An Update on my Seasonal Affective Disorder

Greetings all,

I've done a bit of experimenting with pills and what not. I have tried Valkee earlier in the season and didn't find it helped. I joined an email group and an online forum for SAD sufferers so that has been helpful.

I got a lux meter to measure the strength of my light box as someone recommended this. I bought one on ebay and there was a delay in the shipping but I received last week and tested out my light box. I never liked my light box and it actually was not testing up to what it was supposed to be. For a light box to be effective, you have to have it emit 10,000 lux. Mine was emitting this, at 5 inches. I sit 20" from it and this was as close as I could comfortably sit from it. I would use it at breakfast so if I had it any closer, it would not be comfortable. At 20" it only emits 4000 lux which means I would have to sit in front of it for an hour to be effective, which clearly is not good. I have stopped using it since I returned from my trip.

Someone else recommended an infrared ceramic heater and just sitting it front of it daily for 20 minutes. They recommended trying an infrared sauna to see if that boosts your mood. I tried infrared saunas years ago and was not sure if it helped my SAD but I did like how saunas help you detox. Years ago I did want a sauna for myself but all I found were wooden ones. I ended up looking at ebay and noticed they had portable saunas so I decided to buy one. I wanted to use it for detox purpose but we'll see if it helps with my SAD. Apparently the infrared produces tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) which is used to make serotonin. I may need to use it daily or every other day but we'll see how it goes. If it doesn't help with the SAD I'll still enjoy it for the detox purpose.

I was using fish oil which I said made me feel good but that only seemed to last for a few days and then I went back to feeling sleepy and tired. I do think I will continue to take fish oil because I don't eat fish and I probably don't get all of my daily omega 3. I bought flax oil but then found out that while it is high in omega 3, not the DHA and EPA of fish oil but of the ALA type. ALA can convert to the other 2 types of omega 3 but it is not efficient about it. I still want to try some flax and see how I like it. I might switch to fish oil pills in the future.

I also take vitamin d but never noticed much. I've considered modifying my diet but I am set in my ways. My dad has diabetes so I think by the time I hit my 40s, I should cut back on sugar but I love chocolate!

I have been experimenting with the supplement 5htp, which is an amino acid that is a precursor to serotonin. I started to take it when I came back from my vacation and I bought pills that were 100mg. I took it just before bed and I had a hard time waking up at a normal time and would sleep until noon. For me this was not normal since normally I get up by 8.

I thought maybe I need to start at 50mg. After a week, I stopped taking them and then I noticed my sleepiness would return and I would begin to yawn during the day time hours. Many would say that this is common but not for me. And it was numerous yawning and feeling tired. In the spring and summer time, I would be fine in the day and not feel tired. I might feel a bit tired but with SAD, it's more tired and sleep doesn't remedy the situation. I think many people don't get how serious and difficult this is to have. It's chronic tiredness and less energy then the rest of the year. We've all felt tired but usually a good night's sleep does the trick. With SAD it is ongoing.

So I did noticed once I stopped 5htp that it was having an effect on me, but just with some negative side effects i.e. sleeping in. I decided to cut back to 50mg and I still had trouble getting out of bed but not as bad. I decided to take it earlier in the day so that was better for me.

I am glad that 5htp has had a positive effect on my system. Nothing more frustrating then feeling tired for half the year. I will be seeing my doctor next week and tell her what I am doing. I also read that you can slowly increase your dosage. Not sure if I really need to but I guess I can take the full 100mg since my system seems to have adjusted to it.