PPD Holistic alternatives?

[amandakc]

Hello everyone,
I am dealing with the blues! I went out and picked up the book Prescription for natural Healing. In the section about depression some of the amounts are vage and some amounts are so high that it seems like an overdose.
Can anyone tell me how much omega 3-6-9 to take. Some of the B vits. were so high I cant believe I should take that much. Sam-e I dont know anything about. I am brest feeding and want to feel beter, but I dont want to over medicate.
Thank you so much for any advise and experience you can offer

[Panicked]

This is something that I ordered today. It is called Rescue Remedy and thier website is http://www.bachflower.com/rescue_remedy.htm . I had several poeple tell me it worked for them so I decided to try it for myself. I have not tried anything else.

[tribalmax]

Originally Posted by amandakc

Hello everyone,
I am dealing with the blues! I went out and picked up the book Prescription for natural Healing. In the section about depression some of the amounts are vage and some amounts are so high that it seems like an overdose.
Can anyone tell me how much omega 3-6-9 to take. Some of the B vits. were so high I cant believe I should take that much. Sam-e I dont know anything about. I am brest feeding and want to feel beter, but I dont want to over medicate.
Thank you so much for any advise and experience you can offer

Ok, first of all, hugs to you -- I had PPD too and I know how you can suffer.

The book you are talking about has good information. You can't really overdose on omegas -- take too much and you will have loose stool...but there are no toxic side effects to you or baby. I would start with a low dose and gradually increase if you are not used to taking fatty acids.

As far as the B vitamins -- you really do need lots of them -- especially when you are stressed. And again with these, you would have to take mega mega doses to overdose -- like way more than the dose on the bottle...the rest the body just gets rid of through urine...

Good luck!

[HerthElde]

I used nutrition to cure my PPD, in conjunction with homeopathy. I needed the homeopathic to get enough energy to start preparing nutrient-dense foods again, but it only took a couple of days to get out of the "deep woods". I don't know specific quantities . . . my story is actually kind of a long one for getting back on track - at some point I started making liver once/week and fish once/week and that made the biggest difference. For whatever reason, I never did start taking cod liver oil on a regular basis, but I think that would have been a good idea (it's helped me with SAD in the past).
Gale Force, who frequents the Traditional Foods subforum under Nutrition & Good Eating is like the nutritionally-cured PPD guru here (she even wrote a book about it )- there is also a wealth of info in that subforum regarding nutrition and depression.

[ekblad9]

What homeopathics did you take, if you don't mind telling me. I react very well to the remedies and would love to know. Unfortunately I don't react super well to herbal treatments but I take them anyway. Aviva Jill Romm has a great book for the first year after childbirth. I can't think of the title and it's upstairs but it's something like "natural health after birth". I'm sure Amazon has it. Also "the nursing mother's herbal" would be a great resource to make sure things are safe.

I take a TON of vit.C and B vitamins. I really don't think you can get too much and it's my understanding that your body gets rid of the extra everyday. It doesn't "build up" so to speak.

[HerthElde]

Originally Posted by ekblad9

What homeopathics did you take, if you don't mind telling me.

The remedy that was indicated for me (through my BodyTalk session) was sepia 30, taken 3x/day for a week (thereabouts). My specific symptoms were that I didn't have any feelings for my children and basically felt like walking away. I also had a LOT of rage/anger/resentment toward my older dd.

I take a TON of vit.C and B vitamins. I really don't think you can get too much and it's my understanding that your body gets rid of the extra everyday. It doesn't "build up" so to speak.

I'm not saying you're wrong (because I could be the one who's wrong), but imo overdoing water-soluble vitamins, while not actually toxic like fat-soluble vitamins, is still dangerous. Your body has to work harder to get rid of them and if they're not taken with their cofactors (in foods or herbs or whatever) they can cause the body to pull cofactors (or have to manufacture them) in order to assimilate them and that can cause a nutritional imbalance. There may or may not be evidence for what I just said, so to be safe I'll call it my opinion only. I'd have no problem with drinking a lot of rosehip tea or pine needle tea (both vitamin C sources), but I wouldn't feel comfortable taking large amounts of ascorbic acid.

[ekblad9]

That is so interesting about the sepia b/c I was taking it for another issue this past week and felt better PPD wise but hadn't put two and two together. My symptoms are similar to what yours were. I will speak to my m/w about it.

Also - you may be right about the vit. C. It's just what my dr. told me while I was pg (I was getting vitamin shots and taking two emergen-c packets/day). Maybe I didn't pay close enough attention That is entirely possible. Or maybe it was because I really did need most of what it was giving me personally, yk?

[AutumnMelody]

Sepia actually happens to be my constitutional and it has been a great help with PPD for me in the past. If you can swing it a consult with a homeopath would be by far the most effective way to find the right remedy for you. A good constitutional can work wonders, but it's not a one size fits all thing. You need the remedy that is right for you.