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Seaneen
Sat, Dec-22-07, 16:35
Hello!

I am manic depressive, or, for the technical diagnosis, I have ultra-rapid cycling bipolar 1 disorder.

I wondered if anyone with manic depression experienced changes in their mood, either positive or negative, when doing Low Carb?

Also, does doing low carb interact with any medications?

Thank you!

Wifezilla
Sat, Dec-22-07, 18:36
Hi Seaneen,

I don't have brain cooties, but my hubby does. He is sort of low carbing...I say sort of because I do most of the shopping and cooking so the house is full of lc food and I make lc chow, but he still does the occasional pizza night with our youngest.

Anyway, there has been no interactions with his meds so far. He takes seroquel and lamictal. I would call LC neutral in his particular case. But with you being a rapid cycler, it may be different.

I am making a guess here, but if you do have problems, they will most likely appear as you wean your body from carbs. I was a tad moody when I first started getting in to ketosis. And I did have a few headaches too, but all of that went away fairly quickly.

skeeweeaka
Thu, Feb-21-08, 22:20
I haven't had a problem in terms of mood.... You might notice a change during induction on Atkins but after induction you can up your carbs because the brain needs carbs to function properly....

janjanwhit
Thu, Feb-21-08, 22:28
i have the same form of bipolar. im not taking my meds so i dont know about that. induction made me really tired and depressed. after about 7 days or so i felt a lot better though and now i am feeling really good.

Sandollar
Thu, Feb-21-08, 22:33
The woman who introduced me to the LC-WOE many years ago is Bi-Polar and she has had much success in all areas of her life since being on LC.

BigWig
Mon, Mar-03-08, 08:31
Hi there, I'm on sodium valproate (Depakote) fo :wave: :wave: :wave: bipolar two rapid cycling, and have just completed my second week of induction with no problems at all. Think this diet may help with mood swings dues to stable blood sugar. Also some books suggest a proteng breakfast which this diet lends itself too.

black57
Tue, Mar-04-08, 06:06
Hello!

I am manic depressive, or, for the technical diagnosis, I have ultra-rapid cycling bipolar 1 disorder.

I wondered if anyone with manic depression experienced changes in their mood, either positive or negative, when doing Low Carb?

Also, does doing low carb interact with any medications?

Thank you!


On Dr. Eades blog there was a woman who cured her disorder by low carbing. Me personally, I wouldn't have a hang nail without low carbing.

Nancy LC
Tue, Mar-04-08, 10:41
I haven't had a problem in terms of mood.... You might notice a change during induction on Atkins but after induction you can up your carbs because the brain needs carbs to function properly....
How have you managed to be a member of this board long enough to make 830 posts and still think that myth is true? :lol:

Your body can make all the glucose it needs, and the brain needs, out of protein by a process called gluconeogenisis.

black57
Thu, Apr-10-08, 09:44
How have you managed to be a member of this board long enough to make 830 posts and still think that myth is true? :lol:

Your body can make all the glucose it needs, and the brain needs, out of protein by a process called gluconeogenisis.

In line with this. Carbs/glucose distroys brain cells which is the center of all nuerological disorders such as Parkinsons Disease and Alzheimers. Many of these patients have been treated successfully following some form of ketogenic/low carb diet. There is a forum that I belong to where families incorporate this diet to treat epilepsy. This was inspired by the movie "First Do No Harm". This is about a mom who discovers the ketogenic diet and makes an attempt to take her child from the clutches of a hospital which was not helping him at all. Once she is able to feed him in this manner his seizures ceased completely.

skeeweeaka
Fri, Apr-11-08, 06:36
With my mood disorder, I do better eating more carbs imho. Personally my brain functions better and I am not as foggy. I apologize if I offended anyone just speaking from personal experience and from some of what I have read. The carbs don't have to be from bread, potatoes, etc. but I eat more veggies and my moods are much better.

ambimorph
Fri, Apr-11-08, 07:51
I have a BPII rapid cycling diagnosis. I always have improved moods when LC'ing, which has been off-and-on since 1996.

Since a ketogenic diet is used for epilepsy, and epilepsy drugs are used for BP disorder, I believe it is a valid treatment for BP, not just not harmful to it.

black57
Fri, Apr-11-08, 09:29
With my mood disorder, I do better eating more carbs imho. Personally my brain functions better and I am not as foggy. I apologize if I offended anyone just speaking from personal experience and from some of what I have read. The carbs don't have to be from bread, potatoes, etc. but I eat more veggies and my moods are much better.

This is not offensive at all. As low carbers, yes, our carbs come from veggies and even some protein products like eggs. Carbs should be limited to protect brain cells and other cells.

http://livinlavidalocarb.blogspot.com/2007/09/mccleary-ketone-bodies-produced-by-low.html

Nancy LC
Fri, Apr-11-08, 10:52
I don't know about BP disorder but I know that some people are having success with brain issues with gluten free diets. I would imagine that a GF low carb diet would be even better (by far).

Check out the Gluten File in my signature there's a lot on brain health in there (neurology).

Hutchinson
Fri, Apr-11-08, 12:25
This is not offensive at all. As low carbers, yes, our carbs come from veggies and even some protein products like eggs. Carbs should be limited to protect brain cells and other cells.

http://livinlavidalocarb.blogspot.com/2007/09/mccleary-ketone-bodies-produced-by-low.htmlThose who are interested in Dr McCleary's recommendations for improving Brain Health via better nutrition may like to visit his website (http://www.drmccleary.com/) and maybe buy his book. (http://www.amazon.com/Brain-Trust-Program-Scientifically-Three-Part/dp/0399533583)

I've put his recommendations for supplements on my Website (http://www.amazon.com/Brain-Trust-Program-Scientifically-Three-Part/dp/0399533583) but he's also very keen on us all eating more fish, berries and green veg, eggs and avocados also receive and special mention as do spices and coffee, nuts and seeds washed down with a little wine.
His weekly meal plan for brain friendly meals do not include potatoes, ordinary rice (wild rice gets a mention) or pasta. He does make a few suggestions that include a slice of multi-grain bread or cracker but these are the exception to the rule.

ruthla
Fri, Apr-11-08, 12:47
If you're worried about short-term effects while on Induction, as your body adapts to LC, you could ease into low-carbing more slowly.

When I first started eating LC, I didn't start off by eating 20g of carbs per day for a few weeks before increasing slightly. Instead I had a week of 100 grams or so, then a week of 70g or so, then slowly reduced my daily carbs until I got to 40g per day. I found this approach to be much easier for me, and less of a shock to my system.

skeeweeaka
Mon, Apr-21-08, 18:10
Thanks Black for the link it was a very interesting article... I really appreciated your thoughtfulness....

TJ

deciedee
Tue, Mar-03-09, 14:10
I lc-d for almost 2 years, mostly on induction. I am bi polar and I think that I have had great results with lc. I feel much better when I eat lc and the bp symptoms did not increase, in fact, they decreased. so I say, yeah, try it.

NrgQuest
Thu, Mar-05-09, 01:48
I lc-d for almost 2 years, mostly on induction. I am bi polar and I think that I have had great results with lc. I feel much better when I eat lc and the bp symptoms did not increase, in fact, they decreased. so I say, yeah, try it.


Hey, I read your thread on Relacore and that other thing forget what it is, started taking the Relacore. I feel better since taking it, but I think it's just coincidence, but I was wondering if it would also help with bipolar, since it has ingredients that help with stress and mood.

ebeadss
Tue, Jun-16-09, 01:29
It has been quite a while since the last post here, but I read nrgquest's post regarding relacore and I wanted to chime in with my results. I am bipolar and have fibromyalgia and arthritis. I have been obese since childhood so any time I can reduce my weight is a bonus. Psych meds notoriously cause an increase in appetite and if one already has eating issues.. it means weight gain, for sure. I take lamictal and seroquel which have been really good for me as far as helping me to be stable and sleep well. Recently I read a post at another slot of this forum on Relacore, so I figured I would try it (lord knows I have tried every gimmick and diet that came down the pike in the last 40 years). I have to say that the Relacore is fantastic for me. It has helped me feel better physically and emotionally, be more regular and the scale is moving a bit faster for me. Because of my age and high pain level (knees and hips are SHOT from being obese for decades) I cannot exercise very much... even walking is agonizing... so the weight loss even on Atkins is always very slow for me... but with Relacore (and changing nothing else) the scale is moving and I never go a week without losing at least a pound. In the past nothing was more heartbreaking to me than being perfect on the diet and losing NOTHING for a week or 2, then a little budge on the scale. Now I am seeing results and feeling SO much better. I hope the Relacore keeps working long term, because it really is a blessing for me at the moment.