inositol for ocd

[jellyz]

Hi

 

The dose really depends on the individual.

 

500mg - 1 gm is usually enough for regular "maintenance" , and going up for when OCD is flaring

 

I have heard never to do the higher dose for more than 6 weeks at a time

also, if you are already on an SSRI you want to be very careful as inositol added can spike serotonin...not a good thing either!

 

if you get agitated from a low dose, that may be what is happening

 

there are foods rich in inositol. like cantaloupe and fresh limes, amongst others, so you may find more benefit from them.

 

thank you. out of curiosity, where did you get the information about 500mg-1g being "maintenance?"

 

also, i am not on an SSRI, so no harm there. the only other medication i take is veramyst for allergies.

[Chemar]

our physician informed us that 500-1000mg a day was a good intake to ensure for anyone who had OCD tendencies. He referred to it as the "maintenance" dose and then increasing it when in flare

[jellyz]

our physician informed us that 500-1000mg a day was a good intake to ensure for anyone who had OCD tendencies. He referred to it as the "maintenance" dose and then increasing it when in flare

 

thanks. do you mean a family physician or like someone on this board that is a physician? just trying to find some reading material if at all possible. i still believe you either way, i just enjoy a good OCD-inositol reading if i can find one.

 

i would say i have more than tendencies, however. but i guess that comes with the nature of the disorder as sometimes my tendencies are lower than others, and sometimes it feels like a full-blown problem. hopefully the maintenance will reduce the number of occurrences and severity of those flares.

 

i suppose the article from page 1 on this thread is incorrect, as the doctor there said less than 12g of inositol daily the brain will not recognize.

Edited November 4, 2010 by jellyz

[Chemar]

I am referring to my son's physician

[Chemar]

i suppose the article from page 1 on this thread is incorrect, as the doctor there said less than 12g of inositol daily the brain will not recognize.

 

remember this is an old thread and research grows daily in some areas!

 

we were told to treat Inositol like any other supp in that one should always start low and go slow, lowest dose first for a few days and gradually work up to where you are heading. Again, we were advised to have my son on 500 mg- 1 gm as daily intake and then to go up when in flare. He found working up to 12 gm a day stopped the flare, but maintaining high inositol long term is not a good idea as it can start having a reverse effect. Made my son feel jittered. It is a good idea to also go down slowly rather than abruptly ie titrate back down.

[jellyz]

i suppose the article from page 1 on this thread is incorrect, as the doctor there said less than 12g of inositol daily the brain will not recognize.

 

remember this is an old thread and research grows daily in some areas!

 

we were told to treat Inositol like any other supp in that one should always start low and go slow, lowest dose first for a few days and gradually work up to where you are heading. Again, we were advised to have my son on 500 mg- 1 gm as daily intake and then to go up when in flare. He found working up to 12 gm a day stopped the flare, but maintaining high inositol long term is not a good idea as it can start having a reverse effect. Made my son feel jittered. It is a good idea to also go down slowly rather than abruptly ie titrate back down.

 

thanks for the information. how old is your son and have you/he seen improvements? how long has he been taking it?

Edited November 5, 2010 by jellyz

[Chemar]

my son is 21 now. we first learned of inositol for OCD when he was 11 so it has been 10 years of using it at varied doses and now, getting it mainly from foods high in it, and only taking the supps as needed if he feels the OCD ramping up. And yes, he finds it very effective at the right dose. In the early days of taking it, his OCD was very severe and he was on other supps that increase serotonin too.

 

However, if planning to use inositol with any other supps that also elevate serotonin, or with any med that does so (eg the SSRI meds) then you really should consult with a professional first as one does not want to spike serotonin because that is dangerous, and can lead to something called serotonin syndrome

[jellyz]

my son is 21 now. we first learned of inositol for OCD when he was 11 so it has been 10 years of using it at varied doses and now, getting it mainly from foods high in it, and only taking the supps as needed if he feels the OCD ramping up. And yes, he finds it very effective at the right dose. In the early days of taking it, his OCD was very severe and he was on other supps that increase serotonin too.

 

However, if planning to use inositol with any other supps that also elevate serotonin, or with any med that does so (eg the SSRI meds) then you really should consult with a professional first as one does not want to spike serotonin because that is dangerous, and can lead to something called serotonin syndrome

 

thanks for the tip. i really only want to try inositol now, with potentially mixing it in with diet as well. how much would you say he gets daily from food on top of the 1g he takes?

 

additionally, did you guys see just a GP, or did he go to a pscyhologist of some sort? finding the right doctor is hard to do with things like OCD. every doctor seems to have a different opinion.

[Chemar]

we use only Integrative Doctors (conventional MDs or DOs who have specialized in alternative medicine) and other holistic health practitioners.

Most conventional doctors will just give medications, although some will suggest CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) which is excellent for OCD

 

My son's inositol intake from food is not over and above the up to 1 gm daily but part of it

here is a site that gives food content

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1245264/an_introduction_to_inositol_includes.html

[eljomom]

Anyone know how to find a good Integrative Dr. in Virginia????

 

we use only Integrative Doctors (conventional MDs or DOs who have specialized in alternative medicine) and other holistic health practitioners.

Most conventional doctors will just give medications, although some will suggest CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) which is excellent for OCD

 

My son's inositol intake from food is not over and above the up to 1 gm daily but part of it

here is a site that gives food content

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1245264/an_introduction_to_inositol_includes.html

[Chemar]

Anyone know how to find a good Integrative Dr. in Virginia????

 

 

 

if you do a Google search for integrative physician Virginia

you will see a number of them come up.

Remember, not all Integrative docs are the same, as some have different specialization, and some, just like with all docs, are better than others.

 

I always ask a lot of questions of the doc's office bf setting any appt, and also search their name on Google too to see if anyone has reported anything about them etc

[jellyz]

i've done some reading and they say inositol can give you stomach cramps/gas/diarrhea as side effects. i'm really just experiencing the pretty serious cramps after 2 weeks of use. is this normal/does it subside? it is almost so bad that i'm considering stopping taking inositol, though i must admit i do feel like the inositol is helping the OCD (even though i know they say it takes 6 weeks to really see if it helps).

Edited November 15, 2010 by jellyz

[Rick43]

i've done some reading and they say inositol can give you stomach cramps/gas/diarrhea as side effects. i'm really just experiencing the pretty serious cramps after 2 weeks of use. is this normal/does it subside? it is almost so bad that i'm considering stopping taking inositol, though i must admit i do feel like the inositol is helping the OCD (even though i know they say it takes 6 weeks to really see if it helps).

 

Hello,

 

I have been taking inositol (12g/day) for I'd say about 3 months now. I wasn't as concerned with the "serotonin syndrome" that chemar talked about only because I do not take any SSRI's and after talking to my naturopath (who was at first reluctant to have me take so much), said she is okay with it only because she has heard these higher doses can help people with ocd.

 

AT first I thought it was working great. However, recently, I am starting to feel that it's not working any more. via the Tourette's site, chemar and others suggested other items as well, such as 5-HTP, samE, kava, etc. I added the 5-HTP about 2 weeks ago now to go with the inositol, but I don't think it's working. I was on 'serene' a few weeks before that, which is supposed to be similar to 5-HTP, but didn't see any help.

 

I am trying to figure out if I should simply up the inositol dose even further (ie, as high as 18g/day as I'd read before), or if I should just give up on it. I don't have any of the stomach cramp problems or irritability to report.

 

I admit, I don't want to overdo it on inositol, esp. if it doesn't work - but many seem to claim it is great. I just don't know why it worked for me for a few weeks, then stopped.

 

I know people swear by CBT, but I am baffled by it. My only ocd issue seems to be unwanted/intrusive thoughts that I can not seem to shake when they happen. It is extremely annoying, so but I don't feel like it's because of some irrational anxiety, just some obsessive part of my brain that I enter and can't pull out of.

 

I really want to try some other supplement recommendations first as I don't know if staying on OCD at this dose for a long time is a good idea anyway.

 

looking to add:

more 5-HTP

samE

kava or it may be keva

a few others (my list is at home so don't have it right now)

 

Rick

 

anyone here have something they have found to be particularly good as alternative or in addition to inositol?

 

BTW, my naturopath insists to me that diet also plays a role in OCD - and that the super restrictive diet I am on (mainly for my tourette's) will also benefit my OCD, but will take much longer to kick in. My super restrictive diet is basically no wheat/dairy/gluten, only organic foods, no caffeine, no alcohol (tried it last week and did not go well), no preservatives, no soy, no artificials, and no corn. I'm hoping to expand it soon, but have been advised to stay off wheat and soy for sure.

 

Rick

[Chemar]

Hi Rick

I just noticed you have been on the high dose Inositol for 3 months!! and that in itself may be why it is not working properly IMHO

You may have had the initial benefit but then instead of going down to "maintenance dose" you stayed on waxing dose

Did you try titrating down and staying at a lower dose?

 

we were told not to exceed 1 gram for more than 6 weeks at a time.

[Rick43]

Hi Rick

I just noticed you have been on the high dose Inositol for 3 months!! and that in itself may be why it is not working properly IMHO

You may have had the initial benefit but then instead of going down to "maintenance dose" you stayed on waxing dose

Did you try titrating down and staying at a lower dose?

 

we were told not to exceed 1 gram for more than 6 weeks at a time.

 

Cheri,

I did some looking on the web on that exact topic - as I was wondering if I need to come off inositol. To my surprise, I found that many, many people are on as much as 18g/day and have been for a long time. In some cases it was multiple years. There was even a report from a psychiatrist who said he found several patients on 18g/day for multiple years that were still getting great relief from inositol.

 

I did see one person comment that it worked great for about 2-3 months (18g/day), but then stopped being effective.

 

It's tough when your in the middle of it, and want to find some relief, and you see multiple stories that suggest go to 18g/day and it will work - and you can stay on it indefinitely.

 

I basically did a google search for 'inositol OCD dosage'

 

Rick