Depression Cure: Methylene Blue to the Rescue!
DO NOT USE METHYLENE BLUE IF YOU HAVE A G6PD DEFICIENCY, A LIVER, OR A KIDNEY DISORDER. DO NOT USE METHYLENE BLUE IF YOU ARE PREGNANT OR LACTATING.
I’ve written a lot about Methylene Blue and it’s role in treating COVID-19, but few people are aware of how to use this over-the-counter pharmaceutical as a depression treatment.
Whenever I coach someone with depression, I recommend the use of Mucuna pruriens. Depression is often alleviated dramatically by adding this harmless bean into the diet or into a daily supplement regime. But if Mucuna pruriens (as part of a protocol that I describe in detail in THIS ARTICLE) doesn’t completely relieve your depression, consider using Methylene Blue as a substitute for 5-HTP and St. John’s Wort.
Studies have demonstrated that the first pharmaceutical ever developed in modern medicine, Methylene Blue, is an extremely effective antidepressant. You don’t know about it because this affordable substance would put the mental health industry out of business. Methylene Blue is an MAOI, so I don't recommend taking it with 5-HTP or St. John's Wort. Replace the 5-HTP and St. John’s Wort in the Eat Your Bean, Mucuna Pruriens Protocol if you decide to give this over-the-counter antidepressant medication a try. To use 5-HTP and St. John's Wort with Methylene Blue AT THE SAME TIME could be dangerous because both increase serotonin levels in the brain.
Methylene Blue is a medicinal product that has a broad medicinal action. I talked about it in depth in a discussion about how to use this medicine for COVID-19, Complicated COVID, and even Long-Haul COVID. But rather than delve into the various ways you could use Methylene Blue to save yourself in the event of an Ebola infection or perhaps to save your Grandmother if she is dying of Alzheimer’s Disease, I will instead stay focused on how to use Methylene Blue for depression.
To really understand how Methylene Blue works in the body, you have to understand Nitric Oxide. Nitric Oxide dilates blood vessels, so this toxic free radical has been given a lot of praise that it never deserved. People have been counselled to use Nitric Oxide to lower blood pressure or to treat Erectile Dysfunction (Viagra, after all, promotes the production of high levels of Nitric Oxide, which is how it works to promote erections...as well as priapism and it’s unfortunate but occasional side effect: penile gangrene). The body produces Nitric Oxide naturally in response to infection or extreme stress. As a free radical, it works a little bit like Chlorine Dioxide in the body and the study of Nitric Oxide falls under the category of Reactive Oxygen Species Medicine. But while Nitric Oxide works like a first line immune defense by releasing singlet oxygen atoms to kill microbes, it is very different from Chlorine Dioxide in that Nitric Oxide behaves more like Carbon Monoxide or Cyanide in the body. Chlorine Dioxide does NOT have this effect on the body even though it works by releasing singlet oxygen atoms to kill pathogens also. People who have chronically elevated levels of Nitric Oxide also age much more quickly because their cells are not able to use oxygen anymore. As a result, these people tend to develop chronic inflammation. Many studies have demonstrated the connection between inflammation and depression. Some experts even claim that depression is inflammation and that inflammation begets depression. Nitric Oxide is a molecule that causes a lot of that inflammation in the body. Reducing inflammation in the brain, gut, and nerves by reducing Nitric Oxide levels often relieves depression. So this is one reasons why Methylene Blue is such a good choice for as an at-home depression treatment.
One of the reasons why Methylene Blue works to treat depression is because Nitric Oxide is a signaling molecule that modulates Norepinephrine, Serotonin, Dopamine, Glutamate, and all the other neurotransmitters that are involved in depression. High levels of Nitric Oxide cause imbalances in the neurotransmitters that affect depression. Additionally, Nitric Oxide causes inflammation in the brain and other areas of the body. But Methylene Blue reduces inflammation. In fact, studies in animals have shown that Methylene Blue reduces microglia activation and inflammation as well as pro-inflammatory cytokines while increasing anti-inflammatory cytokines
Methylene Blue Dosage for Depression and for Bipolar Depression:
A study that was completed in 1986 by G. J. Naylor treated Bipolar Depression patients with either 15 mg/day or 300 mg/day of Methylene Blue. The patients who took 300 mg/day for one year experienced significantly less depression than the patients who took 15 mg/day.Below is a dosing chart for Methylene Blue:
Dosing for Methylene Blue 1% Solution
- To calculate the correct dose for a 2% solution, divide the number of drops per day by 2.
- To calculate the correct dose for a 0.1% solution, multiply the number of drops per day by 10.
Body Weight: 50 kg/110 lbs: 1 mg/kg dose = 50 mg/day or 100 drops/day
Body Weight: 55 kg/121 lbs: 1 mg/kg dose = 55 mg/day or 110 drops/day
Body Weight: 60 kg/132 lbs: 1 mg/kg dose = 60 mg/day or 120 drops/day
Body Weight: 65 kg/143 lbs: 1 mg/kg dose = 65 mg/day or 130 drops/day
Body Weight: 70 kg/154 lbs: 1 mg/kg dose = 70 mg/day or 140 drops/day
Body Weight: 75 kg/165 lbs: 1 mg/kg dose = 75 mg/day or 150 drops/day
Body Weight: 80 kg/176 lbs: 1 mg/kg dose = 80 mg/day or 160 drops
Body Weight: 85 kg/187 lbs: 1 mg/kg dose = 85 mg/day or 170 drops/day
Body Weight: 90 kg/198 lbs: 1 mg/kg dose = 90 mg/day or 180 drops/day
Body Weight: 95 kg/209 lbs: 1 mg/kg dose = 95 mg/day or 190 drops
Body Weight: 100 kg/220 lbs: 1 mg/kg dose = 100 mg/day or 200 drops/day
NOTE: The maximum safe dose of Methylene Blue per day is up to 30 mg/kg per day according to the patient’s weight.
WARNING: Methylene Blue and Serotonin Syndrome:
The FDA warns patients that Serotonin Syndrome can occur if patients take Methylene Blue with other SSRIs. And we recommend that patients avoid taking 5-HTP and St. John’s Wort at the same time that they are taking Methylene Blue. Most patients experience no undesireable side effects from taking Mucuna pruriens along with vitamin B6, zinc, magnesium, and other nutritional support supplements with Methylene Blue, however. Also note that Methylene Blue can be used to cure Urinary Tract Infection (UTI), but that it also turns the pee blue and it can cause bladder irritation. If you have kidney disease, avoid using Methylene Blue without talking with your doctor first.
Resources:
• Naylor, G. J. and Connelly, S. P. (1987). A controlled trial of methylene blue in severe depressive illness. Retrieved October 13, 2021 from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3555627/
• Dhir, A., Kulkarni, S. K. (2011). Nitric oxide and major depression. Retrieved October 13, 2021 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21335097/
• Sloan, M. (2021). The Ultimate Guide to Methylene Blue: Remarkable Hope for Depression, COVID, AIDS, & other Viruses, Alzheimer’s, Autism, Cancer, Heart Disease, Cognitive Enhancement, Pain, & the Great Transition to Metabolic Medicine (Targeting Mitochondrial Dysfunction). Endall Disease Publishing.
• Clinical Trials (2008). Methylene Blue for Cognitive Dysfunction in Bipolar Disorder. Retrieved October 13, 2021 from https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00214877
• Ghasemi, M. (2019): Nitric Oxide: Antidepressant mechanisms and inflammation. Retrieved October 13, 2021 from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31378250/
• Bipolar Network News (2016). Methylene Blue May Help Bipolar Depression. Retrieved October 13, 2021 from http://bipolarnews.org/?tag=methylene-blue
