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I am not sure what I think of your comment, but I think it at least deserves discussion. I have used said supplements before. In fact, I have a close friend wh

I am not sure what I think of your comment, but I think it at least deserves discussion. I have used said supplements before. In fact, I have a close friend who is very enamored with supplements and has about 50 different pill bottles in his medicine drawer. Out of curiosity, I once spent two weeks taking about 25 pills a day at his recommendation, and I'm afraid they did not do very much for me — at least that I could noticeably discern. The only supplement/herbal medicine I've had success with is St. Johns Wort, but I've been strongly discouraged from using it by a psychiatrist who emphatically emphasized that an SSRI is a much safer and more controllable way to achieve the same effects if need be. Magnesium deficiency is relatively common, though I wonder if that isn't more of a dietary issue.

lambdaba 5y ago
The experience you're describing doesn't disqualify supplements, you say you've taken "25 [random] pills", this is not what I'm advocating. There are various supplements, be it vitamins or plant extracts, that have definite medicinal effects. It should go without saying, really. For illustration, just go on pubmed and search for "nigella sativa" (black seed oil).
ericd 5y ago
I'm no expert on any of this, but I think the theory is that many of these don't have a single strong directional effect like most single-compound pharmaceuticals do, but that if your body is short on something, and that's causing an issue, it can grab something from the cocktail of compounds, and that can help. If it's not, then it doesn't.
- lambdaba 5y ago
  Many of the recommendations are vitamins and minerals, that are common deficiencies (magnesium is a notorious one, because of soil depletion etc.). It's reasonable to suspect that recovery from an illness finds one in a nutrient-depleted state.
  - ericd 5y ago
    Ah yeah, I was thinking more about the plant extracts. But your body is probably decent at filtering out the vitamins and minerals it doesn’t need (the water soluble ones, at least, be careful with fat soluble ones like vitamin D).
    - lambdaba 5y ago
      Obviously both vitamins and plant extracts need to be treated with care, after having done thorough research. Thankfully there is plenty of information available, and as I've said the HN crowd should be especially well equipped for this.
heavyset_go 5y ago
> The only supplement/herbal medicine I've had success with is St. Johns Wort, but I've been strongly discouraged from using it by a psychiatrist who emphatically emphasized that an SSRI is a much safer and more controllable way to achieve the same effects if need be. Yep. From Wikipedia[1]: > On average, lead levels in women taking St. John's wort are elevated about 20%. It's also a relatively dirty drug, with effects on typical monoamine and GABA reuptake, MAO-A and MAO-B inhibition and is an inhibitor or inducer at pretty much every relevant enzyme that breaks down common medications. I wouldn't want to become dependent on something like that because the withdrawal syndrome could be pretty nasty compared to something relatively more selective and understood like an SSRI. Even switching from SJW to something else might be tricky because of the enzyme induction. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypericum_perforatum#Antidepressant https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypericum_perforatum#Antidepre...
deleted 5y ago
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fragmede 5y ago
I mean, if you're basically fine, then the supplements, which have had studies run, aren't really going to do much for you unless you're really in tune with your body. For extreme cases of long covid, however, the right set of vitamin supplements are life saving. (I'm not exaggerating. eg https://www.cambridgeindependent.co.uk/news/long-covid-patient-in-cambridge-tells-how-simple-treatment-t-9203620/ https://www.cambridgeindependent.co.uk/news/long-covid-patie... ) There are absolutely scammers selling trash (there's someone selling stem cell injections as a cure) and fuck them. But don't ignore the very real problems that patients are experiencing, and that they're helped by simple remedies that aren't yet proven by science. Science will catch up, but people are suffering dying in the meanwhile.
- lambdaba 5y ago
  This is my stance exactly. It doesn't hurt to try, and you will learn a lot in the process. Also, some of these are proven by science, just remember there is a lot of science out there and doctors are only aware of a tiny fraction of it.
- sebmellen 5y ago
  Very interesting article, thank you for the link! When administered and monitored with some degree of medical oversight (as was the case for the article’s subject), I think such treatments are wonderful!

lambdaba 5y ago

The experience you're describing doesn't disqualify supplements, you say you've taken "25 [random] pills", this is not what I'm advocating. There are various supplements, be it vitamins or plant extracts, that have definite medicinal effects. It should go without saying, really. For illustration, just go on pubmed and search for "nigella sativa" (black seed oil).

ericd 5y ago

I'm no expert on any of this, but I think the theory is that many of these don't have a single strong directional effect like most single-compound pharmaceuticals do, but that if your body is short on something, and that's causing an issue, it can grab something from the cocktail of compounds, and that can help. If it's not, then it doesn't.

lambdaba 5y ago
Many of the recommendations are vitamins and minerals, that are common deficiencies (magnesium is a notorious one, because of soil depletion etc.). It's reasonable to suspect that recovery from an illness finds one in a nutrient-depleted state.
- ericd 5y ago
  Ah yeah, I was thinking more about the plant extracts. But your body is probably decent at filtering out the vitamins and minerals it doesn’t need (the water soluble ones, at least, be careful with fat soluble ones like vitamin D).
  - lambdaba 5y ago
    Obviously both vitamins and plant extracts need to be treated with care, after having done thorough research. Thankfully there is plenty of information available, and as I've said the HN crowd should be especially well equipped for this.

heavyset_go 5y ago

> The only supplement/herbal medicine I've had success with is St. Johns Wort, but I've been strongly discouraged from using it by a psychiatrist who emphatically emphasized that an SSRI is a much safer and more controllable way to achieve the same effects if need be. Yep. From Wikipedia[1]: > On average, lead levels in women taking St. John's wort are elevated about 20%. It's also a relatively dirty drug, with effects on typical monoamine and GABA reuptake, MAO-A and MAO-B inhibition and is an inhibitor or inducer at pretty much every relevant enzyme that breaks down common medications. I wouldn't want to become dependent on something like that because the withdrawal syndrome could be pretty nasty compared to something relatively more selective and understood like an SSRI. Even switching from SJW to something else might be tricky because of the enzyme induction. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypericum_perforatum#Antidepressant https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypericum_perforatum#Antidepre...

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

fragmede 5y ago

I mean, if you're basically fine, then the supplements, which have had studies run, aren't really going to do much for you unless you're really in tune with your body. For extreme cases of long covid, however, the right set of vitamin supplements are life saving. (I'm not exaggerating. eg https://www.cambridgeindependent.co.uk/news/long-covid-patient-in-cambridge-tells-how-simple-treatment-t-9203620/ https://www.cambridgeindependent.co.uk/news/long-covid-patie... ) There are absolutely scammers selling trash (there's someone selling stem cell injections as a cure) and fuck them. But don't ignore the very real problems that patients are experiencing, and that they're helped by simple remedies that aren't yet proven by science. Science will catch up, but people are suffering dying in the meanwhile.

lambdaba 5y ago
This is my stance exactly. It doesn't hurt to try, and you will learn a lot in the process. Also, some of these are proven by science, just remember there is a lot of science out there and doctors are only aware of a tiny fraction of it.
sebmellen 5y ago
Very interesting article, thank you for the link! When administered and monitored with some degree of medical oversight (as was the case for the article’s subject), I think such treatments are wonderful!