Glycine Therapy and Lithium

[Deb380]

Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum and I hope ILADVOCATE sees my post and responds. My daughter (21) was diagnosed mixed bipolar with psychotic features after a suicide attempt 7 months ago. She is currently on 750 Mg Depakote and 300 Mg Seroquel, however, her delusions are still persistent even though her moods seem somewhat stable. I had seen a post by ILADVOCATE about a study he participated in and recovered from schizoafffective disorder. I did read that psychotic symptoms in SD may persist and felt maybe this is what my daughter is.Maybe ILADVOCATE can tell me more about this and the antipsychotic he was on. I have read that glycine helps the MNDR(I may have these letters mixed up) receptors function better and may help psychosis. Where can I get more information about glycine therapy and will medicaid pay for it?

Also, I've been doing some research on lithium. There are studies that it helps promote cell growth in the grey areas of the brain including the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus and also inhibits glutamate which may be overactive. Also, I have read studies where there is shrinkage in the BP brain which could account for the symptoms. We go to the doc on Wednesday to check the results of the thyroid, liver before they start my daughter on lithium. Has lithium helped anyone here?

Well, this is a scarey disease and I am so glad I found this forum.

[Deb380]

Thank you both for responding. I've already bookmarked the page with Dr. Javitt's report. I will print his study and give it to the psychiatrist. However, I thought glycine was an amino acid. I'll go back and reread the study. Currently, do you have to be part of a study to get it?

Anyway, respond when you can.

[ILADVOCATE]

Yes well its important to understand glycine its still in Phase II FDA study. In the conventional study its given as an adjunct (additional) antipsychotic. I am the first person to recover with it as a primary (stand alone) antipsychotic. It is part of a class of antipsychotics called the NMDA receptor modulates. Its still an unknown quantity and a psychiatrist must supervise its usage. For more information on the study itself google "Dr. Javitt, glycine". As for known quantities there are of course a wide variety of available options as regards mood stabilizers. Here is a list:
http://www.psycheducation.org/depression/meds/moodstabilizers.htm

[paranoid_cataclysm]

What's interesting about the brain shrinkage is it also happens with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder or so I'm told and all three of those are clinically linked like close family members somehow.  I've talk to a few people here in PMs who said Lithium helped them greatly although they're some of the people who moved on but I'm sure some of the other people here have some lithium stories.  I know it's one of the best treatment choices for bipolar disorder but has the major downside of affecting the organs you mentioned in the long term your daughter is getting tested for.  I remember some of what ILADVOCATE has said about his glycine therapy but I'll let him tell you but I don't know the entire story and I feel it'd be rude anyway if I answered it for him when you're asking him.  Chances are he'll see this, he's good at keeping tabs on all the posts in this forum and the schizo forum that I know of, probably all the others too he's a part of.