That seems like pretty low doses to me.  My son's vitamin D is low and he takes 10,000 IUs per day, per labs.  25 mg B complex, well I doubt that would be enough, but I am not a doc.  Omegas never hurt, but I believe the research is much higher.  Are you waiting to see a regular pdoc or one that specializes in vitamins?

--

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.

That's kind of what I thought. I take 1000 iu of vitamin d in the winter with my regular multi vitamin, so i figured she'd need more than 500. We're waiting to see a regular pdoc, but it's looking like another 2months min. The rages are getting worse the longer we wait. I'm kind of grasping at straws right now... Anything is better than what we've been dealing with.

--

-- D aka. Mashedbananas - no history of mental health issues in immediate or extended family. Living minute by minute.

DH - a very patient stepdad. Just trying to deal with whats been handed to him
DD 11- diagnosed BP with comorbid Conduct Disorder. Waiting for meds. 6 month waiting lists are the norm here. History of mental illness on bio dads side.
DS 3 - hides in closets during rages, showing signs of anxiety.
DS 6 months - just your average run-of-the-mill baby.. Eat, sleep, poop, cry, repeat.

You might try visiting the True Hope web site, and call their support line.  The vitamins and all are a bit expensive, but they are formulated just for bipolar and they have a reasonably good help line.

Brian

--

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 + inositol
Son (5) Normal
Wife (CathyK now also on TBMF) BP, & trying to wean off the meds.

I was just going to suggest looking into EMPowerPlus.  Since you are not on meds yet, it may be worth a shot.  They are not cheap, but without having meds as a complication may really help!  So the pdoc's office suggested you try these?  If so, I would assume they are more vitamin friendly docs and would not mind your child being on EMP.  I wish I had found EMP before we went with meds 11 years ago.  So I think it is worth considering if you can finanically cope with them. 

--

Kim 34 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, SAMe
Brandon 15, BP 1, ADHD, Schizoaffective?, PDD?, IgG allergic gluten, casein, soy, eggs, peanuts
EMPower Plus 5 caps TID, AminoPowerPlus 4 BID, Vitamin D 10,000 IU/day, Garlic, Choline and protein shakes prn, 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 have looked into EMP.. The cost is really high. also found a lot about health Canada suing them which makes me a little leary. We haven't seen a pdoc yet. Still waiting to get in.. There are huge waiting lists for child pdocs here. We're doing everything our own right now and trying to get through each day the best we can.

--

-- D aka. Mashedbananas - no history of mental health issues in immediate or extended family. Living minute by minute.

DH - a very patient stepdad. Just trying to deal with whats been handed to him
DD 11- diagnosed BP with comorbid Conduct Disorder. Waiting for meds. 6 month waiting lists are the norm here. History of mental illness on bio dads side.
DS 3 - hides in closets during rages, showing signs of anxiety.
DS 6 months - just your average run-of-the-mill baby.. Eat, sleep, poop, cry, repeat.

True Hope won that lawsuit and basically yes, it can make people nervous, but I have known too many people that it helped to be nervous about it.  It was not like it killed someone, if you know what I mean.  They do have a financial assistance program.  We qualified for it, but it was at 35% discount and if you add the shipping and handleing, it is only $3 cheaper than getting it from our pdoc, so I am not bothering with it.  I was bummed that it would not make a difference.  If you can find a way to swing it, I say go for it.

--

Kim 34 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, SAMe
Brandon 15, BP 1, ADHD, Schizoaffective?, PDD?, IgG allergic gluten, casein, soy, eggs, peanuts
EMPower Plus 5 caps TID, AminoPowerPlus 4 BID, Vitamin D 10,000 IU/day, Garlic, Choline and protein shakes prn, 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.

Truehope proved itself in Canadian court of law. If that old old story is still floating around, I suspect the big pharmaceutical companies are behind it.

As for cost... Money is tight. Once upon a time in my life, we had more money. Over a decade of all the out-of-pocket expenses with therapists, psychiatrists, psychological testing, doctors, hospitalizations, lost work... all for "mental" illness in the end cost us so much more than the supplements have. I can look back and know exactly where all that money we could have set aside for retirement went. Or all the trips with family we could've had... but we couldn't, and we still can't.   :-(

It is a big outlay of money on top of all the other expenses at the beginning. We additionally did extensive testing with the younger - but not the older, although we did at least get her to a different doctor (again - out-of-pocket) who at least raised her thyroid levels and switched her to Armour thyroid.

And things are even getting worse for us in the U.S. with it getting harder and harder to use pre-tax money or even getting tax deductions for the expenses we have.  I feel the heavy tread of Big Pharma.

But back to your question. The doctors aim to have our vitamin D level up between 50 and 80. My younger daughter had absorption issues and at one time was on about 12,000 (maybe it was 14,000?) of a liquid form of vitamin D3. She is down to I think it is around 7,000. 500 is not much vitamin D3. 

Our kids need around 2 Grams Omega-3 but you may not see some miracle. It may brighten mood. It may help cognition. The biggest thing is it helps PRESERVE brain function and helps them repair the damage all this stress is causing them. It has been shown to help prevent the progression into psychosis (schizophrenia).

As for the B complex... yes, many of our children need it, especially the methylated forms of B9 & B12 (not even EMPowerPlus uses the methylated cobalamin and folate but at least it has the regular forms in it). 

-- 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.

Just an aside about cost and Truehope.  One thing we do to bring down the cost is that we buy it by the case and store it in the freezer.  The case discount is significant, plus you save on frequent shipping.  In our case there are enough people using Empower that a compounding pharmacy in our area has agreed to carry it.  The nice part about this is that now I don't pay any shipping and I still get the case discount.  The pharmacy benefits by increased traffic in their store.  It might be worth contacting a compounding/alternative pharmacy in your area (if it exists) to see if they might be interested in this.

--

Jistac
Mother of 3 (23,20,17) with a variety of mental health issues. Been involved with using Empower as a treatment since 2003

Jistec

I believe you are in the Boston region.  Which pharmacy is it that now carries Empower?

Thanks

Cliff

Jistec

Thanks!  Its down the street from us.

Cliff

Taking the vitamins won't give you false hope, you can still be treated.. I'm also taking vitamins to prevent sleep deprivation effects to happen, and it does work..

I live in the Boston area and my son recently started EmpowerPlus and Amino Plus.  Thanks for the tip about where to get it!  Does Johnson Drug also carry AminoPlus?  REgarding vitamins and Omegas...    One A Day Men's formula made a difference for my teenage boy.  Also he is taking an Omega 3 fatty acid called Ultra EPA 500  and the DHA amount in the capsule is 100.  This too has been helpful.  As others have mentioned sleep and food make a big difference.  Interestingly, my son asks for hamburgers a lot and he feels better after he has one.  The protein probably helps but I realize now that meat is a source of inositol which is thought to help with anxiety.

--

Ci
Co mod teen 3 w/ Kathy, Isobel and Tish
ds 18 mood disorder nos, anxiety, LD, seroquel, wellbutrin, celexa
dd 21 possible BP spectrum
dh

My daughter was found to be vitamin D deficient and needed a D supplement prescribed.  I was glad she was retested once she finished the prescribed amount- after 6 weeks or so, because her levels were still low.  Once her D levels were finally back to normal her mood was better. 

--

Ci
Co mod teen 3 w/ Kathy, Isobel and Tish
ds 18 mood disorder nos, anxiety, LD, seroquel, wellbutrin, celexa
dd 21 possible BP spectrum
dh

cigrov,

I believe Johnson will get any of the Truehope products that you want/need.  But you might want to call and ask them.  Gary, the guy in charge of all the natural health stuff at Johnson drug is very friendly and willing to take time to talk about your needs and what you want or what he thinks would help.

--

Jistac
Mother of 3 (23,20,17) with a variety of mental health issues. Been involved with using Empower as a treatment since 2003

Thanks!

--

Ci
Co mod teen 3 w/ Kathy, Isobel and Tish
ds 18 mood disorder nos, anxiety, LD, omega 3, probiotics, wellbutrin, celexa, recently stopped seroquel and started EmpowerPlus and AminoPlus
dd 21 possible BP spectrum not taking meds at the moment
dh