Inositol, folinic acid, methylcobalamin b12 for Anxiety are they any good

[owainm]

Hi there I've not posted here for a few years but often view the forums for advice etc. I have suffered from anxiety/depression and OCD for the last 20 years or so I currently take seroxat but am tapering of it and proprananol.

I've been doing a lot of research recently and three vitamins keep coming up Inositol and a combination of folinic acid taken with methylcobalamin b12. I am unsure about any of these as have never taken any of them does anyone out there have any experience of taking these for their issues and do they actually work? I have read miraculous claims online of people taking these and they claim to have been almost totally cured is this really true and advice/comments are appreciated thanks

[gregcool]

Ill be interested in this as im planing to take multi vit daily and wonder what people think about this.not highjacking your post just joining on if you dont mind..

[MyNameIsTerry]

Have you looked at this thread about inositol?

http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=64229

Also, this is a useful source because it includes studies and how efficiently they were conducted:

http://examine.com/supplements/inositol/

There is an interesting statement in there which I have copied onto page 14 of the NMP inositol thread which explains you can use encapsulated versions to achieve the same dose at 30% of the volume of powdered versions. Encapsulated versions can be pricey though but it's easily possible to buy a larger powder bag and put them in your own capsules and save some cash.

I haven't tried them myself, I plan on trying inositol shortly. What I can say is that high strength Omega 3 (EPA >1000mg & DHA >1000mg) has done loads to balance my moods. I have been having mood swings constantly since I started Duloxetine and I never had them before. I started Omega over a year ago and it has stopped them almost completely after about 4 weeks and if low mood comes now I still find it doesn't sink very far whereas before I was still struggling. I stopped taking it at Xmas as I got a bit lazy and 3 weeks later my mood swings started again so I restarted the Omega 3 and within days I was balanced again.

There are some interesting studies emerging about something called NAC with OCD that might be worth a look. It has been shown to be effective for the skin picking that is commonly associated as OCD spectrum.

[owainm]

Thanks for the reply. I have never gone down the vitamins and supplements path so am utterly confused I hear some people saying take Inositol others say try this new combination of folinic acid & methylcobalamin b12 and there is also the high strength fish oil you have mentioned where do I start?? Is it really just a case of choosing one option then trying it and do you think that the old adage of what works for one may not work for others applies with these supplements.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Thanks for bringing up folonic acid, I had never come across this one. It looks an interesting possibility. From a quick read (including a medical source) it seems to be about a specific gene, MTHFR, and how a variation in this gene means a person may not be able to convert folic acid into folonic acid leading to various problems. It seems a b12 combination is used for some due to the possibility of a double mutation. This obviously needs more reading.

Inositol on the other hand seems to have some more solid science behind it. The link to the examine site is worth a look as it details some of this e.g.:

There appears to be a decrease in anxiety symptoms associated with high dose inositol, and it has been noted to be comparable to fluvoxamine in potency....for anxiety with 100% across 4 studies.

Chronic ingestion of high doses of inositol (18g) is associated with reductions in panic attack frequency to a level greater than the reference drug fluvoxamine; acute
usage does not appear effective....for panic attacks with 66% across 3 studies.

There appears to be a reduction in depressive symptoms associated with inositol supplementation, although it is less potent than the benefits of inositol on anxiety and panic attacks....for depression with 85% across 8 studies.

Although a small decrease, there appear to be benefits to OCD symptoms associated with high dose inositol supplementation...for OCD with 100% but only single study level.

So, that seems encouraging and given the comparison to one SSRI, it shows a level of comparison to something a doctor may prescribe. It's interesting that this med is primarily for OCD but also for other anxiety disorders.

Supplementation of 18g inositol daily in persons with panic disorders, supplementation is as effective as 150mg fluvoxamine in reducing anxiety symptoms associated with panic.

A single dose of 20g inositol has failed to significantly influence m-CPP induced panic disorder despite 18g daily for a period of one month reducing panic attacks (in persons susceptable to them) with a potency greater than 150mg fluvoxamine. Somewhat lower doses of 12g over the course of a month have also shown efficacy in panic disorder but have failed in persons with post tramautic stress disorder (PTSD)

One study using 18g inositol daily alongside serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRIs) noted that while some patients responded favorably, it was a minority of the group as a whole

I can't say I've looked at b12 but other people take it on here and I've seen it mentioned in an epigenetics article I was reading about how the methylation process becomes to tilted towards switching a gene to the one position to start anxiety disorders (which is reversable via the same process). b12 was mentioned as one that could contribute to this as were magnesium and gut flora.

Given b12 is common and cheap, it's worth a look. Folonic seems less cheap and less available (maybe a bit niche?) but there seems to be some science buy-in and inositol seems worth trying as there are accepted studies.

It sadly is a matter of try and see if it works though. But isn't it the exact same deal when we our GP's prescribe antidepressants and at least supplements are easy to back out as there is no withdrawal?

As far as Omega 3 goes, there is a thread called "Fish Oils" on the Natural Remedies board by Oosh that has some interesting information in plus a link on the end by me to a good FAQ website about it all. SADNoMore has a thread on there called "SAMe" which includes a link near the top that explains a little about having 1000mg of unopposed EPA to help with this. I found taking over 1000mg of EPA & DHA balanced by mood more than the SNRI I was taking which is licenced for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) but in my case I wasn't depressed and the mood swings came from taking this med.

[owainm]

Hi yes the folinic acid & b12 combo is the supposed answer to the MTHFR gene mutation. However in the research I've done on this there is a lot of concern that this MTHFR gene mutation is the latest health issue that many many many alternative health practitioners are jumping on and using as an answer for a whole list of health issues. Its a tricky one as you say more solid research is needed on this. I think I will give the Inositol a try first and see how I go, Im going to start low though thanks