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667008 tn?1231126469

health supplments ??

Im curious for my daughter as she suffers from anxiety and says she only takes the horrable Xanix once a week or so to deal with panic attacks and wants to get off of that ****.
She cant take some stuff as she has had a kidney transplant but i know there are lots of supplment type stuff that may help her. if you have any in-put feel free to shoot me a private message as it will allert me to the response
Thank you in advance for any ideas
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667008 tn?1231126469
I have turned her on to this site so she will be able to cruz through the many posts, post herself and read the trials and tribulations of all that can relate. It's always nice to know your not the lone ranger when going through things
Thanks for all your input
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
There will always be pluses and negatives for anything we choose or choose not to do.  Quite often, 'natural supplements' can be more dangerous, less effective, and not worth the time and/or money.  While it is true pharm. companines will push their drugs, many of them have been around many years and have shown great long term success if used properly and some doctors, in my opinion, are not up to snuff when dealing with some of these, but overall, I am a big believer in medication as a tool COMBINED with talk therapy.  There is no 'magic pill' that will cure anyone of this; be it synthetic or 'natural.'  In my opinion, only through the journey of learning about it, will one start to feel some relief from it.

Whatever path anyone takes is really up to them, but I do not believe in anyway that any of these medications are evil; to include Xanax.  Many people get into trouble with them when they are abused and not taken as prescribed, however, there are many people that do it without any meds at all; it is your choice, BUT please keep an open mind to ALL possible avenues of treatment.  As I said before, I am a firm believer in these medications combined with talk therapy..study after study shows this to be the best outlet for a long term recovery.  Please keep us posted!
Helpful - 0
585414 tn?1288941302
  Actually I don't disagree with what you said. But let's address it factually. Opiates are highly addictive for everyone but some people need them. Anti-depressents can be overprescribed but suicidal ideations are a rare side effect. As for the potential of addiction with anti-depressents it depends on which one. Look through my posts. I'm well aware of the long term side effects of current antipsychotics. I live with them. I have found treatment for them. And I'm advocating for a new generation of antipsychotics that don't cause them.
   As for anti-depressents being overprescribed that's because medications are advertised like products. People think Prozac are "happy pills" when in reality they are to treat clinical depression. If a person has clinical depression an anti-depressent can be helpful. If they are depressed because of standard difficulties in life then it won't help them. Also if a person who has bipolar disorder then not only will an anti-depressent not help them, it will make them manic. That's common because people go to the emergency room with suicidal ideations. They talk about that but don't realize the days they feel "really happy" are when they are manic. They need a mood stabilizer.
    If psychiatric prescriptions are given to people who don't need them that would be too bad but realize something good is going on. More people are seeking help. More people who would have been previously institutionalized, which in past generations numbered in the tens of thousands, are living in the community. That's one good reason more people take medication. Its best if your daughter explain her symptoms to a psychiatrist to find out whether she has bipolar. Regardless of whether she takes medication (and that's tricky, they'd have to pick one that can't cause kidney toxicity which is an extremely rare problem with Lithium but if someone was waiting for a kidney transplant they couldn't take it, there are many other mood stabilizers though) a diagnosis could help her cope with her life and what's going on. Cyclothymia is mild bipolar and people with cyclothymia seem close to normal but it does affect them. She could have that.
  You could describe her symptoms but it would come second hand. Even if she's in a hospital perhaps she could post here with the aid of a laptop computer. Then we could explain things better to her and she could make a decision herself. You don't want psychiatrists to make decisions for her and that's understandable but the best decision is hers. Let her describe things herself and make a decision she believes is right. How about that?
Helpful - 0
667008 tn?1231126469
She is not pending a transplant she had it done 2 years ago in May and is doing well in that regard.
Her tolerance to drugs is like no Dr has seen her. transplant Dr in Riverside told me what he was having to give her to keep her sedated at the time when she was in ICU would kill 5 men my size.  
due to the fact that they had to go back in as the transplanted kidney was  backing up due to him not attaching a 2nd vein that was on her sisters donor kidney."normally they only need to attach the one dominate vein when there are two present but not in her case as it was not flowing properly but all is well now long story and lots of yrs off my life later.
its just that she was labeled a dope seeker, but it was due to the fact that since she was 14 and diagnosed with Lupus they put her on the strongest Opiates know to mankind during all of her chemo treatments and what not.  so her tolerance it through the roof . she weighs like 115# and got up and walked out of ICU and the staff where blown away they couldn't sedate her.
she believes she is bi-polar and I'm not sure i disagree with that. but the fact is about the only Dr i have any faith in is the one that did my girls surgery/trans plant's i have lost some good friends to the so called care of Dr's they just buried their mistakes, actually we barred them they didn't have the balls to go to the funeral hence by bitterness toward the ones that PRACTICE Medicine on us.  I understand that lots of medication help millions lead a productive life that they normally wouldnt be able to.
It also disturbs me when i see Dr's precribe anti-depressents like tic-tacks, that have lead to suicides that have also affected my life. i hate to see our society become comfortably numb. lets face it in the times ahead we are going to need Americans that had the metal like our Grand Parents to get down the road infront of us.
and thats the end of my Rant
thanks ;)
Helpful - 0
585414 tn?1288941302
Look I agree with you about the pharmaceutical industry but please don't refer to anti-anxiety medication as "dope". Anxiety disorder is real and needs treatment. There are natural remedies that can help. Its just there are concerns about interactions and if someone is waiting for a kidney transplant then its of extreme importance. Even if she is using natural remeedies they are still treating anxiety disorder. As for relaxation techniques and the like, they can be helpful for anxiety disorder but anxiety disorder is not just a learned behavior. It is biochemical. So as for an "addictive personality" if she didn't do recreational drugs or misuse the Xanax for that purpose she isn't an addict. Its best not to think in judgemental terms unless she's done something you are not posting about that could be classified in that way.
  There are medications that have long term kidney dangers. And if Xanax were one I'd tell you. I believe changing the Xanax to Klonipin is the best course and then when she recovers after the operation which will be highly stress inducing then she can think about going off anti-anxiety medication. You have to distinguish between the pharmaceutical industry and the idea of having a psychiatric disability itself. I recovered from schizoaffective disorder on my own terms using glycine, a glutamate antagonist, a new form of antipsychotic in Phase II FDA study. The results on me will be documented in a psychiatric journal. I am not in a study. So although I follow my psychiatrist's instructions and yes eventually this class of medication will be released by drug companies my recovery is independent of any motives you are concerned they have. I know why I recovered and how.
   But if you do want to learn about natural remedies for anxiety find out about them on any reputable site and post about the ones you think are worth trying in the expert forum as regarding kidney toxicity to get an accurate answer. Natural remedies have been discussed here within reason. Just don't abandon the whole medical system because of what you see as unethical in the pharmaceutical industry. They are developing a product. Psychiatrists are helping people to recover. And the concerns about ties between the two are being addressed but I've been under the care of many psychiatrists and they picked what they believed was the right medication not the most popular one.
Helpful - 0
667008 tn?1231126469
Thank you for the input we know shes going to have to run things by her Dr... problem is he is not receptive unless its approved by Pfizer the biggest dope dealer in the world due to supplements not being "regulated" seems they tend to think only properly synthesized chemicals are the cure all . i just want her off the dope and learn to deal with stress through proper thought process and relaxing techniques she has worked on this in the past and done well. but has a very addictive personality as well... good thing is she wants to get off all the stuff that isn't necessary to her kidney maintenance.
Thanks again for the kind words
naaaa i dint think I'm a good dad by any stretch but we all attempt to do what we can
Helpful - 0
585414 tn?1288941302
Normally I would give some suggestions but because of the issue of kidney function I would not. In fact, as regards health supplements, if you mean natural remedies, everything should be cleared with a doctor first. Even some things that sound harmless can have long term side effects and natural remedies are unregulated. Some are good. But all are an unknown quantity. I do take some natural remedies under the supervision of my psychiatrist but when I took cranberry pills as a diuretic with the reccomendation of my grandmother who was taking them for that reason, they gave me kidney stones and I only found out why after.
The problem with Xanax is its not meant for long term use and a person can easily build up a tolerance to it. Every benzodiazepene has that potential but it is far less with Klonopin which is safe for long term use. I've taken it for 10 years without any problem. I would just have the Xanax changed to another medication as all medications are FDA approved and with the issue of kidney toxicity if they could worsen that it would be listed as a side effect and they wouldn't be prescribed for her. Natural remedies are an unknown quantity and with what she's going through I'd say with the exception of some standard vitamin supplements (and even those clear with a doctor) one not worth risking unless a doctor or psychiatrist gives express permission and consent.  
  
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
There is most certainly a great benefit to healthy lifestyle for anxiety.  This includes regular exercise, good diet, avoid CATS (caffeine, alcohol, tobacco and sugar), beneficial rest.

As for herbal supplements it is always best to consult your doctor as herbs are powerful and there are interactions with other medication your daughter may be taking for her kidney or certain herbs she should never take.  The same goes for minerals and vitamins, it's always best to consult a doctor before engaging on that path.

I started taking magnesium and find it helps, but it's more a combination of different things together that seem to work best.  The healthy lifestyle I mentioned above is a great basis, then there's self help tapes/cd's, books, relaxation techniques from the internet, this forum, not taking ourselves seriously, changing routines, laughing as much as possible .... the list is endless.  The good thing is to read alot of these threads and you will come up with a few things for your daughter to try, some suggestions that do not involve meds or herbs even.

She is very lucky to have a father who cares and who is trying to help!

Good luck,
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