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Naturopath in Edmonton - Mental Health & Mood

Our Naturopaths often effectively improve mood: anxiety & depression


Testing we use to improve mood:

Hormone Testing

Thyroid Testing

Vitamin & Mineral Testing

Neurotransmitter testing


Naturopaths can treat mental health issues with:

Herbs

Vitamins

Supplements

IV therapy


Many of our mental health treatments can work alongside medications. 


We perform IV Therapy in-house at our Edmonton Naturopath Clinic and in our experience IV Therapy treatments can often give a rapid and robust effect for numerous mood issues. 

happy woman that came from trumed naturopath clinic in edmonton

Naturopathic Mental Health Treatments

Testing


Our Naturopathic Doctors use hormone testing to get to the root of mood issues.


As part of our hormone testing we focus primarily on male hormones (androgens) and thyroid hormone. 


Male Hormones: DHEA is a sex hormone that comes out of the adrenal glands primarily. Levels usually peak around age 25 and decline progressively thereafter. DHEA is metabolized in part to Testosterone and Estrogen, so issues in DHEA can result in issues in down-stream hormones as well. Low DHEA or Testosterone is a common cause of low mood and low libido our Naturopathic Doctors see in adults. Low DHEA can be a consequence of hypoadrenalism or adrenal fatigue. Our Naturopaths sometimes refer for pregnenolone as an upstream pre-cursor for both DHEA and Testosterone which is especially helpful for it's calming effects (GABAergic effects)  

In clinical trials, DHEA replacement therapy improves wellbring, depression, anxiety, energy and sexuality in adults with low levels. Similarly, Testosterone replacement can improve energy, motivation, sense of wellbeing, sex drive and muscle mass. So our Naturopaths always screen male hormones in adults with both anxiety and depression especially in patients that have not responded to standard treatments like anti-depressant therapies.

Thyroid Hormone: Depression is a hallmark symptom of hypothyroidism. In the typical patient complaining of fatigue or depression, the presence of additional symptoms such as cold extremities, dry skin, hair loss, decreased mental concentration, poor memory, constipation, or menstrual irregularities increases the index of suspicion for hypothyroidism for our Naturopathic doctors. We screen all of our depression patients for hypothyroidism especially if they have some of the accessory hypothyroid symptoms mentioned. 

We run Free T3, Free T4 (thyroid hormone conversions) in addition to the standard TSH test to make sure that we can definitely rule in or rule out the impact of thyroid hormone on your mood. Our Naturopaths also screen for Iodine deficiency as well as other thyroid oriented nutrients like Vitamin A, zinc & selenium in addition to hypoadrenalism parameters like Cortisol. 


Nutrients: Our Naturopathic doctors always screen B12 levels in the blood. Depression is one of the reversible manifestations of vitamin B12 deficiency. We consider serum B12 levels less than 600 pg/ml potentially problematic for mood. B12 shots have proven to be one of the most dramatic treatments for some patients and this usually implies they will have an even better response to IV Vitamin Therapy. One possible explanation for the need to maintain high serum vitamin B12 level in some patients is a defect in the transport of vitamin B12 across the blood-brain barrier.


Iodine testing is something our Naturopathic doctors have found especially helpful in Edmonton. Iodine deficiency appears to be extremely prevalent in Alberta and identifying if it's low can be extremely helpful for fatigue and mood issues related to sluggish thyroid function.


If nutritional issues are identified our Naturopaths will frequently use IV Therapy to produce large serum spikes of Vitamins and Minerals to drive these nutrients across the blood brain barrier. 


Neurotransmitters: Our Naturopaths may also run neurotransmitter testing. We can test for Serotonin, GABA, Dopamine, Epinephrine, Norepinephrine, Glutamate & PEA with urinary neurotransmitter testing. We usually do neurotransmitter testing after we've ruled out overt hormonal or nutritional issues.


Edmonton Naturopathic Mental Health Neurotransmitter Testing 
Neurotransmitter Sample Report

IV Vitamins

IV Therapy can rapidly improve mood


Our Naturopaths have used IV vitamins for: Anxiety, Depression & Dysthymia, Post-partum depression, Insomnia, Bi-Polar, PMS-DD, Additions & Substance Abuse, Withdrawal, Anorexia & Bulimia recovery. 


Visit the TruMed IV therapy page


 We've have seen excellent results treating improving Mood with IV vitamins.

Key nutrients we use in our Mood IVs:  


Methylcobalamin


Vitamin B12 - This form acts like a methyl donor, crucial ingredient for serotonin & dopamine production. With IV Therapy we can easily administer 5-15mg of B12. 


Methylfolate


Methylated Folic acid that also acts as an important methyl donor in our Vitamin IV Therapies.


Magnesium


It's estimated that up to 50% of North Americans are magnesium deficient & magnesium deficiency causes Anxiety...Need we say more? 


Taurine 


An amino acid present in high amounts in the brain - a GABA receptor agonist for improving a sense of calm that we add to our IV treatments with magnesium.


Glycine 


An amino acid that's an inhibitory neurotransmitter that can also induce a sense of calm can be added to our IV therapy treatments for anxiety.


Tryptophan


L-Tryptophan is a precursor to serotonin and can be helpful in both depression and anxiety especially in conjunction with B6 and Magnesium in our mood IV treatments. 


NAD+


NAD+ is a powerhouse coenzyme made from Vitamin B3 that can restore energy but is an amazing addition to IV therapy treatments for withdrawal and substance abuse potentially through a serotonin mechanism. 

Natural Mood Treatments

If our Naturopaths identify an issue wth any of the above mentioned hormones then the treatment will be geared toward rectifying those hormones. If possible we try and encourage natural hormone production with herbs and nutrients, for instance we can use Vitamin K to increase Testosterone (if Vitamin K deficiency is present or suspected). However, if needed our Naturopaths may refer our patients for Bio-Identical hormones to collaborative health professionals in Edmonton for treatments like Desiccated Thyroid or Testosterone. 

Thyroid hormones have been used as an adjunct to antidepressant therapy since the late 1960s to accelerate clinical response to antidepressants (acceleration) and to potentiate clinical response in non-responders to antidepressants (augmentation) and our Naturopathic doctors have seen excellent mood enhancing effects in select patients with thyroid hormone augmentation.

There are numerous well studied herbal treatments for mood issues in addition to basic supportive nutraceuticals like Vitamin D, Magnesium and Fish Oil. Amino Acids like tryptophan, 5-hydroxytryptophan and tyrosine can be helpful for improving neurotransmitter levels especially if a deficiency is found on neurotransmitter testing.

As mentioned already, augmenting simple methyl-donating vitamins such B12 and Folate (as Methylcobalamin & Methyl-tetrahydrofolate) can be extremely helpful in some patients with anxiety & depression. The latter has been studied in addition to anti-depressants in treatment resistant depression.  These results are usually most profound and robust with intramuscular injections or IV Therapy treatments with IV Vitamins.


Experiencing Mood issues? 

TruMed Naturopaths want to help 
(780) 757-8378