Eleuthero as effective, with less side effects for for combo therapy in bipolar patients
Feel Food Fridays// ELEUTHERO // “siberian ginseng”
Just some more badass botanical research for your friday (and some beautiful berries to gawk at)
It is no surprise that bipolar disorder is a hard condition to manage. Many folks (rightfully) fear mixing herbs with the strong psych medications but hopefully more research like this will allow that to change. Bipolar patients can and should be using herbal medicine, but they need to be working with a licensed professional to do so safely. When done correctly, herbal allies can help ground, work through side effects and even have cumulative beneficial effects that can prevent the need for more and more medications piled on to the plan. Bipolar is estimated in 2.6% of the U.S. population over age 18, or 5.7million americans-- probably a lot more people than you think.
Study: Comparison of Adding #Eluthero Versus Fluoxetine (an SSRI) to Lithium for the Treatment of Bipolar Disorder in Adolescents: A Randomized, Double-Blind 6 week trial, 76 participants, 2007.
This trial used eleuthero or a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor IN ADDITION to lithium therapy for bipolar patients. Baseline, during treatment and after treatment follow ups were completed to assess symptoms and side effects.
Stellar Stats after 6 weeks tx
Positive mood response and remission rate was similar- meaning eluthero worked as well as the SSRI.
3 patients taking the SSRI switched to mania and NONE of the eluthero patients did.
Eluthero side effects: 2 had nausea, 1 had a rash and 1 had diarrhea.
SSRI side effects: 4 with nausea, 3 with anxiety, 3 with insomnia, 1 with constipation and 1 with tinnitus.
PMID: 24683218
Which option sounds better to you?!
Latin name: #Eleutherococcus senticosus or #Acanthopanax senticosus.
Family: Araliaceae
Remember to always work with your prescribing doc, counseling AND your natural team openly to stay safe.
So although this can be a challenging condition to manage, for the patient or the doctor, we have to build confidence leaning on our safe, nutritive, time-tested allies for these conditions too. The relationship, trust and communication built between the doctor and patient is paramount for this to be done safely and most effectively. Eleuthero is more often classified as an adaptogen, meaning it helps the body adapt to everything better, so it is no surprise that it could be multifaceted and beneficial to balance these complex conditions.
Link for the full paper: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21434569/