I am new, I need support

Well, the tools in my armoury are medication and light therapy. It's a personal decision whether to take medication or not, but for me it helps me through the winter and I'd rather do that and get by than be totally miserable and debilitated.

I also stay in touch with my GP, who has been very helpful.

I don't make big demands of myself in the winter, try and keep things manageable for myself.

Hi,

I understand your feelings. It really depends however where you're at right now when it comes to exploring 'alternatives' to prescription medication. They often take time to experiment with. If you feel you have that kind of freedom of time then here is my research list of alternative over-the-counter stuff, bear in mind however that some of this I researched mainly for PMDD before I started to think about SAD but it seems they are sometimes helpful for either.

Rhodiola Rosea - A plant that is often attributed to giving energy and alleiving fatigue. Whilst also being used for mood/anti-depressant effects. Commonly used in Russia and China.

Ginseng - Another plant extract commonly attributed to raising energy levels, brain function etc. Commonly used in China.

5-HTP - A naturally occuring amino acid which had a lot of interest during the first research into the serotonin hyopthesis until 1987 when the first SSRI fluoxetine (Prozac) was released. The body converts "5-HTP" into serotonin. One thing I would note is that dosage and timing is a factor. I am not reccomending this doctors products (never looked into them) but the advice on the page re: dosage, taking breaks etc. seems to help people:
http://www.raysahelian.com/5-htp.html

Too much serotonin, either via SSRI or herbal can cause headaches, dizzyness, nausea etc. if you experience any cut down or take a break. On SSRI consult doctor before changing dosage or taking a break. Do not take a natural 'anti-depressant' with an SSRI without consulting doctor to avoid serotonin syndrome.

L-Tryptophan - Similar to 5-HTP except the body converts Tryptophan -> 5-HTP -> Serotonin. Some find the Tryptophan stage easier to process than the 5-HTP stage or vice versa. There was a scare 2 decades ago after a single manufacturer sent out a bad batch. But its since been in use again and some find it helpful.

L-Theanine - An extract from Green Tea leaves said to have calming effects without making people drowsy.

Magnesium - Up to 300-400mg a day, some find relief at 200mg or less. Some types of Magnesium (of which there are many) taking e.g. 200mg at once can cause laxative effect so split it up if so. Has numerous benefits including relaxing muscles and tension. A simple calc here can give a rough idea how much magnesium you're getting, again I don't know about their products but the calc seems good:
http://www.algaecal.com/bone-health-calculator-online.php

Aside from Magnesium there are other vitamins that can have benefits. If you're lucky enough to have a doctor interested in nutrition or access to a nutritionist that can test for deficiencies then snap it up. Some with SAD get tested for Vitamin D deficiency and take supplements under advice of a doctor.

L-tyrosine - Another amino acid found in some high protein foods which is now available via supplementation. Some feel it to be a stress-reliever. Also after a study some have tried it for relieving 5-HTP or Tryptophan tolerance due to its role with neurotransmitters.

St Johns Wort - A flower extract with anti-depressant properties. May have complications with light therapy for people due to increased photosensitivity of eyes being a side-effect for some.

Ginkgo, Omega 3 Fish Oils etc. - Memory enhancment and overall concentration.

GABA, Taurine and SAM-E are a few others I haven't done a lot of research on yet but some find helpful.

Outside of the above some things that are mild/subtle and therefore may not be relied upon but can be complimentary are Aromatherapy (relaxing to a pleasant smell) or Bach's Rescue Remedy.

Then of course there's the simple lifestyle chanegs like diet and exercise.

http://www.sjwinfo.org is a forum where people try and relate their experiences with many of the above. The main focus was St Johns Wort but has expanded.

Personally I'm trying a Multivitamin, Omega 3 Fish Oil, Magnesium Citrate 200mg a day and Peppermint Oil (more related to Dyspepsia). Also sometimes Aromatherapy or Bach's Rescue Remedy. Out of those I'd probably most reccomend the Magnesium and Aromatherapy so far but it depends on individual needs.

I am soon going to try a lightbox as only recently was it suggested by a nurse that I may have SAD. Am also curious about 5-HTP, L-Theanine, Agnus Castus (more related to PMDD) etc.

I hope this information helps. I understand its a lot.

Again I stress that if you need immediate help consult your doctor. Plus your doctor can probably offer CBT (Cognitive Behavourial Therapy) for free which is another alternative. At the end of the day though you have to do what is right for you and for some that simply is prescription anti-depressants. Though I'm in the position of exploring the alternatives out of personal decision I do know people who use SSRIs with little side-effects and find relief.

By the way if you're only using the Light Alarm CLock, have you tried complimenting it with a light box or a light visor from Lumie? Some use both an alarm clock and box or visor.

Hi flo, hope it will be of help. Theres probably way more info there than you need but hope it will allow you to make a somewhat informed decision.

Studies are done as blind-trials (some people use the actual treatment and the other people use the placebo, they aren't told which is which and compare the result). For example a study for light therapy involves a light box and a box with normal light. Unfortunately I doubt anyone here has done that even with light therapy or SSRI antidperessants let alone herbal/vitamin treatment.

Like herbs/vitamins theres been very few studies done into light therapy compared to antidepressants etc. and so light therapy is not available on NHS. Not enough funding for it. So whilst the TV might be right about St Johns Wort, the amount of studies they're quoting could be very small number and you're better off reading the studies yourself to draw conclusions. For example here's some double-blind studies comparing St Johns Wort to SSRI and found St Johns Wort effective:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16160619

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12153829

And then you can find various studies on the same site where the opposite was found and the St Johns Wort was not found to be effective.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11308434

Unless the TV have weighed them all up and drawn that conclusion or some other governing body has done so, I'm not sure if the medical world has decided yet on St Johns Wort. It is still printed out by doctors on leaflets for some disorders as an 'alternative'. But I would be interested if they funded more research.

I think unfortunately you can only go by trial at the moment since everyones body processes things differently, even individual SSRI don't work the same person to person. Some do well on escitalopram whilst others can't tolerate it for example. Same for other brands. But the http://www.sjwinfo.org/forum has a lot of feedback on multiple things outside SJW, Ive personally not even used it to read about St Johns Wort funnily enough.

Some on Lumie have tried St Johns Wort though, I think paulst uses it and posts on sjwinfo.org (I remember whilst reading on sjw + light therapy he said colour of his retina means he doesn't get the same photosensitivity side effects).
http://www.lumie.com/forum/sad/St-John%27s-Wort

But you would need to ask first about your eyes and be careful if using it with light therapy. Personally I'd maybe look into the other alternatives first before the St Johns Wort due to the potential conflict but its totally up to you. There's been some posts in the archives that I came across whilst searching about 5-HTP, Tryptophan etc. on Lumie too.

Hi Flo,

For me a combination of light therapy and antidepressants help to ease things - they dont stop the symptoms but in comparison to without them things are better.

I dont like taking meds but I decided that I would rather use meds during SAD season than feel as bad as I have done in the past. Took a while to find the best meds to suit me (i.e. with least side effects) but got there.

Why not try a light box - I believe you can get one on a trial with Lumie then if you feel the benefit you can buy. Try that this year and then you may decide that you dont even need to consider meds.