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Vitamin D and Omega-3 have a larger effect on depression than antidepressants

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Re: Vitamin D and Omega-3 have a larger effect on depression than antidepressants

#191

Post by buddhistdude »

bamboozled wrote: post #22
b800h wrote: post #10

Can I just add: In addition to this, if you struggle with anxiety or have some sort of ADHD, then try cutting out caffeine entirely . Not just switching to "decaf" (which isn't), but cutting out tea and coffee, and switching to an alternative like Barleycup. Doing this has had a massive positive effect for me, and combined with decent nutrition and daily exercise, has been wonderful.

I love coffee so much, I'd prefer to deal with the anxiety, and I do suffer from it.

Or the addiction just makes you think that this is good for you when actually you'd feel better without it?

Re: Vitamin D and Omega-3 have a larger effect on depression than antidepressants

#192

Post by mixedbit »

sschueller wrote: post #87
r1ch wrote: post #4

Please do not take 5000mg/day of Vitamin D. The author confuses IU and mg which is very dangerous.

If you don't have an underlying condition it is way better to get the Vitamin D from the sun in 10-30min increments per day after which you are saturated for the day. Overdose is not possible via the sun (excluding sun burns of course). > A single, optimal sun exposure session might produce the equivalent of 10,000 to 25,000 IU from a supplement, but it will not keep increasing with more time in the sun. That's your…

In winter, even on a sunny day, only tiny fraction of your skin is exposed to sun. 10-30 min of sun when you are wearing tshirt and shorts is much different from 10-30 min of sun when you are wearing long sleeves, gloves, and a scarf.

Re: Vitamin D and Omega-3 have a larger effect on depression than antidepressants

#194

Post by [deleted] »

phoronixrly wrote: post #176
afpx wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Therefore what to do? I have seen these Hacker News vitamin D ads appear every few months for the past 15 years, or so. I always seem to have a vitamin D deficiency, so it reminds me to take supplements. I take them for a few months, hoping to see a change, but I don't feel any benefit. Then, I forget to take the supplements until the next time I see an ad. How to know if they're actually doing something useful?

Until you see an article like this which calls for '5000 mg ' of supplementation, decide that you didn't take enough and overdose... HN and dubious self-medication advice go hand-in-hand. Please consult a medical professional instead of a bunch of ad-tech devs.

[deleted]

Re: Vitamin D and Omega-3 have a larger effect on depression than antidepressants

#195

Post by marginalia_nu »

b800h wrote: post #10

Can I just add: In addition to this, if you struggle with anxiety or have some sort of ADHD, then try cutting out caffeine entirely . Not just switching to "decaf" (which isn't), but cutting out tea and coffee, and switching to an alternative like Barleycup. Doing this has had a massive positive effect for me, and combined with decent nutrition and daily exercise, has been wonderful.

Downside with going completely off caffeine is you get so tired and unfocused and it lasts for ages.

I tried doing this for almost a full year, and while the improved sleep and generally improved mood was fantastic, and even toward the end it was so much harder to get any focused work done.

Re: Vitamin D and Omega-3 have a larger effect on depression than antidepressants

#196

Post by [deleted] »

Palomides wrote: post #185
afpx wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Therefore what to do? I have seen these Hacker News vitamin D ads appear every few months for the past 15 years, or so. I always seem to have a vitamin D deficiency, so it reminds me to take supplements. I take them for a few months, hoping to see a change, but I don't feel any benefit. Then, I forget to take the supplements until the next time I see an ad. How to know if they're actually doing something useful?

you could make a decision informed by actual information, i.e. your blood levels

[deleted]

Re: Vitamin D and Omega-3 have a larger effect on depression than antidepressants

#197

Post by sambuccid »

tock wrote: post #147
cardanome wrote: post #42

With depression it is important to find the cause of it. You might be depressed because you life objectively sucks. Then you symptoms are good and healthy and a signal to make changes in your circumstances. You might actually have a good life but still feel depressed because there is a chemical imbalance in your brain. (Very simplified). That is when drugs come in. It might be just a seasonal thing and you need to go…

You mean relatively sucks. Else every single human ancestor would have to be super depressed too given the standard of life in the past.

I guess there are different types of "life sucks" that can or cannot contribute to depression, my current understanding is that a lot of it depends on whether you feel you have some control over the situation or if you think you have absolutely no power over it

Re: Vitamin D and Omega-3 have a larger effect on depression than antidepressants

#198

Post by paufernandez »

ghusto wrote: post #161
isoprophlex wrote: post #43

Because it's common to hate on antidepressants, I've always personally had a bias against them. For the past 15-20 years, november thru february are basically a writeoff due for me due to seasonal affective disorder. Cold showers, exercise, no alcohol, strict sleeping rituals. Vitamin d. I can still sleep 11 hours and feel like reheated cat shit. Enter citalopram. "It will take up to six weeks to dial in" they said.…

The hate on antidepressants is not because they're not effective, but rather that they're abused by psychiatrists. Ideally, a professional will prescribe them as a necessary helper to becoming (more) mentally healthy whilst tackling the root cause. Most of the time however, it's more of a "here, take these indefinitely". It's like if we took sleeping pills every time we had trouble sleeping. Having said that, I just…

Agree. But sometimes there is no "root cause", the brain is still a mystery. If you had been depressed even when you knew there was nothing to worry about, you would see it differently, because then you deduce that the black cloud is produced within.

Chemistry trumps psychology. Good enough chemistry enables cognitive treatments. But to fix the wrong chemistry you need chemistry.

Re: Vitamin D and Omega-3 have a larger effect on depression than antidepressants

#199

Post by cael450 »

mvcosta91 wrote: post #121
isoprophlex wrote: post #43

Because it's common to hate on antidepressants, I've always personally had a bias against them. For the past 15-20 years, november thru february are basically a writeoff due for me due to seasonal affective disorder. Cold showers, exercise, no alcohol, strict sleeping rituals. Vitamin d. I can still sleep 11 hours and feel like reheated cat shit. Enter citalopram. "It will take up to six weeks to dial in" they said.…

“God, I see what you’re doing for others, and I want that for me.” I had a very similar experience, except it killed my libido, so I chose to endure the suffering of Winter rather than live with emotional numbness. Still, I strongly recommend it for people flirting with the abyss. It was life-changing for me while I was raising an autistic 2yo during the pandemic.

Villazodone was created partly to address that. Once I switched to that, I had no libido-related issues again.

Re: Vitamin D and Omega-3 have a larger effect on depression than antidepressants

#200

Post by hermannj314 »

Xunjin wrote: post #62
xi_studio wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

More often written as 200,000 IU as 5000mg of D3 is not written as 5,000,000mcg The author simply (and terrible mistaking) typed [mg] instead of [UI] in the first paragraph: if readed entirely, the author correct this typo in every other sentence

Still it needs proof reading and definitely a BIG WARNING that anyone who reads the article should first talk with their doctor before trying any "recommendations". Some of these "recommendations" could literally kill someone.

I bought the once weekly 50,000IU bottle on Amazon and am currently taking 4 a day and I am ignoring all growing signs of vitamin D toxicity because I read this guys blog and never once ever decided to consult another source, including later paragraphs in that same blog because there was no warning. Without a warning, you should blindly follow all medical advice you read online.

That is that pathway to death you are worried about?

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