Just a warning against self medicating with herbal drugs

[andrewm88]

Hi everyone again!
I just wanted to give everyone my personal experience with herbal remedies and send out some cautious warnings. Now first off im not saying that this is applicable to everyone but this is just my experience and take it as advice or throw it away as you please.
Ok, so its been about a month and a half since i have had anxiety and panic disorder, i was always against going on western medicine becuase of the horrible things i have herd about it. so i decided to go the way of herbal remedies. well i think that was the first mistake. in most cases these herbal supplements made me more anxious or just made me feel plain weird! Listed below:

St. Johns Wort- made me feel sick
5 HTP- made my heart race and gave me more anxiety
L-Theanine- didnt do much
Valerian- made me more anxious!

also i did my research and found out that alot of these herbal remedies are not 'pure' in the sense that depending on the brand you dont know what your getting. just because its herbal does not mean it cant mess you up! i would suggest if you are dead set on going the natural way that you go to a naturopathic doctor and let them deal with you, but deciding to take these supplements on your own accord is BAD NEWS.

what has helped that is in the way of vitamins!
B Complex 100mg
Omega 3 fatty acids
Magnesium
Calcium

im now about to embark on a journey of starting Pristiq - a SNRI as perscribed by my doctor, i hope it works and i wish you all the best in your battles with anxiety! feedback encouraged!

[andrewm88]

also! yoga and 30 mins of cardio a day helps alot too!! :) esp the yoga!

[andrewm88]

hey everyone, im glad this helped out and yes i too have spent way too much money on herbal supplements that i just threw out *sigh*- you live you learn right? and hey clamshell! i sent you a private msg in your inbox i hope you got it!- i take jamieson omega 3 capsules, its called Omega 3- Calm as it supports positive mood balance, you have to take 4 a day but i found it has helped!
:)

[erin626]

I agree. Valerian made me feel awful. I got so anxious from it one night I couldn't sleep until 7am bc I was up all night with anxiety and panic attacks. I bought st johns wort when I bought the valerian but I'm not taking it. Although kava kava was very calming. But it pretty just made me so sleepy that I just plain could get anxious bc I was so tired so that's not something that could be taken during the day for anxiety. I wish I wouldve gotten advice like this before I spent a whole bunch of money on those herbal supplements!

[calmshell]

hey andrew..

Thanks so much for your info on herbal remedies...i wondered about those and how really "natural" they were.. when you say that omega 3 has helped, do u take a pill of that, or just like in fish/nuts etc? Ok well have a good one, and also, i'm not sure if you even saw, (because I know I had 2 notes on my "home" page of my profile, and never saw them for a couple months..its such tiny writing!) but I left a response to your "anxiety cycle" post from Oct. 4...you may have actually seen it already..no problemo!! just thought i'd let you know because i never could find my "notes" at first on here!  (in the note i was just saying i left you a post/response under "anxiety cycle") Ok andrew take care..keep up smiles and have a clear and calm day, or evening which may be the case as well!!! Thx again for this post on supplements /herbal remedies

[mammo]

Hi.  It's good that you posted this, a lot of people thing "natural" or herbal" means they do not come with side effects, which is not true.  There's a lot more to this, and knowing what to take and with what can be confusing.  You do want to deal with someone who knows a lot about this stuff, and the "Alternative Therapies" forum is a good place to get valuable information.