Tuesday, September 7, 2021

The Fog Is Lifting

Two months ago I made some changes to my dietary supplements. I was dutifully taking a multivitamin and supplement of B vitamins and Iron. But I was still anemic and my energy levels were low. Basically, thing didn't change. I have always bordered on anemic and with my psych meds and my depression, my energy levels have always been iffy. Unless I was in a manic phase, I just had no oomph to do anything. 

A friend of mine showed me an article on supplements and absorption and it made perfect sense to me. I took it to my doctor and he confirmed that it was likely that I wasn't absorbing much of the supplements. The hard processed cocktail of chemicals was doing me no good at all. It was time for a change. 

As much as I can, I have switched to whole food supplement or vitamins that dissolve in the mouth. And wow, has it made a difference. I ditched the multivitamin all together. I am now taking an iron supplement that is in a capsule called Gentle Iron and it dissolves quickly instead of the slow iron that dissolves slowly, or not at all. My B supplement is a chewable tablet. My Vitamin D3 is now a gel capsule. Just making those changes has made a huge difference. 

After a month of being on the new supplements, I added a few more. I am taking Turmeric with Ginger in capsule form. These are supposed to reduce inflammation - something I need desperately - and they are gentler on the system than Ibuprofen or Aleve. I haven't been on them long enough to tell if they are really working, but nothing bad has happened so I'll stay the course. I also added a specific Omega-3 supplement that was mentioned in an article on dietary needs for those with mental illness: Nutritional therapies for mental disorders. It is called VegEPA and it has fish oil and Evening Primrose oil. It is supposed to help the damaged parts of the brain work better. My final addition was a supplement from a company called Host Defense that uses mushrooms that are shown to help the brain and other parts of the body function better. The one I chose was Stress Decompress

The change has been remarkable. One of the frustrating things about Schizophrenia is that the anti-psychotic medications help with the hallucinations, delusions, and paranoia, but they do nothing for the dissociation and lack of concentration. Well, something in my new cocktail is working because I have actually had the energy and interest to do things. I started some rehab on my indoor garden and I have started a gardening blog to document what I am doing. I have written 5 entries in the past 2 weeks. I am reading books. I am cleaning. I am actually doing things. It feels wonderful. 

This mixture of supplements won't work for everyone. Talk to your doctor first. But it is something to consider. Also, if you want to know more about the mushroom supplements, there is an awesome documentary on Netflix that got me into fungi. If is called Fantastic Fungi and the brand of supplement I use - Host Defense - was started my the mycologist featured in the show. Even if you don't want to get into taking mushrooms for your health, it is still a great watch. 

Things are changing. I am feeling better than I have years. Fingers crossed that it continues. 

No comments:

Post a Comment