Q. My son is bi-polar who drinks heavily. I have heard that herbal medecine can help bi polar patients. I am trying to help him.
I have the following list of alternative medicine

Morning
1000 mg L-Tyrosine
500 mg of L-Glutamine
500 mg of choline and inositol
Natures Life soft gelatin mutliple vitamin (it digest better than pills and has extra vitamins. This provides the nutrients that amino acids needto work)

Evening
500 - 1000 mg of L-Taurine
500 mg GABA (if a little hyper can take 1000-2000 mg)
1000 mg of L-tryptophan (doctor's perscription needed)
Natures Life soft gelatin multiple vitamin
500 mg PHenylalaline to boost mood

What do you think about this list? Can he take this alternative herbs with his regular perscription pills?

A. Some of the supplements that you mention are not available/legal everywhere. I assume you are living in the US where they are easy to get a hold of, and that you know the risks of each. Some of these can cause liver damage, a real concern when your son is a heavy drinker.

Before taking any supplements together with his regular prescription pills, you need to check for interactions. Please refer to my archived column here for some tips:

Researching Drug/Herb Interactions

In addition the the supplements that you have listed, I wold consider:

- omega 3 fatty acids (either flax oil or fish oil)
- a vitamin B complex (either daily or when stressed.
You have to be careful of taking individual vitamin B's, for example B6 or B12 alone.)
- magnesium/calcium supplement (good at bedtime)
- iron, copper, zinc

Sunshine and exercise are also important for mood regulation.
Exercise is great for depression or for anxiety.

Good luck!

Pam