[HALLIEBETH87]

Has any of ya'll ever tried natural remedies or supplements/herbs to deal with your anxiety? I might try Nutricalm. My chiropractor has a master herbalist who suggested it for help with my TMJ because I clench my teeth!

[Travelinglady]

No, but it sounds interesting. I am thinking it would be good to run anything like this by a pharmacist, though, just to make sure there won't be a problem. I know St. John's Wort shouldn't be taken along with antidepressants, for example.

[HALLIEBETH87]

These are the ingredients:

Three tablets of Nutri-Calm contains: C 1200 mg; B1, (Thiamin) 60 mg; B2 (Riboflavin) 60 mg; B6, 60 mg; BI2 100 mg; Folic Acid 400 mg; Biotin 300 mg; Niacinamide 120 mg; Calcium Pantothenate 240 mg; Choline Bitartrate 120 mg; Para-Aminobenzoic Acid (PABA) 120 mg; Inositol 60 mg;
Citrus Bioflavonoids 60 mg; Schizandra fruit 180 mg; Wheat Germ 120 mg; Bee Pollen I20 mg; Hops 60 mg; Valerian root 100 mg; Skullcap 80 mg.

[Calm]

I believe everything we need to heal is already here on earth. It just needs to be discovered and tested. I'm referring to things given to us by nature and not the pharmaceutical companies. Vampire bat venom and manuka honey from bees in New Zealand are just two that come to mind that have been proven to heal. I can attest to the Manuka honey as I've used it to heal sores. It works better than anything else I've tried. So, I do hope you find a natural source for helping with anxiety. Please pass on whatever info you get as I'd be very interested in knowing about it, too.

Healthy diet, regular exercise, regular sleep schedule I think are the best natural ways to cure depression and/or anxiety.

If you don't want to take SSRI's I think that 5htp fish oil stuff seems like a viable alternative. It has precursors to serotonin so is supposed to increase serotonin levels much like an SSRI. But I would try the diet/sleep/exercise thing first and add it if it that wasn't cutting it.

I'm sure the stuff you're talking about isn't bad for you or anything but but just remember that natural stuff can be harmful... I feel like some people think just because something occurs in nature it is okay to regularly take in concentrated pill form... especially the newer ones with no track record I would be extremely wary of. I think some of these super-natural type of people who take 15 untested-in-the-long-term supplements every day might just find themselves with liver or kidney damage one day (or maybe they are just wasting their hard-earned money)... you don't seem gung-ho about taking any and all supplements, that's just my unsolicited opinion on herbal supplements. At least prozac has had many clinical studies and has been in wide-spread use for 20+ years so it's known there are not bad long-term effects. Plus you can't discount the placebo effect for most of these supplements (but hey, nothing wrong with the placebo effect if you feel a bit better!).

I don't doubt there are good herbal supplements that are not harmful and are beneficial, though. But I don't trust anecdotal evidence that much either (these people already drank the cool aid and I don't trust their opinions necessarily). Plus I think healthy diet, healthy sleep habits and exercise will work better than any herbal supplement (but maybe you already do those things).

[PoorPrincess]

There is significant research regarding inositol and pharma GABA
for anxiety for calm. I participate on another forum wherein at least three persons are experiencing relief with same. We have on board an ace medical/science/chemistry researcher providing links to the studies and literature.

I did consult re: any possible serotonin action which might not be good with Cymbalta.
I learned from a couple of sources I trust that there is not a serotonergic action.

I happen to have just received this evening delivery of my first order of pharma gaba.
I could only afford to order one so I chose the pharma gaba. Others do inositol powder.

I'll keep you posted on how it's coming along. I just took my first dose.

[Travelinglady]

Good points. Many drugs come from natural things, but are just put in pill form and standardized by companies. And then the drug has to get government (FDA) approval. For example, lithium comes from a kind of salt.

And penicillin is a mold. But I wouldn't want to grow it in my house and scoop up a spoonful when I needed an antibiotic!

I am perturbed because I was using an herb pill for treating my chlolesterol problem, but the government cut down on the active ingredient allowed to be put in the herb company pills. Now I am unhappily on a statin drug.

So Pharma GABA is supposed to increase GABA in the brain... that's exactly what benzodiazepines do. Why not take xanax instead. It would probably be cheaper and guaranteed to work if you can get a script... I guess if you can't see a psych and/or a psych won't give you benzos that's another story...

[PoorPrincess]

Originally Posted by nowheretohide

So Pharma GABA is supposed to increase GABA in the brain... that's exactly what benzodiazepines do. Why not take xanax instead. It would probably be cheaper and guaranteed to work if you can get a script... I guess if you can't see a psych and/or a psych won't give you benzos that's another story...

Yes, you are right on all points, nowhere.
And right, haven't heard of any Rxs for Xanax in over a decade.
I'm amazed at those online with a Rx. Don't some of us wish.

Originally Posted by PoorPrincess

Yes, you are right on all points, nowhere.
And right, haven't heard of any Rxs for Xanax in over a decade.
I'm amazed at those online with a Rx. Don't some of us wish.

I realize some psychs are very concerned with giving out benzos as they are very addictive for people with anxiety problems, but they are still widely prescribed to those who need them... if you are seeing a psych and you feel you need them you might try talking to your psych about it... if they know you from treating you for a reasonable amount of time and know you're not the "addict" type and trust you will use them responsibly they might be inclined to give you a low dose.

I have bad social anxiety / panic attacks in social situations and I have had doctors give me low doses of xanax and ativan to use in stressful situations in the past, as recently as a year or two ago. I'm talking xanax .25's and ativan .5's (though not positive on the ativan dosage) but it's very helpful to take 2 of em before a necessary social event or when you're very stressed out. Maybe for generalized anxiety they might not be as easy to get though since it's not a matter of needing relief for particular social occasions... anyways I've had two psychs give them to me (one xanax, one ativan) in the last ten years during periods of particularly bad anxiety so not unheard of. I did have to ask point blank both times, however, and obviously they didn't get me large doses and tell me to go to town relieving my anxiety.

But point taken - I know it's not so easy to get unless you have a psych who trusts you.

[HALLIEBETH87]

I had a psych I saw for a few years and we tried different things for anxiety but when I got near crisis she prescribed klonopin for me. My next psych carried on that prescription....she was a total wack of a pdoc! but anyhow then when I was in hospital a few times they still allowed me to have it. But since I od on it last yr Im pretty sure my new pdoc or any in the clinic will give it to me again.

[Hellion]

There are various herbs that can help anxiety...I prefer tincture and tea form though as I think a lot of the capsules are rather bunk and have un-activated material in them that won't actually have the desired effect. for instance a capsule of simple dried up valarian root isn't really going to do much for anxiety, if its been extracted then perhaps but I find tinctures and teas to be the most useful...though some herbs are better brewed with warm not hot water or left sitting in cool water till oils are extracted.

Some I know can be helpful would be valarian, lavender, passionflower, chamomille, kava, hops and there's others, those I've listed vary in strength I know kava can be somewhat bad for the liver so certainly not recommend for people with liver issues and too much is dangerous.

Also just to discuss something that has been mentioned in this thread...one issue I have is without using something to reduce symptoms it can be essentially impossible to have a good diet, good sleep habits and get regular excercise even with herbs or meds to help symptoms that stuff is difficult. For instance I don't really eat unhealthy food as it grosses me out but due to anxiety/ptsd related IBS sort of issues a lot of times I can't eat enough or stuff doesn't seem to be getting digested effectively if I am able to force myself...so I end up eating healthy but not enough much of the time. As for good sleep habits again symptoms interfere with that some nights I really can't get to sleep or I keep waking up or with getting enough excercise sometimes the depression, exuastion from all the anxiety and not getting enough sleep or food combines to make 'regular' excercise of any sort very difficult but I do my best not to laze around too much...but some days I really do have to give myself a break and do just that. So sometimes I am stuck with needing either meds or some herbal remedy in order to attempt to eat right and sleep right....even though I don't get a ton of regular structured excercise I go for walks and don't drive so have to walk and take the bus to get around a lot of times so I do get a lot of walking in and what not.

Originally Posted by Hellion

Also just to discuss something that has been mentioned in this thread...one issue I have is without using something to reduce symptoms it can be essentially impossible to have a good diet, good sleep habits and get regular excercise even with herbs or meds to help symptoms that stuff is difficult. For instance I don't really eat unhealthy food as it grosses me out but due to anxiety/ptsd related IBS sort of issues a lot of times I can't eat enough or stuff doesn't seem to be getting digested effectively if I am able to force myself...so I end up eating healthy but not enough much of the time. As for good sleep habits again symptoms interfere with that some nights I really can't get to sleep or I keep waking up or with getting enough excercise sometimes the depression, exuastion from all the anxiety and not getting enough sleep or food combines to make 'regular' excercise of any sort very difficult but I do my best not to laze around too much...but some days I really do have to give myself a break and do just that. So sometimes I am stuck with needing either meds or some herbal remedy in order to attempt to eat right and sleep right....even though I don't get a ton of regular structured excercise I go for walks and don't drive so have to walk and take the bus to get around a lot of times so I do get a lot of walking in and what not.

Diet, exercise and healthy sleep patterns are still more effective than herbal remedies as a natural way of treating anxiety and depression. Exercise will also help you sleep.

[Hellion]

Originally Posted by nowheretohide

Diet, exercise and healthy sleep patterns are still more effective than herbal remedies as a natural way of treating anxiety and depression. Exercise will also help you sleep.

Perhaps, however how do you develop healthy diet, excercise and sleep patterns when you're symptoms interfere too much with developing those things?

Also though when I do get exercise, am eating healthy(well that is what I do just don't eat enough) and am doing alright with sleep I still suffer from symptoms of anxiety, depression and PTSD. So I suppose I don't feel that diet, exercise and healthy sleep patterns alone effectively treats those conditions of mine...still leaves me with symptoms that need treating.

But yeah I can be exhausted from getting more than enough physical activity and still have major difficulty getting enough sleep.

Sorry, I was feeling rather negative and a bit sassy at the time of that post. I know those three things are not the answer to everything. Sorry for the terse and semi-rude post.

In my earlier posts I guess I was trying to say that if you are looking for herbal remedies for anxiety and are not making an effort to exercise a little and eat healthy foods then it may be more beneficial to do those things than to try an herbal remedy. I acknowledge that sleep can surely be trickier since it's not a choice really if you're making the effort but have trouble sleeping.

If just think if you're looking for a natural way to relieve anxiety then diet and exercise should be the first line of defense, perhaps to be followed by herbal remedies if you are so inclined.

[venusss]

At least prozac has had many clinical studies and has been in wide-spread use for 20+ years so it's known there are not bad long-term effects.

20+ years? How about herbs tested for milenia? You can't really compare those.

There are various herbs that can help anxiety...I prefer tincture and tea form though as I think a lot of the capsules are rather bunk and have un-activated material in them that won't actually have the desired effect. for instance a capsule of simple dried up valarian root isn't really going to do much for anxiety, if its been extracted then perhaps but I find tinctures and teas to be the most useful...though some herbs are better brewed with warm not hot water or left sitting in cool water till oils are extracted.

tinctures are the best. some intedgrients are alcohol soluble...

also, if you crush the herbs to put them in capsules, exposure to light and air is going on... and you are losing a lot of indegrients this way.