test, loads of blood work, I am in the same postion as when I started this shedding. No help from any doctors, even a specialist/researcher in illinoise who was very expensive. She said Alopecia areata. NOT!!! I have diffuse thinning. Hair loss Slows way down in winter, although it never has been back to normal since this strarted, but spring through summer is devastating. I can't tell you how this has changed my life. I think about it 24/7. When I shampood yesterday I lost over 300 hairs for the day. I had a scalp biopsy which only showed TE. and some light perivascular inflamation. During winter my scalp is pretty good. Slightest occasional itch, slight occasional dandruff. Never had dandruff or itch or hair loss before this except once I used dhea supplement for 1 month and had shedding. Naturally I stopped it, and my hair loss stopped immediatly. Summer now my head itches like crazy, even with no dandruf. I hve my husand look at my scalp with a jewelers loop all year,winter scalp looks pretty good, and in the summer he sees this yellow kind of waxy stuff at the base of my hair shaft. I conclude this is extra sebum? My labs showed low estrogen of 5. Normal for post menapause is 5 to 35. also my thyroid ths has been all over, from 2.8 up to 5. Average around 3 so a bit high. My t3 is 2.6 so I figured to try small dose of armor thyroid to bring it up. Just started that a week ago. Also started HRT bioidentical estrogen/progesterone in Feb. I thought the hrt was working untill May as my hair started shedding again so I'm thinking about weaning off the hrt. All my labs where pretty good except 1 thing. Extreme high dhea. My dheas is always normal though. My adrenals are fine. Normal dhea for me should be 50 - 350. Mine has been anywhere from 475 to 1200 . My acth is normal. I can only think the high dhea is what causes it, but what is puzzling is I have had 450 dhea and hair loss at that time was bad, and dhea much higher and hair loss was not as bad at that time. Also, why such a big loss in summer verses winter?im thinking about starting spironolactone. I hate any of these things in my body, but my hair loss is causing me too much grief and will try this if it might help. Also, my hair does constantly grow back, but the new hairs are also shed along with my long hairs. i have been through the gammut of topical steroids, ketoconazole shampoo, etc. I use vinegar a lot on my scalp. Free & clear shampoo for the most part now. If anyone has anything that they think may help, or any feedback is much appreciated. I hope I can find my way back here to read any replies. my email is kayjai at aol in case anyone cares to email regarding this. Thank you for reading. Kathy

kathys - Your case should be no problem.

I've worked in integrative medicine for years and will confirm that regular doctors are frequently less than helpful.

I believe your hair loss is directly related to low thyroid function.

To save some time, you may be interested in checking out this thread that I wrote last year:

https://immortalhair.forumotion.com/natural-hair-regrowth-forum-f1/hypothesis-of-male-pattern-hair-loss-t1129.htm

In currently medical thinking, a normal TSH is closer to .03 and anything over 2 is very concerning. However, TSH in general is very poor because it does not take into account that thyroid hormone is probably resistant. In other words, you probably have other things in your thyroid that occupy that space that iodine is supposed to be in.

Would avoid Spirolactone, because it covers for the problem instead of addressing it.

Iodine is a critical component, along with selenium. Whether armour thyroid is needed is hard to say, but its use maybe only temporary in many cases, since sufficient iodine can eventually activate enough thyroid hormone to make a difference.

The amount of iodine is use is a lot higher than what you may have read elsewhere. Starting with a dose of 12.5 milligrams of Lugol's solution (two drops of the 5%) and then eventually increasing your dose to 50 milligrams.

Your hormone balance is strongly influenced by your blood sugar metabolism, and this part is also due to thyroid influence.

I would suggest trying a round of my regimen (link below) which can naturally balance out the inflammatory cycle, while in process of rejuvinating the thyroid, which can take between 6 to 9 months.

Hi
Thank you so much for your help. My question is, if it is my thyroid, wouldn't it affect me in winter as well as summer? my hair loss goes way down in winter. The longer winter goes on, the better my hair. Re- Jan Feb and March are best. Spring Re April, it starts to stir, and by May is terrible. I am perplexed as why it is happening like this. I was prescribed 60 mg of armor. I took a few full ones for the first few days, and got scared because my new endocrinologist{who knows nothing about hair loss} said I should not take the thyroid med. She was not the prescriber. she said it may mess up my hormones more and cause more hair loss. From what I read, armor won't cause hair loss, it is levothyroxine etc that can cause hair loss. It is all so confusing.

Anyway, I guess I'm mostly wondeing why my hair loss is activated so much in summer, slow in winter. Whatever the cause. Kathy

kathys - This has not been elucidated.

You'll see this has been looked at last year, but as to why, it's anyone's guess. Perhaps it's like other mammals who need thicker winter coats and less during the summer.

Dermatology. 2009;219(2):105-10.

Seasonality of hair shedding in healthy women complaining of hair loss.Kunz M, Seifert B, Trüeb RM.

Department of Dermatology, University Hospital of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland.

BACKGROUND: A number of otherwise healthy women with or without clinical alopecia complain of recurrent hair loss, presumably reflecting seasonality in the growth and shedding of hair. Objective: To test the hypothesis that periodicity in hair shedding reflects seasonal changes in human hair growth. METHODS: Retrospective case study over a period of 6 years of apparently healthy women with the complaint of hair loss. All underwent biochemical investigations, and trichograms were made. RESULTS: After exclusion of patients with a disease or on drugs known to cause hair loss, 823 women remained. Analysis of trichograms demonstrated annual periodicity in the growth and shedding of hair, manifested by a maximal proportion of telogen hairs in summer. A second peak seems to exist, though it is less pronounced, in spring. The telogen rates were lowest in late winter. CONCLUSIONS: These results confirm the findings of former authors who have indicated seasonal changes in human hair growth, though this is the first study performed systematically in a representative number of women.

At any rate, iodine is one of the missing links. Armour will not cause hair loss, however it is imperative to use iodine either with or without it.

The reason is because synthetic or natural forms of thyroid require even more iodine.

You could start off conservatively with the use of Iosol which is 1.8 mg per drop, using a few and then gradually increase the dose.

Bio-identical hormone replacement therapy while quite good, will exacerbate a thyroid condition. So is a call for more iodine.

CausticSymmetry wrote: Perhaps it's like other mammals who need thicker winter coats and less during the summer.

Hey CausticSymmetry,

I've thought it's the metals. Just taking a look at the metals that cause issues that increase with heat or sweat, etc. is interesting. My bet is that it's the mercury with thallium bound to it.

Here is a list of mercury, and oxidized carbon. Mercury is a good oxidizer.

All Mercury symptoms are worse at night, from warmth of bed, from damp, cold, rainy weather, worse during perspiration. Complaints increase with the sweat and rest;

http://www.homeoint.org/books/boericmm/m/merc.htm

scalp itches when getting warm in bed.

http://homeoint.org/books/boericmm/c/carb-v.htm

Thanks again. I have seen this study. I know everyone has some kind f seasonal shedding. With some it's more in summer or spring, while in others it's a fall thing. Before this all started with me, I did have light shedding during both these seasons. And I consider that normal. But what is happening to me now is definetly NOT normal shedding. Before this started, I hardly had a hair in my brush after shampooing and blow drying. Now during this horrid shedding I just keep combing gobs of hair after a shampoo. And it continues to fall even after air drying. I don't blow dry, style or do anything to my hair as any manipulation causes more to fall. There is something else going on. I have racked my brain as to why. I have had cat scans, mri, ultra sounds, scalp biopsie, loads of labs, allergy testing, etc. I always wondered about metal toxicity but can't get any doctor to test for that. But would that happen in spring summer & not winter? And why would I have metal tox. all of a sudden just in the past 3 years. Nothing I have done, or eaten has changed in many years, except I am eating healthier. But yet I know someting happened to have caused this heavy shedding. I can only imagin it's something hormonal. And I don"t think it is just from the heat rising as I have been in different climates [tropical} in winter and was just fine. So it's somehing cyclical/seasonal no matter where I am. This is a devastating situation. I googled seasonal hair loss/shedding and found others in my predicament with no help or answers from anyone. only suggestions which lead nowhere. Can thyroid change different times of the year? I heard it works harder in winter?

A shot in the dark, but do you wear sun cream in the summer periods, as Dr David Brwonstein said something about sun cream stopping the conversion of iodine??

Hi
Thanks for your note. I stay out of the sun as much as possible, and when in the sun use only slight sunscreen on my face, and very very little on arms and legs when I must be in the sun for long, which is rare, so I doubt it's from sunsrceen. I'm still hoping to find out how I can tell if my iodine is too low? Are there labs that would show this?

Hey CausticSymmetry,

Hope you get this.

Tellurium is bound to lead.

Itching of scalp; red spots.

http://www.homeoint.org/books/boericmm/t/tell.htm

Solution for tellurium = cilantro tincture such as http://www.iherb.com/Herb-Pharm-Cilantro-1-fl-oz-29-6-ml/9795?at=0 use couple dropperful's couple times a day

or

R lipoic acid