After several months of issues (well, I've had major depressive episodes and insomnia for years), I wanted to share that b-complex vitamins (strong dose), magnesium (chelate is best), and a bit of vitamin D3 works very well.

I have been trying different levels of vitamin D3 to help the insomnia periods. I have fourteen Amalgam fillings and type 1b diabetes (female), and the insomnia and diabetes developed side-by-side after my first amalgams. (I have future plans of replacement as my income allows). It's always been a mystery to me how to ease and stop the insomnia and distress that are a part of my seasonal life. The past two weeks, I have had intermittent bouts of helplessness and illogical crying, especially with blood Sugar swings.

I've been on:
60 mcg / 2400 iu vitamin D3
300 mg magnesium
500 mg vitamin C
Eltroxin/levythyroxin
20 mg Citralopam (SSRI / Anti Anxiety / antidepressive)
and fish oil

every day for a while. I was getting the mood swings reguardless.
I know it sounds out of the blue, but I was blubbering in prayer and complaint to God last week, and I felt like He simply answered, 'Go take a magnesium and B-complex'. It didn't seem logical to me, and I resisted a bit, because I have experienced that taking the B-complex alone sends my blood Sugar high for several hours. I have been completely unable to use them in the past.

But.. I decided to try and see if what I felt the Holy Spirit poked me to do in prayer was more than my imagination. I took one of the 300mg magnesium tablets and a b-complex besides, and yes, the crying spell lifted within 10-20 minutes. I have tested it several times over the past week, and yes, it works. The weirdest thing is that combining the b-complex and magnesium does not send my blood Sugar between 9-10 (180-210) for several hours, but in fact the combination does not raise it.

I am testing currently with evening fasting to see what effect the b-complex + magnesium does indeed have on blood glucose. The first night, my blood sugar stayed between 4.8 and 3.3. I'm looking forewards to doing another test.. but I will report, it's a long haul to fast for half a day!

Currently I find this works for me:
breakfast - normal vitamins +
1 b-complex
150 mg magnesium chelate
dinner - antidepressive +
1 b-complex
150 mg magnesium chelate

I have been through pubmed (research report repository online) and read that the combination of 5-htp (herbal alternative to L-tryptophan. 500 mg l-tryptofan is reportedly equal to 100 mg of 5-htp), magnesium and melatonin is effective against insomnia in difficult (clinical) cases. The thing about using 5-htp is that it is converted to seretonin and melatonin in the body, and on an SSRI/antidepressant, a person can risk seretonin syndrome - a toxic condition where the body has too much seretonin, and in a worst-case senario it can lead to death. So.. definately watch out what combination of things you take!

If you're dealing with bi-polar disorder/manic depressive states, you might want to look into a multivitamin that has had high success rates in helping lower or eliminate the symptoms of the condition. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2G6dWIvxlhw
(impressive story, five parts, use the links at the end of the video to watch through all the parts, 1 hour long)

My mom's experiences (bi-polar, manic depressive):
On vitamin D, 5,000 iu in the winter == summer mania/excessive energy
On vitamin D 3,000 iu + b-complex and 250 mg magnesium == slightly calmer, more desire to be out and around people/less isolated

My sister's experiences (severe anxiety disorder)
Vitamin D3 2,000 iu + b-complex and 500 mg magnesium == less anxiety attacks, a bit more calm

My mom is interested in trying the True Hope em-power plus multivitamin (she uses similar amounts of money on nearly the same formulations each on their own).

Personally I feel that people need to be patient and personal with supplements and treatment, and to be persistent and work with their doctor. Supplements and diet help a LOT, but usually a balance is best! Please don't go off the deep end and suddenly stop pharmaceutical treatment by putting your eggs all in the one basket of supplements! It can be dangerous. Go gentle, one day at a time.

God bless you and renew your spirit, mind, body and faith-!