what ones would you recommend?

[kellie39]

hi
ive never had anxiety before and for the last 4 weeks i have had such a horrible time with it. im not on any meds but im looking for any vitamins or minerals ect that might help me.

ive just brought a probiotic (hoping that will help with my bowels as they arent right)
omega 3,6 and 9

im thinking about magnesium?

what would you recommend ?

thanks
xx

[sandie]

TerryIsMyName is a great information source when it comes to supplements. I have no doubt that when he sees this post he will provide you with a good answer.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Thanks Sandie, I really appreciate that. :flowers:

Some useful magnesium threads for you:

http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthr...ight=magnesium
http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthr...ight=magnesium
http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthr...ight=magnesium
http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthr...ight=magnesium
http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthr...38#post1452038

Some useful supplement info from our resident vitamin queen, SADNoMore:

http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=173433

This vitamin D thread may be useful to you:

http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=174070

In the above 2 threads there is a load of other stuff discussed including magnesium. The stuff about serrrapeptase is more for inflamation and my asthma. There is some about vitamin k2 in the above 2 threads as well and this is worth reading if you plan on vitamin D supplementation.

Something you could look at is L-Tryptophan. This is the precursor of Serotonin, what SSRI's aim to reduce being used so quickly. Meds only aim to reduce use but they can't make any and for this your diet needs to have L-Tryptophan in. Since this is an amino acid it will be in much of what you eat but there is a problem because certain other amino acids such as Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAA) compete and win to make the L-Tryptophan be used in other areas, not the brain. You can get around this by supplementing L-Tryptophan on it's own (but don't take with meals with other aminos in for obvious reasons) or ensure you consume some carbs when you take on amino acids in your diet because carbs actually shift the balance back towards L-Tryptophan heading to the brain. If you look on Wiki for L-Tryptophan you will see a list of the foods it is in. There are better lists via Google, which I may have posted on one of those 2 threads above for SADNoMore.

Taurine is another amino acid that can help but it's also used in the rest of the body so it may be difficult to feel the benefit hence you would need to be increasing the dose until you feel a change. Taurine is a precursor to GABA, the neurotransmitter that calms us down hence is where the Benzo's work.

A natural one with some studies behind it is inositol. See NoPoet's sticky thread above for that. On the end I have posted a link to a website that has compiled the studies together so you can see what it can work for. It's also important to read it as well because it tells you how to consume 70% less to avoid the GI side effects of larger doses.

I think ashwaganda has some studies behind it too. This is a herb, an adaptogen like ginseng, so be careful to check against any medicines on Drugs.com's interaction check and against the herb itself on WebMD where it lists interactions. Other herbs I know that have some studies behind them are chamomile and gingko biloba combined. Chamomile is good anyway so worth trying and you can buy it as a tea or capsules but it has a very aquired taste so expect to need to sweeten it up with maybe some honey. Further study of these two herbs combined for mild anxiety has been recommended by NICE. Just be careful with ginko biloba as it has a major drug interaction warning against various antidepressants on Drugs.com.

Good move on probiotics. These will greatly help your whole GI, not just the gut. Healthy flora starts in your mouth and ends in the anus and for women it even leaves the anus and re-enters the vagina (hence the old fashioned remedy of yogurt for thrush). Have a look at TomsThought's thread a bit further down on this board where some studies have been posted about probiotics and prebiotics. Prebiotics are the soluble fibres found in some foods but a specific form of them in a supplement has been studied and shown useful with anxiety reduction. There are studies emerging in this area for mood too.

You might want to have a look at Oosh's "Fish Oils" thread about high strength Omega 3. If you have issues with your mood, this can really help. SADNoMore's thread above has an article at the top about this. There are studies out there but they are conflicting though. Let me know on this and I can direct you to some info on top of SADNoMore's article that may offer advice on ratio but I think I posted a link on the end of Oosh's thread to a good FAQ resource about this.

[kellie39]

thank you Terry :yesyes:

of to have a good read
xx

[MyNameIsTerry]

Here is the ashwagandha info, kellie:

http://examine.com/supplements/ashwagandha/

I have used >1000mg of Omega 3 EPA & DHA (each >1000g) and it has balanced my mood greatly. I have been having mood swings since starting my current med which at one point made me think I might be bipolar. 30 days after taking this stuff and my mood was stable. I still have lows but I just don't sink like before when I would be in tears walking the streets when on my daily walks.

I used transdermal magnesium. To be honest I haven't seen an effect on my anxiety yet but I suspect I need to use more. I have seen a lot of benefit on aches in my joints though and my sciatica-like issue. Others on here have said it helped them though and gave them good sleep.

I plan on trying chamomile, inositol and ashwaganda next to see if they help with my blips.

You might want to also take a look at curcumin which is found in turmeric. I've started looking at this recently as there are some studies behind it. BUT it has to be curcumin when you decide what mg level to pick it can't be that mg of turmeric as the curcumin in turmeric is very low (about 3-5% I think). Also, curcumin (whether on it's own or from turmeric) has been found to be pretty useless for anything other than GI issues unless you take something to enhance it. This is typically piperine found in black pepper. Piperine enhances curcumin by 2000% as seen in studies. Some supplement companies are now enhancing their products to get around this but their enhancement % is much lower than this. Piperine has an enhancement effect on meds too so if you choose this route please be careful to investigate any meds very carefully. Antidepressants use certain liver enzymes (they all have numbers) and piperine has been found to inhibit some of these which slows down how your liver elliminates any drugs that use those specific enzymes with the effect being the drug in your body working longer than it should. I'm still looking into this at the moment as it's a bit complicated.

Here is some info:

http://examine.com/supplements/Curcumin/

[ray.olsen]

Hey

I'm glad you ask this because most people don't realize that there are countless alternative approach out there in dealing with anxiety. I know how important medications are but we shouldn't really completely depend on them.

For natural remedies I've tried herbal teas like Kava, chamomile, and lavender. As for the supplements 5htp, fish oil, and endoca hemp oil are good nutritional supplements. I really like the hemp oil because its effect is instantaneous. These supplements have great anxiolytic properties that calms you down and can significantly reduce anxiety.

As for magnesium, it is also very recommendable. Now, just like on the medications I wouldn't suggest that you depend solely on these supplements. It would be better if you also try therapy, meditation, and exercise.

[kellie39]

thank you both for all your advice :yesyes:

i would rather take vitamins or something herbal than meds (i would if i had too).

im waiting to hear about CTB or counseling and ive also had hypnosis which i found helped to calm me down a bit.

xxxxxx