Your opinion on herbs....

[money1]

If I had known about some of the anti-anxiety herbs before starting Paxil I would have given them a try.

My question (and some advice to everyone else):

What is your experience with those those people with anxiety taking Valerian, St. John's Wort or Kava?

I am taking 20 mg of Paxil and take the occasional Valerian Root extract to sleep.  It works great! No more Clonazepoam to sleep!!!!!

I was wondering if it advsisable to take Kava while on Paxil.

PS:  For evryone who gets stomach problems with their anxiety.  Drink Chamomile tea with some extra Chamomile extract drops in it.

Thanks!

[dbarber]

Personally, I found that B-vitamin supplements, combined with daily doses of Damiana (Nature's Sunshine brand) put an end to my recurrent, mental visions, of putting a gun to my head. Damiana acts as an aphrodesiac, in women. In men, it brings them back to normal. The traditional usage description describes it as being used to "cheer depressed men, with low self-esteem." Two capsules, daily was adequate (I'm a 280-lb man, have been a bull-rider, football lineman, and marine).  I did check with my family physician. He shied away from issuing a prescription for Prozac or Ritalin, and strongly recommended a daily multivitamin. I've taken the daily, time-release multivitamin (Nature's Sunshine) "Multiple Vitamins & Minerals." You also need to find a source of joy, of fellowship, in your life. For me, it is the people I work with, time with family, and adventures with other players on EverQuest, when Real Life friends are unavailable. Enjoying your journey, through life,  will bring you more joy than simply achieving goals.

[Jacket]

Anxiety and depression can be very difficult to deal with.  I personally have used an adaptogenic herbal supplement called Prime One to combat depression due to work pressures.  My wife has virtually eliminated the anxiety and panic attacks which used to plague her.  My stepson has bipolar disorder.  His MD psychiatrist has evaluated Prime One and has approved his continued use of the herbal product along with several prescribed drugs.  In the four months he has been taking Prime One regularly, his stress level has gone way down and his ability to cope has significantly improved.

[dean]

I was thinking the same thing.  I'm 23, and have used zoloft as a teen.  I haven't been taking any medication since then, but I'm seriously looking into natural alternatives, as I think my depression may be coming back.  :(

I've heard that St. Johns Wort works well for minor cases of depression as well as 5-HTP, which is supposed to be a precursor to seratonin.  I'm sure there are others, but these two seem to be the very popular.  After a little more research, if things seem ok, I plan to start taking some natural medicine, in hopes I won't have to go on prescrition drugs again.  I'll be curious to hear anybodies experiences with herbal medicine as well.

In hopes for the best
Dean

[Roger Gould, M.D.]

I have mixed views on herbs. I am all for Chamomile tea, but the others all have psychoactive drug components, and you are never certain of the quality or how much, so If I would take psychoactive drugs, I would take prescription drugs because they are safer, and always stay with the lowest dose possible to avoid side effects. Then you know what you are getting.