The following are natural treatments for OCD which are practiced by various specialists.
Charles Gant, N.M.D., Ph.D., M.D.,
Author of End your Addiction Now and ADD and ADHD Complementary Medicine Solutions
My protocol:
Theanine 500 mg. (green tea amino acid-inhibits glutamic acid) – 3000 mg/day
GABA 500 mg – 3000 mg a day
Phosadyllic (purified soy lecithin) – 3000 mg a day
Magnesium taurate 3000 mg a day
P5P (activated B6) 50 mg twice a day
Seromel (5HTP) 300 mg a day
These are maximum doses unless amino acid/mineral testing suggests that higher doses are needed, and should be divided and can be taken at bedtime for sleep. I send patients to Nutrenergy 888-887-7747 to get these as they
only have assayed top quality supplements, but if you may know of other good sources. When mixed with anti-anxiety herbals (see http://www.naturallyhigh.co.uk/relax.asp), and possibly some homeopathics and Bach Flower Remedies, OCD should not happen.
William Walsh, senior research scientist, Walsh Research Institute www.walshinstitute. org)
My clinic has used inositol with thousands of patients & learned the following:
A. Inositol is usually very helpful for UNDERMETHYLATED, HIGH HISTAMINE patients. This includes nearly every OCD patient we have seen. Inositol usually provides calming throughout the day and ability to settle down to sleep at night, for these patients.
B. On the other hand, OVERMETHYLATED patients usually derive little or no benefit from Inositol, and may experience very nasty side effects from it.
C. Although a couple thousand milligrams may be needed to do the job and the tablets are often quite large, Inositol has the great advantage of being palatable… Many of our patients chew it before swallowing, and report it “doesn’t taste bad at all.”
I’m quite surprised that Inositol isn’t more popular due to its effectiveness and its role as a major “second messenger” in neurotransmission.
With respect to a child with the rituals, a more direct approach would be to use methionine, calcium, magnesium, trimethylglycine, and possibly SAMe… along with avoidance of folic acid supplements. Methylation therapy is a direct and effective way to treat OCD tendencies, and we regard Inositol as a valuable adjunct therapy. Note that use of folic acid and B-12 is NOT indicated since the methyl-trapping effect greatly exceeds the benefits of enhanced conversion of homocystine to methionine.
500 to 1000 mg/day of Inositol will probably be needed to provide the benefit for a child.
Most OCD patients (both obsessive thoughts AND compulsive actions) exhibit undermethylation and associated low levels of serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. Choline is anti-dopaminergic and often makes OCD patients worse.
Generally, OCD patients respond nicely to methonine, SAMe, calcium, magnesium, B-6, Inositol, TMG, and zinc. Most OCD patients get worse if given supplements of DMAE, choline, copper, or folic acid.
Julia Ross, Therapist and author of The Mood Cure
This syndrome has already been identified as a symptom of serotonin
insufficiency. It responds well to tryptophan and 5HTP therapy in our
clinical experience (which rarely includes psychosis).
Mary Reed, Herbalist
http://www.marysherbs.com/
Obsessive-compulsive Disorder (OCD) is defined as a condition characterized by persistent, unwanted thoughts and/or repeated, ritualistic behavior.
Not too long ago OCD was thought to be solely a psychological condition in which a person who experienced too aggressive or premature potty training adapted to the lack of bowel control by overcompensating control over his environment and daily activities, which ironically ended up controlling the person.
There are many reasons why I, along with a growing number of scientists, disagree with that theory.
Although I will be the first to admit that the emotional and physical self cannot be separated, I would lean toward this being a physical condition which provokes emotional and mental responses.
Here are some facts which support my belief:
Research indicates that some people are born with a predisposition to OCD. For instance, a child of a parent who suffers with Trichotillomania (compulsive pulling out of ones hair) has a 75% chance or higher of developing OCD.
Someone suffering with Tourette’s syndrome (involuntary motor and vocal tics) has a 50% chance of having OCD. It has been proven conclusively that Tourette’s is totally a physical condition.
OCD sufferers seem to notice a greater improvement with their condition when chemicals in their brain are brought back to normal balance than by behavioral or psychological treatment.
All drug protocols passed by the FDA for the treatment of OCD are serotonin reuptake inhibitors such as Anafranil, Prozac, Luvox, Zoloft and Paxil.
Serotonin is a neurotransmitter. A neurotransmitter is a substance that chemically connects a nerve impulse from one nerve to another. A sufficient amount of serotonin produces a soothing, calming effect to brain activity.
The serotonin reuptake inhibitor function prevents serotonin from being absorbed (the reuptake) and so increases the amount of available serotonin.
Another way is to increase the digestion of or the body’s production of serotonin.
Other conditions possibly linked with insufficient serotonin are: Anorexia Nervosa, Self- mutilation, Tourette’s Syndrome, Body Dysmorphic Disorder (abnormal dislike for ones looks), Trichotillomania (pulling out your hair) and Hypochondria.
OCD symptoms are not short-term or fleeting, but rather they are PERSISTENT thoughts, rituals or impulses that seem senseless even to the sufferer but are irresistible or uncontrollable.
To find someone in the natural healing field who has a history of working with OCD is virtually impossible.
I had some alternative health practitioners offer advice that ranged from “leaky gut syndrome” (yeast mutation and migration) to “repatterning colackles” (establishing energy movement between the top half of the body and the lower half).
There was only one whom I contacted who worked with OCD. Her mother had developed severe symptoms of OCD about 7 years earlier. They treated her by upping her HCL (hydrochloric acid – stomach acid), minerals, B-6 and worked on her adrenal glands. Her mother was then symptom-free.
I myself had OCD until 8 or 9 years ago and know how hard it is to live with. I am now symptom-free.
Many people have opened up to me about having OCD. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder sufferers are usually intelligent, highly ethical and dependable people. They usually are very alone in their condition. Fearing ridicule by those who will not understand their condition, OCD-ers learn to hide their symptoms.
I have now personally treated or consulted more than 1000 cases of it. Of those who have done my program, 85-90% become symptom-free or experience a dramatic reduction in symptoms.
Since serotonin is a chemical that travels across the nerve synapse and the thicker the myelin sheathing on the nervous system, the more potential for the releasing of serotonin, it make sense to nourish the nervous system.
The program I recommend for my clients does just that. It is:
- Quit caffeine drinks completely. If one is a regular tea or coffee drinker he may need to do this gradually to avoid withdrawal symptoms
- If your cholesterol is below 170, get it up. Lower than 170 the body can not repair the myelin.
- Ensure you are getting the daily minimum requirement of vitamin B-complex.
- 1 tbs. Flax seed oil daily (fatty acids help nourish the nerve sheathing
- Spirulina capsules, 8-10 capsules per day
- A nervine compound like Re-X. Re-X is available Dr. Mary’s Wholesale Herb Shop
(A nervine is an herbal blend that treats nerves – for this purpose it should contain Valerian. Other common ingredients include skullcap, hops, and passionflower. Valerian alone is not recommended. Note: The Oriental herb mix STRC can be used if the person is having visual or auditory hallucinations.) Take the recommended bottle dose for a week and then increase the dose one pill every few days until you start to dream consistently. Maintain this dose. Once you are dreaming consistently, drop back a pill a day to get to a minimum dose. If you stop dreaming, increase the dose again until dreaming.
Results normally begin to appear 2 to 3 months after consistent dreaming has begun. People are usually symptom-free by 9 months, after three additional months, after which the nutrition and herbal remedies can be stopped.
If you suffer from this condition please take heart. You are not crazy or psychotic. You are lacking the nutrients that your body needs to get over this. There is much hope.
Although I do sell herbs, my goal is to help and educate people. If I can be of any assistance, please feel free to contact me.
To order
Mary Reed
626 Donnelly Ave.
Patton, PA 16668
(814) 674-8835
http://www.marysherbs.com
E-Mail: MarysHerbs@aol.com
Inositol Treatment of “OCD”
Inositol, one of the B vitamins, has been found effective in treating Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Inositol is used in biochemical processes that effect serotonin receptors.
A double-blind study reported in the American Journal of Psychiatry, 1996 [153(9):1219-21] was done on 13 patients. They were given 18 grams of inositol per day (2 tsp in juice 3 times daily). At 3 weeks there were no significant effects. At 6 weeks inositol significantly reduced “OCD” scores compared with placebo. It was as effective as some drugs.