You said his iron is low as well? If that is the case, his depression may not be truly alleviated until multiple issues are addressed. I've been told about (and 1 I know personally) low iron being the direct cause of bipolar symptoms, not just "depression."  I know for my older daughter, getting vitamin D level up helped several problems, but I'll ask her what she thinks about it and depression in her.

I know for myself, when I had situational depression, I was on several supplements that helped slowly over a period of about a month. It wasn't the dramatic change I saw in my kids with EMPowerPlus or getting off their foods... for me it was just slowly feeling "lighter" and calmer like a veil of grey lifting from my mood. But then, my depression wasn't anything like theirs, either.

I know that the issue with vitamin D is that it is needed to restore a host of metabolic processes in the body. I have been taught to expect 4-6 weeks for a body to balance itself out and be utilizing the nutrient and allow all the downstream changes to take place. In some cases, those downstream changes include growing glial cells in the brain! (Glial cells are supporting brain cells). Vitamin D is vital for thyroid hormone to work. Thyroid hormone is necessary for the healing and metabolic processes...

I do know that some improvements are almost immediate - such as my older daughter's Tardive Dyskinesia.

--Jeanie aka "Naomi"
ItsNotMental-Vit D3
Older dd: formerly(?) teen-onset bipolar (morphed into ultradian cycling): "Recovered" after over 13 years - stable off psych meds almost two years. Now fine on just diet changes and higher thyroid levels (after healing - addressing gut issues/Candidal overgrowth while using EMPowerPlus and other supplements). She added a little EMpowerPlus back on as a multivitamin simply because she feels better on it - gets sick less often.
Younger dd: formerly(?) Childhood-onset schizoaffective, TS, OCD, anxiety, PTSD, migraines. After over 15 years, is now "recovered" for almost 5 years after treating endocrine issues, food sensitivities, gut issues, sleep issues, nutritional/mitochondrial needs.

I did start him on an iron sup as well, the basic standard OTC pill, once per day, unless the doc wants to go higher.  Waiting on the rest of the labs and her call or email to discuss what else she has learned.  So his thyroid may go back to normal with D?  Should I have his pdoc put in an order for TSH/T3/T4?  He is on Synthroid now so I am worried about his thyroid and how it is going to react to all this and how we will know that he needs to come off it.

--

Kim 33 Co-Mod Military with Katie and Heather
brandonsmom_1996@msn.com
Army wife and BSW student
PLMS, Insomnia, Severe D-IBS, Special diet
Iron and Mirapex for PLMS, Lunesta, Zyrtec
Brandon 15, BP 1, ADHD, Schizoaffective?, PDD?, IgG allergic gluten, casein, soy, eggs, peanuts
EMPower Plus 5 caps TID, AminoPowerPlus 4 BID, Lamictal (weaning), Synthroid, Melatonin 6-12 mg
8th grade (held back) homeschooled-Meridell Achievement Center 4/28- 9/25
Chris, 34 dh since 9/10, Army
Cheeto the cat: Hyperthyroidism (radioactive iodine 2/8), Separation Anxiety, and Chronic UTIs, rx diet Mystic: The princess of the house and HATES Brandon
Jackson: Lab, DOB 1/13/11, training to be psychiatric service dog eventually
Fort Bragg, NC
FROM TBMF: Do not start, stop, or change medications or other treatments for yourself or your child based on what you read on this Website or elsewhere on the Internet.

I thought Vitamin D would not raise thyroid hormone levels but allow them to work at their target sites. Thus, a person who has hypothyroid symptoms yet "normal" thyroid level may have an alleviation of the hypothyroid symptoms with the addition of vitamin D. BUT.... apparently, vitamin D may work in other ways as well, or is just "connected with" other thyroid problems (such as autoimmune (http://www.goodhormonehealth.com/VitaminD.pdf) 

I know that my older daughter needed her thyroid levels in slightly hypERthyroid range to feel well, but now a more middle range is fine.  My younger daughter's GP was rather stunned at her "florid symptoms of low thyroid" from low thyroid hormones that should not have been so devastating as they were. Here is what he wrote: http://itsnotmental.blogspot.com/2011/01/childhood-onset-schizoaffective...

There are apparently several ways that a person can end up seeming to require higher thyroid levels.The whole nutrient-endocrine-metabolic-immune process is so complex!

So, I don't know if it would affect his actual thyroid levels. Another test in a few months wouldn't hurt...

Oh... My older daughter called back.... By the time she got on vitamin D she wasn't depressed. So... that doesn't help with the answer you want.

--Jeanie aka "Naomi"
ItsNotMental
Older dd: formerly(?) teen-onset bipolar (morphed into ultradian cycling): "Recovered" after over 13 years - stable off psych meds almost two years. Now fine on just diet changes and higher thyroid levels (after healing - addressing gut issues/Candidal overgrowth while using EMPowerPlus and other supplements). She added a little EMpowerPlus back on as a multivitamin simply because she feels better on it - gets sick less often.
Younger dd: formerly(?) Childhood-onset schizoaffective, TS, OCD, anxiety, PTSD, migraines. After over 15 years, is now "recovered" for almost 5 years after treating endocrine issues, food sensitivities, gut issues, sleep issues, nutritional/mitochondrial needs.

Thanks.  I guess we have to wait and see.  Just heard back from the clinical director for intensive in home.  When we were in crisis on Sunday and called, the on call asked Brandon what medications he took for his BP and he said EMPowerPlus vitamins.  She said vitamins do not help with BP.  Luckily Brandon knows people can be ignorant about this stuff, so he handed me the phone to take care of it.  Director is a pdoc and was very concerned with what she said, but also very curious about the EMP and how Brandon is doing.  He seemed like he is going to reseach it some more and maybe even use it in practice.  He agreed that in Brandon's case, it is worth a shot bc nothing else works.  So I am doing some educating in my small part of the world, but still, it had to be done.  Maybe we will get one more supporting pdoc?

--

Kim 33 Co-Mod Military with Katie and Heather
brandonsmom_1996@msn.com
Army wife and BSW student
PLMS, Insomnia, Severe D-IBS, Special diet
Iron and Mirapex for PLMS, Lunesta, Zyrtec
Brandon 15, BP 1, ADHD, Schizoaffective?, PDD?, IgG allergic gluten, casein, soy, eggs, peanuts
EMPower Plus 5 caps TID, AminoPowerPlus 4 BID, Lamictal (weaning), Synthroid, Melatonin 6-12 mg
8th grade (held back) homeschooled-Meridell Achievement Center 4/28- 9/25
Chris, 34 dh since 9/10, Army
Cheeto the cat: Hyperthyroidism (radioactive iodine 2/8), Separation Anxiety, and Chronic UTIs, rx diet Mystic: The princess of the house and HATES Brandon
Jackson: Lab, DOB 1/13/11, training to be psychiatric service dog eventually
Fort Bragg, NC
FROM TBMF: Do not start, stop, or change medications or other treatments for yourself or your child based on what you read on this Website or elsewhere on the Internet.

 Per:  http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/vitamind

"Serum concentration of 25(OH)D is the best indicator of vitamin D status. It reflects vitamin D produced cutaneously and that obtained from food and supplements [1] and has a fairly long circulating half-life of 15 days [5]. "

Thus, after 1 half-life, you would be roughly half the way to your target concentration. 

--- In theory, it may take a while.  In practice????

--

Daughter 7 BP/violent rages. Unsuccessful with multiple meds. Now reasonably stable (with a few regressions) on Risperidone + Intuniv + Restrictive diet + EMPowerPlus + AminoPowerplus + NAC + Q10 + low dose lithium + melatonin.

One of our doctors feels the Intracellular analysis of vit D (SpectraCell) is a better indicator of status than serum level since some individuals have a vit D cell receptor polymorphism and thus even though serum level may seem adequate, it may not for these individuals.

Sometimes I think the severity of my younger daughter's multiple problems were due to the convergence of a multitude of small problems. She'd gotten osteoporosis, but we doubt that was due to one thing - but rather, several things. Maybe. The doctors see this (osteoporosis) in other young people with Celiac and are saying it may not be just malabsorption. It may be immune-mediated. They really don't know. My younger dd is under the care of a really good bone-metabolism expert, and the bottom-line is there is still much to be known.

--Jeanie aka "Naomi"
ItsNotMental

Kim,

Do you recall what your son's levels were before you started supplementing?  Was there a terget level your doc was shooting for?  Also, have you had a repeat test to see what the current levels are?

Just curious.  We had seen a DAN! doctor last fall who was not concerned about a level below the lab reference range.  It never sat right with me, and about a week ago we started to supplement.   It's to early to tell if there is an improvement.  She had been doing well, but with a few break throughs.  Now it has again been another almost perfect since Sunday.

Brian

--

Daughter 8 BP/violent rages. Unsuccessful with multiple meds. Now almost 100% stable (Since before Christmas) on 0.375 mg Risperidone and going lower + Restrictive diet + EMPowerPlus + AminoPowerplus + NAC + Q10 + low dose lithium + melatonin + inositol
Son (5) Normal
Wife (CathyK now also on TBMF) BP, on same diet and supplements & reducing meds.