Posted August 24, 2008
I was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder in 1998, suffering from depression and hypomania since its first manifestation in 1985. The changes then were subtle, like the progression of the disease. Subtle until it smacks you in the face. While attending college in 1988 I had my first psychotic depression. I was psychologically not-right for a few weeks, mostly crying at silly things and angry at anything, but that morning I felt like I was on drugs. When I entered my lecture hall I was blurred with confusion and I could not find the classroom I already attended for several weeks. I put my bag down I sat against a brick wall. My mind was agitated and racing. Then I suddenly felt I was the building, that I was tapping into its emotions. The students were walking on my body and my spine cringed with every scrape of metal chairs on linoleum floors. I had the overwhelming feeling that I needed to stop the students from coming in the building and it was kindling into action. Someone noticed I was not well and helped me break my delusion by asking if I needed any help. I declined and I managed to walk back to my room, which I cowered in for a week, neglecting school and only coming out to eat. A few days later I dropped out.
Since that episode, the cycles came and went, always getting worse, always being more disruptive. The depression was the biggest trouble maker for me, with the hypomania being a welcome, non-hallucinatory high. It took me seven years to graduate college with one break and three different majors. After I graduated I moved, and moved again, and had fifteen different jobs between 1992 and 1996. My employment and relationships were gained and lost in an effort to start anew after each embarrassing expression of this disorder.
While working for Cisco Systems in 1998 I felt the change happening again; the onset anger, the unrequested sadness, the appearance of patterns in the patternless. It was a stressful job and I was exceedingly good at it, and I did not want to be unemployed again, so I decided for the first time in my life that something was wrong with my brain and went to a psychiatrist for a help. Unfortunately, he was a lazy doctor. He diagnosed me with ADHD and prescribed Ritalin. It threw me into my worst manic episode. That reaction was the method of my diagnosis. I had to leave Cisco Systems but they were extremely helpful, mainly, I believe, because of the CEO, John Chambers.
My life turned into a quest for a return to my natural state. I tried Lithium, Depakote, Zyprexa, Paxil, Welbutrin, Lamictal, Prozac, Celexa, Xanax, all with some results and all with bad side effects. I never felt normal and I still had uncontrollable thoughts like the repetitive image of slicing my face with a knife. Even with all these drugs I was still admitted to psychiatric hospitals in 2002 and 2005. I managed an endless repetition of simple jobs, mostly working in supermarkets as a cashier, all the while going in and out of psychiatric care and on and off medications. I was unemployable and usually heavily medicated. In 2006 I tried Seroquel and it seemed to be the right drug for me. I could take a below therapeutic dose so I did not suffer the side effects, and my moods, while not gone, were manageable enough so I could ignore them. As long as I did not suffer the slightest bit of stress I could manage my life.
During the same years since 1998 I became interested in Buddhism and saw it as a way to ignore my hallucinations of thought. I practiced insight meditation and devoured texts on the subject. The realization that my thoughts were not me enabled me to handle stress more effectively, and therefore lower my levels of stress. I found my self sitting in meditation for hours sensing the most minute swirls of energy in my body. Meditative practice enabled me not to act on every aberrant thought that popped into in my head. Something we could all use, yes?
I also became fascinated with Biological Psychology. There is a very strong genetic link to the expression of Bipolar Disorder in my family. My Mother, two brothers, and nephew were also diagnosed with some form of the disorder. Three of them attempted suicide and one succeeded. There are even some stories of a Great Grandmother who was know to be rather odd. My mother also suffers from Fibromyalgia which is linked with Bipolar Disorder. After gaining some insight on the biology of the brain I experimented with dietary restrictions and supplements and started making some loose connections. I felt that B vitamins helped and that I was also sensitive to certain foods additives. Gluten (glutamate) had interesting effects on my body and my mind. Monosodium Glutamate is hidden in many foods but I could always know if it was in a food by a slight swelling of my tongue or a sometimes violent intestinal reaction. (I know my mother and I suffered “Chinese Restaurant Syndrome” from an early age and I find this genetically interesting). Casein, a protein in milk products, which act similarly to glutamate in the body, was the cause of my outbreaks of Seborrheic Dermatitis. I could quickly reverse the outbreak with Vitamin B6 and Biotin supplements. I also found that Inositol would trigger a mania. These experiments and results needed a special endurance. For several days I would eat nothing but water and brown rice and then slowly add foods to my diet, noting the mental and physical reaction I had to a food. Around January of 2007 I felt I had my diet under enough control that I could stop taking my medication. It worked, but it was always work, and I always felt the uneasiness that is too hard to explain.
In July 2007, after reading about the life span experiments and health benefits of Resveratrol, I started taking 100mg of the polyphenol per day. I did not realize it was the reason for my change because it was so gradual. I found myself more fit, but more importantly I felt calm. The bipolar buzz seemed to vanish and I was not the only one who noticed the change. One of my survival skills was to always note how people were interacting with me. I would see the confused look on people’s faces and know I was talking too fast. Or I would note the arching in towards me when I was depressed. Other times they just told me I was crazy. But now people were remarking on how “mature” I had become and how I had changed. I still did not credit Resveratrol and I felt it was caused by my dietary changes (which did help) and the B6 and Biotin I was taking.
Feeling this might give some clues on a cure I started contacting researchers about the role of vitamins and Bipolar Disorder. One scientist responded with some interest and showed me a study she had performed showing that the brain cells of people with Bipolar Disorder have something wrong with cell metabolism. And that is when it all clicked together.
I remembered another study that showed Resveratrol improved mitochondrial function and protects against metabolic disease which led me to dig deeper. I then found that Resveratrol inhibited excitatory synaptic transmission by in rat hippocampus. Important because it works by suppressing glutamate-induced currents. Glutamate; there it was again. I will list all the studies below I feel have to do with Resveratrol’s role in curing my Bipolar Disorder, but the studies are nothing compared to how I feel. I feel calm, normal, and good. To anyone else this might sound like nothing special, but if you were paralyzed and could walk again you would know how I feel.
I want to stress that if you have Bipolar Disorder DO NOT take Resveratrol without talking to your doctor. This is very new research and I took it upon myself to take the risk of doing these things to myself. I am very CAREFUL and very METHODICAL about what I do. It takes a constant and deep awareness of your body and mind to undertake this method. I am writing this mainly to get the attention of the medical community so they will commit to more research on the subject. Because even without Resveratrol, I was managing a very difficult case of Bipolar Disorder without medication. At some point I will stop the Resveratrol to see of the epigenetic changes are permanent. The one thing I recommend you do is try to remove as much glutamate from your diet as possible. If you think that will be easy, think again. Here is a list of foods that have, or are hidden sources of glutamate.
Whatever path you take I wish you the best of luck.
Following are the studies that led me to the conclusion that Resveratrol can be used as a cure for Bipolar Disorder.
- Differences in Lymphocyte Electron Transport Gene Expression Levels Between Subjects With Bipolar Disorder and Normal Controls in Response to Glucose Deprivation Stress
- Resveratrol attenuates early pyramidal neuron excitability impairment and death in acute rat hippocampal slices caused by oxygen-glucose deprivation
- Glial cell number and neuron/glial cell ratios in postmortem brains of bipolar individuals
- GLUTAMATE TRANSPORTER BLOCKADE AFFECTS Ca2 RESPONSES IN ASTROCYTES
- Resveratrol Increases Glutamate Uptake, Glutathione Content, and S100B Secretion in Cortical Astrocyte Cultures
- Increased cerebrospinal fluid levels of S100B protein in rat model of mania induced by ouabain
- cis- and trans-Resveratrol Are Glucuronidated in Rat Brain, Olfactory Mucosa and Cultured Astrocytes
- Monosodium glutamate-induced lesions in the rat cingulate cortex
- Reduced Glial Cell Density and Neuronal Size in the Anterior Cingulate Cortex in Major Depressive Disorder
- Abnormal Glutamatergic Neurotransmission and Neuronal-Glial Interactions in Acute Mania
- Resveratrol attenuates oxidative-induced DNA damage in C6 Glioma cells
- Resveratrol stimulates AMP kinase activity in neurons
- Inhibitory effects of cis- and trans-resveratrol on noradrenaline and 5-hydroxytryptamine uptake and on monoamine oxidase activity
- Resveratrol Improves Mitochondrial Function and Protects against Metabolic Disease by Activating SIRT1 and PGC-1a
- Neurogenesis directed by Sirt1
- SIRT1 and neuronal diseases
For more about Resveratrol and mood disorders, check out Christian’s blog Resveratrol and Mood Disorders.
Hi
would it possible to contact you i have one or two questions
cheers
Can you have corn or any corn derived products. Your list looks very similiar to our corn free diet. Corn, too, is in EVERYTHING. I wonder if you also have problems with corn and inadvertantly eliminated corn at the time by eliminating MSG? I am interested if you have done any research in the area of corn. thanks
Ive come to the same conclusion thought i was the only one nice to see there is someone else who has benefitted from this so much!! its changed my life…you should include a study on its effect on insulin there i think that is a very important part of it. props for the website and spreading the info!
Clayton
23 , ns canada
I would like to know how the author of this post is doing now. This is exciting stuff! I just started resveratrol last week and hope for great results.
Hey, I was wondering all about that. I tried living in a group Home for a while, but they kept turning on the AC during nights when the temps reached 33C, so I had to move back to Mumbai for treatment. Good luck and god bless!
Hey, I wrote this post. Just following up to let you know that I am still doing great. I am setting up a new blog after settling with some ideas.
Hi
Did you start the new blog yet??
I would like to join please
Marian
We have a blog called Bipolar Beat at blogs.psychcentral.com/bipolarolar.
Wow! Glad is came over this site. Was planning on using it anyway. Normal mood?!? What the heck?
I went psychotic on zoloft and have been bipolar / depressed for god knows how long. Life long childhood dysthymia.
After approx. 100-150 mg resveratrol daily:
It´s GONE! No mania… no hypomania… no agitation. just me 🙂 No novelty in this. Just feels peacefully so right.
i’m at my wits end with bi-polar! I had heard about a treatment called ? The alternative treatment is based on diet used for raising pigs. Have you heard of it?
I too have begun to take Resveratrol. I have been on the substance for 2 weeks and have noticed dramatic results. I have to tell you that I am not just bipolar. I am schizo affective bipolar! Scary huh? It used to be, but no more. This has been the most incredible 2 weeks of my life. I’m not hypomanic, depressed, manic, social phobic, psychotic, delusional or anxious. (Yes, I had them all.) In these short and few days I have uncovered an intelligence I never knew I had. I can think clearly and quickly – I guess a little like hypomania – but without all the negative symptoms such as reckless driving, over active sexual compulsion, spending sprees or irritability. It’s all gone. I know this sounds strange and perhaps a bit premature, since it has only been two weeks, but based on your experiences as well, I tend to agree. I feel like this could be a potential (emphasis on potential due to the fact that I don’t know the future ramifications) opportunity to be symptom free. A cure – maybe.
But why does it work? Is it the antioxidation properties or is it that affecting the Surtuin gene (I could have that spelled wrong) has somehow also altered my and our condition genetically.
At this point, I don’t care, as long as it lasts. I have hope considering someone has actually been on it successfully for approx. two years. I told my doctor today of my success and she’s extremely cautious as a doctor should. So is my social worker. However, I believe they noticed the dramatic difference in the way I communicate, as have all my friends and family. I feel like I’ve been uncovered or unearthed from all this “diseased dirt” in my head. It’s as though my brain has had a dramatic cleaning and it’s just me that is left. I love who I see now in the mirror. If anyone would like to contact me, please send an email to jasonator32@yahoo.com
hi, i have a son (30) with bipolar and he’s irritable all the time. i had begun to take
resveratrol 100mg with my wife and we suggested to our son. he took 1 pill 100mg/day for 3 days and then he stopped, saying that it doesn’t work. we told him to give it a try for at least 1 month and he said he wasn’t going to do it. Too bad for him and us. we have to live with him and his moods… Any suggestions? thanks.
I have a son who is 19. His bi-polar issues have been very hard on our family and on him. He has been self medicating on and off since he was 14. He has used almost every perscription medication and they all have very bad side effects. I am going to purchase some resveratrol tomorrow and see if this will help him with his bi-polar issues.
To the author of this post: Do you have a brand suggestion on the resveratrol? I noticed that my thoughts became clear, but that I thought I was perhaps hypomanic while on 100mg. Otherwise I’m great on medication, and TrueHope (www.truehope.com), klonopin, and Blueberry extract — which is phenomenal for the memory. Biommersion freeze dried blueberry extract. Anyway for the parents who have the 30 year old who is irritable… you have to force him through financial means. For everyone I would also say, psalms. There is no question that my help came from G-d. And then I found the right doctor who didn’t feel he _was_ G-d but rather a shliach, a messenger, and my health Thank G-d is perfect. The resveratrol I noticed improves my cognition to close to pre-medication states. However as my bipolar was more manic I am not sure if it’s more helpful for those more prone to depression or for the entire range. Thank you very much for your post. G-d bless all of you, and good luck! May everyone who has this and such illness be cured! Amen Selah!
This is extremely well written and apparently well researched article. Although I am not bipolar, I have two friends who are. I wlll pass this on to them. Thank you for taking the time to share your experiences and research.
I have anxiety disorder and I was wondering how long does it take to notice resveratrol to have an effect on mental disorders (how many weeks should I expect before I notice a difference.
I have been on Resveratrol for months and found relief for my depression after about 2 weeks. It seems to be the only thing that has had any significant effect. Ive been on other antidepressants over the years but they didnt work as well for me as Resveratrol. Im glad to see it is helping others as well.
How exciting resveratrol is! It is in my opinion one of the greatest nutritional discoveries ever. The breadth of resveratrol’s potential applications is very remarkable. I have taken such an interest in this healing compound that I have created a web site devoted to the benefits of resveratrol. I hope people will check it out.
Thank you for sharing your experience. Mine is similar. I began taking Resveratrol a about a year and a half ago because of the publicity it had received for its health benefits. Changes were very gradual, but I knew right away that it was on some level helpful, and I knew I was feeling a little better with just my health in general. After several months I noticed the more mental ‘calmness’ that you mentioned! For all of my adult life I have suffered through the terrible mental agitation and episodes such as you describe. I prefer not to take pharmaceuticals, so I always tried through diet and supplements to make a ‘dent’ in it. I was functional, but not really well. (I never received a formal diagnosis of bipolar — when I had a brain seizure three years ago they had me on Depakote for a time to treat seizures, and I noticed it calmed my moods and put me on a more even keel. When I realized what Depakote is mainly used to treat, that’s when I basically knew that I was suffering from bipolar. I stopped taking Depakote a few months after the seizure.)
The gradual improvement in my mental state after months and months of the Resveratrol made me look on the Internet recently regarding any connection, and I found your blog. Thank you for sharing! It just validates what I was discovering. And, incidentally, bald spots on my head are regrowing hair, also…
I have struggled with depression for most of my life. Anyone who suffers with depression can tell you it is more debilitating than physical pain.I also have been on various anti-depressants;all have side effects. After taking resveratrol for a month, my depression has lifted, my mind feels calm and clear without that mental fogginess. My brain seems sharper as well as my memory. I am the most skeptical person, and there is no doubt in my mind it is due to resveratrol-which has been a miracle to me.
Thank you so much for sharing your experience. I have been fighting the emotional monster of bi-polar disorder for 20 years. I have very few pharmaceuticals actually control the disorder without some pretty nasty side effects, mostly weight gain, which can lead to even more drugs for high cholesterol and diabetes. I wanted to share a link for anyone who is on Lipitor or another statin who might be wondering about the interaction of Resveratrol with these drugs.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1857339/#FN2
It seems that Resveratrol in combination with a statin can be very beneficial for the heart. If we have our minds and our hearts right, I think we are in pretty good shape. Don’t you think?
Wow this is literarly an unfanthomable coincidence, i suffer from a mild case of bipolar 2 wich i manage luckily through excerscise and a healthy lifestyle, but i took a small dosage of resveratrol a couple of weeks ago and it made my emotions less intense, wich helped quite a lot. Is there anyone else with a similar experince?, this could be the cure for this unbearable disease.
Furthermore i have a couple of questions, wich dosage do you recommend?, do you have any idea wich neurotransmitter or channel the resveratrol inhibits?.