anyone try a Gaba Supplement for anxiety?

I tried them many different times and it helped very, very little with anxiety/panic. Didnt have a lasting effect. Wondering if anyone noticed the same thing. I still take it here and there and wondering if its even totally safe?? I also am on med.

Hello InfiniteSadness: Unfortunately I have no experience with Gaba supplements. Have you tried searching the internet for information with regard to this? I did a quick search. On one website it did state that people with unipolar or bipolar depression should not take Gaba. There can also be interactions with medications. So it would be important to consult your prescribing physician if you're on med's. There is, from what I read, only anecdotal evidence suggesting that Gaba is beneficial. So it seems to me that, if you've been using Gaba & you're on med's you're taking something of a risk for potentially little or no benefit.

Honestly, most supplements are useless with the exception of a cheap multivitamin. Anything that is expensive or weird is probably not worth it, especially if you are already on medication. Supplements are not regulated by the FDA and there is no governing agency to assure that you are actually getting what you are paying for. I would personally stick to medication as it is safer, potentially cheaper if you have insurance, and more likely to work.

I had a similar experience with GABA. I think what little it did for me was probably just a placebo effect.

This may be your experience but I don't think it's true for everybody. I personally get great benefit from supplements and can't tolerate psychotropics. I don't think there is evidence that psychotropics are safer than supplements or even safe at all but that's another topic.

To OP... I haven't tried GABA yet but I may... I'm just waiting on my doctor to give me a vitamin/mineral/supplement regimen. I do believe that you should always talk to your doctor before taking any supplements because you never know what they interact with or if they would even be a good fit for you.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

One thing that's important and never in a multivitamin (because it's a fat) is Omega 3 fat supplements. You brain is mainly made of such fats and you can imagine that it's important to have the right stuff in there!

For exactly what to take, I like Mark Hyman and Andrew Weil's web sites and books.

- vital

Omega 3 fatty acids are important for health. Good dietary sources of them, among others, include cold water oily fish, such as salmon, herring, mackerel, anchovies, and sardines.

An evidence-based health professional like a dietitian will be able to review your diet with you and (if indicated) suggest changes to it to ensure that your omega 3 fatty acid intake is adequate.

Buying pills from Hyman's or Weil's on-line "Shops" (or any of the many others out there) is not a good idea unless it is recommended by an evidence-based health professional.

The conjecture that "You brain is mainly made of such fats" is factually wrong. The brain (like all other organs) is a mixture of water, proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates and fats (more formally, lipids). The omega 3 fatty acid content of the brain is tiny on a mass basis.

The human brain is nearly 60% fat

Essential fatty acids and human brain. - PubMed - NCBI

Mark Hyman and Andrew Weil are both fine physicians, well worth listening to in my opinion. You can find out about them via google and/or wiki, etc.

- vital

I tried GABA before I was allowed benzo meds. Unfortunately it had no effect at all on my anxiety.

The only non-standard thing making any dent in my anxiety was kava and it was not a very huge effect, but I was thankful for what I could get.

Omega 3 has never affected me in any shape or form. It is sad because it is said to help autoimmunity.

Omega 3 doesn't seem to have an effect on me either but maybe it's subtle enough that I don't notice. I still eat a lot of fat with my Paleo diet / whole 30 to be sure I get a lot of omega 3 anyway.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It is possible that omega 3 does not affect me because I already have a fair omega 3 to 6 balance. I don't eat much meat and dairy products here actually do have omega 3 in the summer because all our cows are obliged to go outside by law. I choose wild before farmed fish.

Is it still safe to take a small amount everyday or should be taken less often?

None of the natural drugs work on me. GABA pills don't do anything, even melatonin has no effect. I think it depends on the severity of the problem. GABA might calm the average person down but it isn't enough for me.

I tried phenibut before Christmas which took the edge off somewhat but after boxing day I felt terrible. I don't know if this was a come down from the drug?

A friend who takes the pill form, takes it regularly to keep in her system for consistent results.

I did not see much effect from taking the pill form and my doc recommended the tea, GABA Oolong instead. I have found it not only help my anxiety and some of my PTSD symptoms more effectively but the effects seemed to last longer as well. The problem can be dosing though, depending on whom you get the tea from and if they are reputable and consistent in their process. In that regard the pills can be better.

Either way with both, it is a water soluble molecule that metabolizes quickly and has to taken more frequently for consistent results, if anxiety is a constant problem.

Yeah i still take it here and there but its incredibly mild, not super helpful. i just hope its Safe to take frequently and i still take med, but i dont want to be completely dependent on the med

Is Kava safe in a low dose? I read something bad about it, affecting the liver?

I started taking a bunch of supplements, including ones that contained GABA, based on the book The Mood Cure. Initially, I began to feel pretty good, and posted about it, but then I crashed and have had a rough time climbing back. I think it was a rebound episode from a stint with Viibryd, though I'm not sure. All I can say is that the supplements did not help me climb out of the hole I fell in.

In fact, I think I had a mild seratonin syndrome yesterday. I took my morning supplements Saturday morning, was feeling so crappy and despondent about doing so poorly that I decided I'd have to go back on Effexor, and so took about 20 mg late in the afternoon. I stopped all supplements at that point. The next morning I took 37.5 mg of Effexor (generic, not extended release). That night I couldn't sleep at all, don't know how I got through the night - it was horrible. I took another 37.5 mg that morning, and later in the afternoon I couldn't get off the couch, was having flu-like symptoms, intestinal distress, agitated, trembling hands, hot flashes that had a tingling skin sensation (thought it was a menopausal hot flash at first, but now think otherwise), poor concentration, chills, and elevated blood pressure. Almost went to the emergency room. Later in the afternoon I was able to nap and felt considerably better afterwards, but still not great.

I slept better for the first part of the night but woke up at my usual time, 3 or 4, and couldn't get back to sleep there-after.

My next appointment with a pdoc wasn't until the end of the month. I called yesterday to see if there was a cancellation. There's one tomorrow, but he's at a clinic over an hour away! I'm dreading the drive but need to get this sorted out.

I had tried and gone off of the Viibryd back in January, and in recent weeks, after I crashed a couple of times and had severe anxiety, I have had those tingly hot flashes which I attributed to menopause, but now I'm wondering. Has anyone else had that sensation?

Look of the bioavailability of gaba. It is absorbed extremely poorly and doesn't cross the blood brain barrier. Large doses are used in bodybuilding I've read for hopes it will increase HGH but it is essentially useless for anxiety due to the previous stated properties. I'm not doctor though do your own research but this is what I came up with.

I take GABA and Tryptophan at night to help me sleep and it works great if I am not in a full triggered episode. I never tried it during the day but some members mentioned they will take the tryptophan when they have anxiety and it helped.

I also take 3 grams of Omega-3 and L-Tyrosine daily and found that it does help.

dha is the best supplement I've ever taken for anxiety. it's a type of fish oil there are several different types and several science peer reviewed journals have done studies and confirmed it helps with anxiety and depression.

gotta get the high quality kind tho if you want to notice a real effect.

Doctors still don't know what any of psychiatric medications actually do so I like to try natural supplements, most of of the time there's no side effects with them either. research is key

GABA has done nothing for me. Neither has vit D, DHEA, Cortisol, melatonin or L-Methyfolate, some which I have taken for close to a year. I think that's enough of a fair chance. B-12 has had success though.