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Sorry to hear that your situation is unacceptably distressful. I am not a nutritionist, but I listen to an alternative medicine doctor on the radio and from what he said and from my followup search on Google, it seems it might be a good idea for you to look into a deficiency of magnesium as a source of your problem. You could Google 'magnesium stress'.
Re: The Depression Discussion - My Story ("magnesium stress" reply)
Hi Jack,
Thank you for the different perspective on my anxiety, stress & depression. I googled “magnesium stress” as you suggested and checked out several of the websites. I felt that the information I obtained from those sites was promising.
Next, I looked up the RDA of magnesium for someone my age and found it was 420mg per day. My wife & I then did our best to determine my daily magnesium intake. We were able to do this because I have a regimented diet, and therefore know what I eat every day of the week (for the most part). Still, it was not easy because most nutrition labels do not include information on magnesium, but we were able to find out most of what we needed to know on the internet.
The bottom line is that on two days of the week, I have approximately 111% of the RDA, on three other days, I have 89%, & finally, on the last two days, I have 79%. So, I do not have a notable deficiency. Not enough to take a daily supplement anyway because it would put me over the RDA.
I should note that I did read on one website that, if you were experiencing stress, you should take 1000mg per day since stress robs your body of magnesium. I will have to research that more before deciding whether or not to do that because, as I stated in a recent post, I believe in & follow the principle that more is not necessarily better.
At the very least, I can eat more foods rich in magnesium on the days that my intake is under the RDA, while watching my caloric intake which is currently just right for my weight. Plus, there is the option of having my magnesium level checked in my blood, but I just had blood drawn yesterday after a visit to my GP. So, my timing is a little off. On top of that, I have not discussed my mental state with him because, frankly, he already thinks I am crazy for being on AS.
Thanks for caring. I will let you know what comes of this. Sorry that the response is so long, but I wanted you to know that I took your recommendation seriously and followed up on it.
Re: The Depression Discussion - My Story ("magnesium stress" reply)
Alan,
I'm glad that my post aroused your interest and that you followed up on it. I find it remarkable that you are able to calculate your intake so precisely so as to reflect the RDA. However I have to say, again reminding you that I'm not a nutritionist, that the RDA for magnesium is probably woefully inadequate for one in your situation. I hope you will research it further and let us know what you find. There is a website, prostatecanceradvice.org where there are 3 doctors, one of them Dr. Meyers, who will answer questions. I suggest you click on Dr. Spinosa, who is the Director of the Integrative Urology Center of NYU.
Re: The Depression Discussion - My Story ("magnesium stress" reply)
Thanks Jack, I am going to continue to do research on this topic and will check out the website & doctors you suggested. Yesterday’s post was just to let you know that I appreciated your help and was following up on your advice. When all is said & done, I will let you know what I have decided to do.
As far as being able to calculate my daily magnesium intake is concerned, I have an acute attention to detail which comes from having OCD. (As Monk said in the TV detective series of the same name, it is a blessing & a curse. Thankfully though, my condition is not as bad as Adrian Monk’s).
Re: The Depression Discussion - My Story ("magnesium stress" reply)
Alan,
Judging from how soon you answered my post, you and I both have a 'compulsion' to check out this site daily. Regarding Monk, it looks like you haven't lost your sense of humor. . Staying on the light side, you recall I had heard about using magnesium from the alternative doctor who's on the radio. Well, he was describing a study in which magnesium was used to relieve stress, wait for it, in mice. Go figure. Getting down to business, it seems the site I linked you to with the doctors who answer question seems to be moribund,, although when I posted a question today I got an email stating that in time my question would be answered. Still, the existing questions/answers are very informative.
