Deficiencies

Damn turns out I'm not depressed I just needed some magnesium

i know you're joking but fuck, sometimes it do be like that.

Obviously nobody should infantalise people suffering from depression by telling them to "just be happy", "go outside" etc. but if you're malnourished, have vitamin deficiencies, don't go out to hang out with the human tribe, and sit in your home the entire day without moving - you're going to feel like shite. Fixing those problems won't cure clinical depression, but the other way round is true too - getting meds for depression won't cure you of feeling like shit if you don't use the chance they give you to try to improve your life yourself.
- I had an iodine deficiency! I wasn't eating dairy or eggs, I was cooking my own food from scratch, and I was using sea salt instead of iodized salt. In addition, I like drinking alcohol which makes it harder to absorb iodine. Felt like shit. Couldn't muster the energy to give the slightest shit about anything.
  
  Got blood work done and found out. So I started taking a supplement every other day for it specifically because I'm just not getting it in my diet. I'm feeling pretty great now.
  
  I don't think supplements are generally the answer, but having a work up done and learning some shit about yourself can be pretty eye opening and point you at what you need to do to fix your diet. It's a good first step, but not a magic bullet.
Vitamin deficiencies are easy to detect and to treat, and there's no sense in spending months or years hoping to find the right anti-depressant before checking for them. Heck, I wish my issues were caused by vitamin deficiencies.
- How are vitamin deficiencies detected? Some specific blood test?
I know you're joking but I only figured out I have anemia because iron supplements suddenly gave me energy to live
That literally happened to me. Turns out that my doctor’s resident who just finished a psych rotation learned that most people are deficient in magnesium.
It's not always someone saying - it's definitely these and anyone who is depressed just isn't taking these, it's literally just a kind and actually possible and helpful suggestion
I wish this were true for me but Magnesium just made me slightly less depressed; indistinguishable from placebo.
Tired? Mag it! Down? Mag time! Liver damage? MAXIMUM MAG!
- Damaged because of too much mag? Uh. Mag...?

turns out The Vitamin is real sometimes

There's something seductive about the idea that all our problems are caused by this one thing, and if we could figure out what it is and fix it, we'd be unstoppable at life. It's the same idea behind "doctors hate this one weird trick".

On occasion, it even turns out to be correct.
- Or all those testosterone clinic commercials I keep hearing on the radio.
Meirl
fibre is honestly really close to this, start eating more fibre and suddenly your stomach is your friend and you shit gracefully.

NGL, I've spent a decade wondering why I couldn't sleep at night and couldn't concentrate all day, only to finally realize I was constantly low on electrolytes because of my intense exercise routine.

And if anyone is wondering, sports drinks are worthless sugary drinks shrouded in "sporty" marketing. Vitamin D, Calcium and Magnesium is what helped me (and are far more cost efficient than sports drinks). Consult a doctor.

There are low sugar sports drinks. Most of the electrolytes they're advertising is just salt. Your body needs salt to function. You lose salt when you sweat.

My doctor told me I come literally just put some table salt in water and it would do just as well as any sports drink, sugar or no.

I work in a physical environment and they hand out electrolyte packets and Gatorade like candy when it gets hot.
- I love the electrolit cucumber lime. Not so much sugar. Water is still my main drink though.
- Potassium is also an important electrolyte for heart health, so have a banana with your salt water, if you can. source: https://www.cdc.gov/salt/sodium-potassium-health/index.html
- I make my own with a 1:1 mix of potassium chloride and sodium chloride. Throw in a dash of lime (I use a powder so i can premix.) I just add dash to my water when I need electrolytes.
They sometimes tell them together in 1 pill.
Drip drops help me, body amours aren't enough. I want to try LMNT. Or some other brands.

Everyday I would wake up with severely sore arms, like they were clenched somehow.

Blood test said Vitamin D deficiency, but the supplements didn't do anything noticeable. But I was on the border of anemia so they told me to try iron supplements too.

Gone overnight. I'm so used to problems being an exhausting road to recovery that this one took me by surprise.

Huh. My recurring biceps pains are the bane of my existence. And I was also refused for a blood donation due to insufficient hemoglobin. I need to try iron supplements.
- Hate to be that guy but y'all need iron pans. Proper sears at temperatures that would disintegrate Teflon, better and self-healing anti-stick coating than anything else (if used properly), you can use a metal spatula, no more anaemia, what's not to like?

I am love deficient. Not that I am demanding that people should love me for no reason. Just that I wish I feel loved a tiny bit. I know that the fault is most probably with me too.

Edit: I feel like I am stuck in a loop, I feel self-pity because I don’t feel loved. I am probably not loved because I feel self-pity. Breaking the cycle is hard.

Our communities are setup like that. We're separated from eachother, and we can't afford to spend enough time at local third places to feel community. Church also used to be central to community and most people aren't religious, but nothing has replaced the churches role in community building.

It's rough. If you can get out to places nearby where people congregate that will be nice. Getting a dog is nice too if you like dogs, they give you love and accept your love and they're a good ice breaker. They also force you out regularly. You can take the dog to dog parks and chat with locals.

It's not your fault. Humans are a social animal and we built cities and an economy that didn't consider that.
Hugs from an internet stranger!
It is important that you love yourself. In fact, I think it's important that you feel loved by someone, even if that somebody is yourself.

FWIW I already take these vitamins daily, along with magnesium, zinc, copper, folate, manganese, boron, St. John's Wort, Ashwagandha, Tumeric, SAM-e, Saffron, Kratom, Ginko Baloba, L-theanine, along with a nightly dose of Valerian Root, L-Tryptophan, lemon balm extract, 5-HTP, and 500+ mg of a high THC extract, and I'm still tired and miserable all the time.

Even walking 20k+ steps a day at my job isn't enough. I've never been healthier and more depressed. Tried therapy for a decade but gave up when I couldn't find a single therapist I can relate with. Not even pharmaceuticals helped me. I've accepted the fact that I am just going to be perpetually tired and miserable for the rest of my life and there's nothing anyone can do to help.

(FWIW I don't take kratom daily. Only at work. And the dosage of THC can range from as low as 100mg all the way up to a full gram of pure THC distillate. Yes these are accurate numbers. I live in a legal state and can get distillate for $5/g. I have a high tolerance and don't get high anymore; just sleepy. If I don't have any THC in my system, I can't sleep at all no matter how tired I am. The insomnia was hell until I discovered weed in my 20s).

My sibling in science, I have consumed enough weed in my life to earn me an approving nod from Snoop himself, but on the off chance you’re not shitposting:

500mg is entirely too much for a nighttime dose. You are not getting any proper REM sleep at all if you’re actually doing this to yourself every night. Take a fuckin T-break man.
Maybe cut out the THC? It's a depressant.
- I think this person is on the opposite end and is overwhelming him/herself with too much supplements...
Honestly I think it's most likely that you're simply overworked. (many/most people are)

I think that being overworked, together with emotional instability/lack of security, are the most prevalent causes of mental illnesses in our society today. It's no "chemical imbalance in your brain" story. Sure, there's chemical imbalance, but where does that imbalance come from? I guess it's mostly that our bodies aren't built for today's demands.
500+ mg THC? That's a lot.
- And he doesn't understand why he's always tired
I think ashwaganda is not supposed to be taken daily long term
- It can be but you should Tay away from stuff that isn't just ground root powder as the "supplements" people sell that contain it can lead to liver damage over time, however the only cases of liver damage with ashwaghanda afaik are from extracts and gummies and shit.
Kratom is not a health supplement.
- Nor is pot. This guy is abusing drugs and asking why he's depressed.
- I know but it's the only way I can feel joy. Before I discovered kratom I never knew what it felt like to smile.
  
  FWIW I only take it on the days really need it (so basically only at work).
Have you tried having a sleep study done? Sometimes your body can go through the sleep cycles weird, or they get interupted resulting in being really tired all the time. A sleep specialist can see what's going on and help you fix it.
- I'm all for people trying, so agree with this.
  
  But my experience: I haven't had a good night's sleep in 10 years (wake up and am half-asleep, half-awake most of the night). I went to a sleep study, did the sleep-in-hospital-with-electrodes-everywhere thing, met with three doctors in series after, and their conclusion was that I should sleep more. I wish I was joking.
- Who's going to pay for it? I don't have the thousands to fork over for a sleep study.

I was like this. Saw a new rheumatologist who took my various symptoms seriously. Turns out I'm chronically deficient in vitamin D. Had to take weekly megadosea for 3 months and now I'm on a daily supplement of a lower dose. I also started hydroxychloroquine for whatever autoimmune disease I have (I'll hopefully be getting a formal diagnosis on the 16th)

I feel so much better than I did. I actually have a life now and can go out and do things I enjoy.

Absolute life-changing treatment. I've been trying to get rheumatologists to take me seriously for 20 years.

Did your regular bloodwork from your PC doc show a vitamin D deficiency?
- Yep. Apparently my records for years showed it and nobody ever said anything to me. I'm looking into replacing a lot of my doctors because of it. I also keep a better eye on results on my own now.
- I don't know what you mean by PC so I'm just assuming the doctor is sitting in the doctor room just playing doom 1993
My wife and I turned up low in vitamin D too. We're on the megadoses. She is, I'm doing good since it's still summer. I'm going back to megadoses as soon as the sun stops showing up. Anyway I was just going to ask if your sleeping improved. My wife can't sleep. I sleep like a baby, but I have a strong suspicion that I got some immunological problem going on because I have a permanent elbow pain and a reoccurring rib cage pain. Getting old...
- I'm a big fan of magnesium citrate or chelated magnesium for more restful sleep, might be worth a shot. Not a doctor though.
Hydroxychloroquine is is also widely used against "covid" and its related symptoms. I wish we didn't live in a world where billion dollar companies decide what is "healthy" and "safe and effective", which really just means " lines their and their buddies wallets".

"I am tired when I get up," this is also a sign of a sleep disorder like narcolepsy or sleep apnea.

It can be a sign of thyroid issues.

Copper, selenium, zinc, and other deficiencies can cause fatigue as well

I just have a lot of sleep inertia. Sleepy when I get up, not sleepy at bed time.

I did also have a vitamin D deficiency without knowing it though.
- Sure, sleep inertia can be caused by lots of things. It is a sign of narcolepsy, sleep apnea, or other sleep issues in many people or can be vitamin based.
I could also be a sign of your toddler waking you up 4 times

Would this have been an acceptable reply?:

I'm sorry you're feeling so drained.

I’ve heard sometimes iron, B12, or vitamin D deficiencies can sometimes contribute to persistent fatigue, but whatever the cause, I hope you're able to get the support you need to start feeling better soon.

imo seems inappropriately formal

I need a good daily vitamin. I just need to bite the bullet and order some. I swear some things wrong with me truly are because I eat 99 cent ramens for dinner because I just don't want to spend money on food that's good for me lol.

Damn. Big spender buying the elite ramen.
- Oh you know it. Sometimes, I even put BROCCOLI in the ramen too. Crazy behavior, I know.

If people could only share useful information that helps people like this, the world would be a better place. Search out the deficiencies, tell others how to satiate them once you find the way!!! Vitamin D, Calcium, Magnesium, Zinc, and Kelp(for iodine, but kelp allows for enormous idodine intake). Those vitamins all work together and help you to feel great!

75% of people are not getting enough magnesium.

https://dining.nd.edu/whats-happening/news/magnesiumthe-invisible-deficiency/

Did she... Reply guy anais nin?

Have you tried yoga?

She should try shutting the cats out of the bedroom sometimes.

One of the things that's too often overlooked is that subtractions might do more to help than additions. If you're taking a host of vitamins, herbal remedies, and strange supplements and still feeling like shit, it's likely because all the medicine in the world won't heal if you're still taking poison.

Not to be that person, but I am fully convinced that eating animal products plays a decisive role in depression and other mood disorders. Not only is there science pointing in that direction, but it matches my own personal experience as well as what every other plant-based person I've known has experienced as well. Before the switch I was so far in a constant background noise of depression that I was ambivalent about whether I wanted to live or not.

I've tried a lot of things, with only ever small or temporary results at best. Going plant-based, within weeks of staying consistent with it, marked the first time in my life when I actually began to actively want to live (even in spite of our capitalist hellscape). That desire to live has endured since then to the point that it's tempting to say I might be cured of depression.

https://nutritionfacts.org/video/anti-inflammatory-diet-for-depression/

https://nutritionfacts.org/video/how-to-boost-brain-bdnf-levels-for-depression-treatment/

Not to be that person,

Proceeds to be that person
- When something needs to be said, it needs to be said.
Perhaps you had an imbalance of vitamin a. Plant based vitamin a (beta carotene) is safe and can't really be overdosed. Plant based diets tend to have more vitamin e in them as well, and vitamin e sort of counteracts vitamin a.
- The sheer amount of changes that occur on a plant-based diet are too numerous for me to be able to pinpoint any specific thing. It wouldn't surprise me if I do get more vitamin a these days, as well as quite a few other important micronutrients that I may or may not have been low on.
  
  And that's not even getting into the vast topic of phytonutrients.