I have struggled quite a bit with substituting Q10 for Lithium. Adding to my existing dose was relatively easy, substituting was not. I think I am now stable but it is so recent I cannot be sure. I reduced my dose of Lithium from 1150 mg to 900 mg about 2 months ago (I put up a few posts at that time). Because reducing the Lithium and adding primrose oil all have destabilizing effects for 2-3 months, it is like trying to hit a moving target. The trick is to balance it against evening primrose oil which acts as a conventional antidepressant. The whole process is a bit complicated but I'd be happy to share what I know with everybody. I believe it is common practice where appropriate to combine antidepressants with mood stabilizers. I think what I am doing is a nutritional analog of that approximately. Q10 is not exactly a stabilizer though. If you are going to try this approach, I highly recommend adding Q10 and primrose oil to your regimen first and getting the hang of it. Only then attempt the reduction in stabilizer, if that is what you intend. Andrew
What you’re doing is called self-medicating and never really works. I relate it to doing surgery on oneself instead of having a surgeon do it for us. You may feel things are working for you in the beginning, but sooner or later things are going to get out of whack and your psychiatrist is going to try to make changes when this occurs based on what he or she see’s that you are taking based on your medical file and not the reduction you did on your own.
My suggestion is if you want to try this, do it with the help and assistance of your psychiatrist. They may not feel these additives will be of any use, but at least they will know what medications you are taking and the correct dosages.
Eric,
I appreciate your concern, I am sure that it is based on some of your own experiences. As I pointed out in another reply, I am, in fact, under the supervision of a psychiatrist and have been for many years. My motivation in all of this was that I found Lithium was no longer working as it should despite being told that it generally produces better results with time. I did not want to consider the addition of another drug at this time so I looked for alternatives. My bipolar disorder is not as severe as some so I can afford some experiments. My mistakes make for very bad days, but I never considered putting a gun to my head. I hasten to add that the NIH is currently recruiting volunteers to test Coenzyme Q 10 for bipolar depression. My experiment was not exactly pulled out of a hat.
I do have one objection to your letter, and that is about self medicating. I experiment with remedies all the time. I have some successes and some failures. I see nothing wrong with this except obviously there is always a risk. It helps to read known literature to avoid the more obvious ones. Anyway, I see nothing wrong with self medication done with some comon sense. Incidentally I would point out that formal medication by a doctor is also associated with some risks. I have caught serious and avoidable mistakes by doctors who are usually too busy and sometimes a bit sloppy as well. Andrew