Vitamins as treatment

[Whispera]

I've been out of the loop for a year or so and just heard about recent use of Vitamin D for mood disorders and Niacin for schizophrenia. Apparently they are effective!

What's your experience with these or other vitamins? Seems to me if vitamins would work, we could do away with expensive drugs that have icky side effects!

Your thoughts?

[Whispera, MSN, RN]

...no need to argue about who's right and who's wrong....

I'm glad there's research going on, and will also be glad if it finds that simpler things can be as helpful as complicated things...

[rn/writer, RN]

I remember reading a doctor's account of his training in emergency medicine. He said that when they got patients in who were either mentally ill or chronically intoxicated, one of the first things they did was give them Vitamin B shots and feed them protein. Just these simple measures greatly improved their ability to focus and communicate. Thiamine deficiency can cause tremendous damage. Over time, it becomes irreversible.

Having observed several family members with mental illnesses, I know that vitamin deficiencies go with the territory. Depressed people often stop eating. Manic people may, as well. Drinking to self medicate can crowd out decent food. Then there are the folks who binge or overindulge in certain foods to the exclusion of others.

Seasonal Affective Disorder can be lessened with doses of Vitamin D.

I'm not convinced that megadoses of vitamins will "cure" illnesses, but most of us could benefit from some amount of supplements, just because so few of us eat exactly what we need. All the more potential for psych patients to be checked out for dietary deficiencies. The stresses of mental illness make a proper diet even less likely.

In psych, as in many areas, it's sometimes good to start with the simple things first. Proper rest and nutrition. Baseline labs to screen for the basics. Vitamin levels to spot deficiencies. I'm guessing regular meds will often be needed, but it can't hurt to make sure dietary needs are met, too. I do think this is an under-appreciated area of treatment, ignored because it's so ordinary and taken for granted. Making sure someone is getting enough Vitamin B or protein or selenium or whatever is far less dramatic than writing them a prescription for a miracle drug.

You may not cure schizphrenia with vitamin D, but you could probably make it a whole lot worse with a serious deficiency.