Expert: Suzanne Rose Lubkowski - 8/12/2011

Question
Suzanne,
I appreciate your following up. I had almost forgotten about my original question. I am still on the Pristiq; I've cut the dose in half a few times, and within a few days I'm moody and anxious. I realize this was foolish. I am presently seeking a psychiatrist who can manage my meds, because I haven't seen one in over a year. My primary doctor is refilling it with the understanding that I will obtain a psychiatric consult ASAP. It is limited with my insurance, and right now in our city there is a real shortage of psych MDs for whatever reason. My main question to you was if you had seen anyone who had any positive experiences with St. Johns or with SAM-E, particularly anyone who went from SSRIs to these successfully. It is also confusing because I've been diagnosed as bipolar by one psychiatrist, yet am only on Pristiq, not lithium or a drug for chemical balance. I realize my question went beyond your scope of practice, but was sort of "grasping at straws" for advice, because it is hard to find.

It was extremely professional and thoughtful of you to follow up with me two months later. I'm very impressed by that, and appreciative. Thank you very much. I will keep your email in case I should have another question.
Thank you again.

Answer
Hi again Patricia

Nice to hear back from you.   To answer your question, the people I know that have used SJW have been those with a low level of depression and have not had a diagnosis.  So I am not sure if that is much help for you.

I had a couple other thoughts that I will throw out there from my own training and see if they resonate with you.

1)  Do you take a foundational supplement program?   Even if you are on a meditation, a foundational program would not interfere and can only help.  It would build healthy cells.  I would recommend a basic program from Shaklee called the vitalizer and protein.  The vitalizer contains a multi, b-complex (which supports mental health and stress), C, E, optiflora and a good protein source that gets to the cells.  Read about it at www.integrativewellness.myshaklee.com.  We have seen improvements in probably every condition on the planet when the cells are fed nutritionally.  

2)  I would be happy to offer you a complementary coaching session and teach you a couple processes for reducing stress and bring grounding and balance into your life.  This is my work as a coach.  You can learn more about my coaching work at www..empoweringserenity.com.  If you sign up for my newsletter, you receive a grounding MP3 exercise.  You can also sign up for a comp session at my contact page.  This is a discovery experience to see if my work resonates with you and can be of support.  

Would love to connect with you and see if I can be of help.  Everyone on the planet is going through changes and challenges right now.  Sometimes it helps just knowing we aren't alone.  If I can be of more support, let me know.  Take care,  Suzanne