For the supplement sensitive

There are many people I’ve encountered in the psychiatric drug withdrawal community who are extremely sensitive to supplements. They get reactions to them. Much like we might have a reaction to a chemical in the environment. The difference is that we need these supplements to heal and we have to figure out how to desensitize ourselves so that we can take these healing substances and truly recover.

I had a long conversation with my original mentor of withdrawal…

I was out of touch with her for a very long time because she was unable to work for a while and so I ended up all over the place doing research which has been very good for me intellectually but I’m glad to say I’ve reconnected with her after my fiasco with the other doc…(though that other doc did save my life with her particular supplement regimen and even though she led me down a scary path in the end, I’m still over all much improved thanks to her…so I got a bit screwed, but at the same time I learned so much and am still benefiting from what I learned from her…I guess the cliche there is good in all things is true and really in spite of the final trauma, I did learn so much of value from this woman.)

In any case, yesterday I spoke with the owner of Withdrawal and Recovery and asked specifically for guidance for all of the ultra-sensitive folks I encounter through this blog and in my email groups—-how can people get to the point that they tolerate supplements? Both she and I feel strongly that supplements are an integral part of healing completely.

She had an answer and has used it numerous times with her patients.

Here is a brief description and this is my recollection of what she said, so I take responsibility for how it is written here:

Determine what supplement it is you want to take that you are sensitive too but know that if you could take it it would make you healthier…(for some of us this will be a good number of supplements while we are still healing.)

Take the bottle of supplements and hold it in your hand for 15 minutes while concentrating on it’s contents for a week.

Then the next week open the bottle and hold it and concentrate.

The next week put the open bottle under your nose and breathe it while concentrating.

Then the next week make a solution with the supplement (doesn’t have to be exact in any way—crush up pill/open capsule and put in small amount of water or if it’s a liquid just use the liquid) put a Q-tip in the solution and put it under your tongue. Do that for a week.

Next week a bit more of the solution under your tongue…

Slowly, slowly work up week by week with a wee bit more each week—TAKE YOUR TIME there is never reason to rush…you want this to work. Of course you can start taking small amounts and swallowing as you progress.

This is, clearly, a desensitization process…it works.

If you feel so inspired give it a try…

I guess if it were me, I would start with things like probiotics and digestive enzymes, a good complex whole food multi-vitamin, fish oil, magnesium, vitamin c, mineral.

That’s a good place to start…don’t worry if it takes months to work your way up…
My friend says it can take 6 months to get to a good supplement regimen if you’re sensitive, I imagine it could even take more depending how many things your need for your foundational regimen. In any case she generally only sees complete healing once people can take supplements.(of course there are always exceptions to every rule.)

I just know how much supplements have helped me and hope that these instructions can help someone.

Note: most of you reading this blog may not realize just how crippled some people get during the withdrawal process. It is for those people that these instructions are made for. Generally people who respond negatively to supplements have cold turkeyed, usually more than once and their bodies are ravaged. It’s hard to comprehend some of the suffering some of these people go through.