Natural, Integrative, Functional Medicine Solutions for Bipolar Disorder (testing & investigation)

Hi, I'm Dr. Nicole Caine, Integrative mental health expert, and today you're going to learn about bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder, previously called manic depressive disorder, is a psychiatric condition characterized by mood swings that are reliable, cyclical and predictable. The mood swings go from depression all the way up to either mania or hypomania. There are four main types of bipolar disorder, bipolar disorder type 1, bipolar type 2, cyclothymia, and then a not otherwise specified type of bipolar disorder. The big difference are the mania and depressive episodes. So let's expand on these in a little bit more detail. Bipolar disorder type 1 is characterized by more severe mania and less severe depression. In fact, in bipolar disorder type 1, you can get the diagnosis even if you haven't had a depressive episode. The key feature is the mania. Mania is characterized by pressured speech, a lack of sleep. In fact, sometimes people will go day after day after day with no sleep. But when they're not sleeping, they're still energized. The mania can become so severe that some sufferers develop symptoms of psychosis, hallucinations and delusions that go away once the mania has resided. So as we're looking at bipolar type 1, the most problematic feature is the mania, which can become debilitating and frightening for the sufferer and their loved ones. Bipolar disorder type 2 is different from type 1 in that the depression is what predominates. The mania is much less extreme, and we call it hypomania. People with bipolar disorder type 2 tend to suffer from extreme depression, otherwise known as major depression. Hypomania in bipolar disorder type 2 differs from mania in that it is shorter, often under four days. The depressive episodes, on the other hand, can last from weeks to months. Cyclothymia is the third one, and this is defined as mood cycles that last for at least two years and they alternate back and forth similarly to bipolar disorder type 1 and type 2. However, the depression and the hypomania do not meet the full criteria for hypomania or major depression. So what causes bipolar disorder? There are many genetic, environmental, neurochemical factors that impact the development of bipolar disorder. In this section, I want to share with you the high yield differentials that should be considered when identifying the root cause of your symptoms of bipolar disorder. It's important to emphasize that this is not a complete or exhaustive list, but it will be extremely important for you to establish care with the highly trained, integrative bipolar disorder. And this is going to get you started. So let's start with brain changes in bipolar Disorder, we see changes in the frontal lobe, the amygdala, and the hippocampus of the brain. In particular, these changes differ depending on if the person is in a state of depression or in a state of mania. The frontal lobe acts as the brakes for the brain, and in depression we see more activity of the frontal lobe, which results in suppression or breaking of behaviors. The amygdala is the emotional center of the brain, and in depression, the amygdala is turned way down, so we feel depressed, a lack of motivation, lethargy, sadness. Contrastingly, in mania, the frontal lobe is turned way down, resulting in impulsivity, while the amygdala, on the other hand, is turned way up and the person experiences intense emotions like elation, paranoia, irritability and fear. The hippocampus is involved in memory. In bipolar disorder, we see changes in hippocampal tissue and this is why sometimes we see forgetfulness in mania and in depression. Brain scans give us information on your brain's health and level of activity during different mood states to identify the cause of your feelings and behaviors. The next section is genetics. We see increased risk of developing bipolar disorder if there's a first degree relation affected by bipolar disorder. Research has identified single nucleotide polymorphisms, or SNPs that are associated with an increased risk of developing bipolar disorder. Examples of these SNPs can be found in the genes CAC, NA1C, the ODZ4, and the NCAM SNPs. I typically recommend my clients do genetic testing and organic acid testing so that we can identify risk factors and create epigenetically tailored treatment plans. Neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters are cells that send chemical messages and drive your thought, emotions and behavior. The primary neurotransmitters that we want to consider in bipolar disorder are serotonin, dopamine, gaba, norepinephrine, and epinephrine. Your neurotransmitters are greatly impacted by your genetic makeup, environment, gut health, and even traumas. Whether these traumas are emotional or physical, pharmaceutical treatments aim to manipulate neurotransmitters in an attempt to regulate mood and behavior. Some educational direction to empower you may be looking at your neurotransmitter breakdown metabolites and combined this data with your amino acid function detoxification. Genetics. Epigenetic testing will help get to the bottom of what is actually neurochemically happening in your brain and body. I know this sounds incredibly overwhelming, but finding a physician who is trained in this functional Medicine approach will give you a different understanding of what's going on. And oftentimes it's about getting a new paradigm to get new results. So if you're feeling stuck, then this might be a direction for you to consider. The next section is toxicity. When referring to toxicity, the research has shown a link between different types of environmental chemicals and, and damage to our brains, organs, cells, and even DNA. Identifying the root cause of your symptoms must involve looking at environmental toxicity. There are examples of different toxins and the impact they can have on mental functioning. And let me share a few with you. Some of the top toxins that I see coming out when I do tests on my patients here in Arizona are metals and non metals. Non metals would be solvents, organophosphates, and other things that you might find in the environment. And so doing a test for all specifically can give you really important data in getting the answers that you're looking for. Not necessarily a toxin per se, but mold can release toxins that are damaging to the brain. And so if you live in an environment where mold is a problem, or if you've had mold exposures, doing an environmental toxicity test in conjunction with a mold test can be really important in getting you the answers that you're looking for. We actually have a course on bipolar disorder where we go over each of these things in quite a lot of extensive detail. There are videos and there's a beautiful booklet, and you can actually access it 247 from the convenience and privacy of your home. With the information that you're going to get in this bipolar course, you can start to identify what might be sticking out as relevant for you and take that information to your doctor so that you can get the support, integrative treatments, and answers that you need. You can get your life back. And don't believe me. Check out the testimonial videos on our website, our social media, and also we have a YouTube video where I interview Jared at bipolar disorder Victor. And I would love to hear your feedback on your journey after you take the course. I want to talk a little bit more about what you're going to get in the course in terms of specific testing. I talk about a huge battery of tests that you can order, but you don't want to do spray and pray testing. You want to order things that are specific to your needs. And so if you have symptoms of neurotransmitter imbalances, whether it's anxiety or depression or panic attacks, which are characteristic to bipolar disorder, then doing an epigenetic test is Key. So almost anybody that calls me that's in Arizona, that sees me as their clinician, I will order an OAT test. An OAT test is an extremely comprehensive urine test that assess the multivariable causes that will affect and maintain bipolar disorder. The OAT test will tell you how your body is reacting to your DNA in its environment. It achieves this by examining over 70 health markers and provides information on your mood regulating neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine, glutamate, gaba, norepinephrine and epinephrine. It tells you about oxidative stress levels which will impact brain functioning and brain chemistry. And it will give you information on mineral and vitamin levels which are all important in brain functioning. It also provides individualized data regarding your gut health and the test results will provide recommendations pertaining to diet. And so having a diet for bipolar disorder is going to be really helpful in you getting the answers that you're looking for. This speaks to optimal supplementation and dietary changes that impact your unique needs. So that it's not spray and pray testing and taking all of the supplements and feeling completely at your wit's end. So that's the number one test that I like to recommend. I also have listed in this course basic blood work that you should always make sure that your doctor is doing annually like a CBC and a cmp looking at your red blood cells, your liver, your kidneys. Ask them to check out your thyroid. And when you do thyroid, do the total thyroid, not just tsh. I have a whole blog that you can read about thyroid testing. Just type in thyroid in the search bar on my website, drnicolecane.com include an iron panel, fats, urinalysis, homocysteine, B vitamins, and also the genetic tests. And oftentimes your insurance will cover all of these tests. In the blog that goes with this video, I have tons of references and information where you can read more about the things that we're discussing today. And so just simply click on the link that's included in the notes and you can also find it by going to this blog@drnicolecane.com and searching bipolar disorder. It's been such a pleasure to talk with you today. And if you're struggling with bipolar disorder, if you just got a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, know that there doesn't have to be a period at the end of the sentence. There are things that you can do to get your life back. There are so many strategies that I've seen employed over the past decade that have helped people get control over their moods. I've often seen that people are able to use these strategies to reduce the side effects of their medications and often maintain or even reduce the dosages of their medications. You have more control and more power than you think. Again, this has been Dr. Nicole it's been such an honor to connect with you today. Click on the resources below and if you're interested in learning more about the bipolar class, the link is there and you could also learn about it by going to my website. Check out our testimonials and I'll be back next time with more information on bipolar disorder and how you can get your life back. Thank you so much. It.