Hello,
I seem to have a tendency to fall into a nervous, easily irritable mood. 5htp works great in large doses(100+mg) to calm me down but it doesn't always work and is working less and less day by day(tolerance?). I am looking for supplements to try for a mood boosting/calming effects.
Usually what happens is i do something that would get me all irritated or frustrated/annoyed and the mood doesn't go away for a while(sometimes until the next morning). In this state i become extremely critical of everything. I start judging everybody nonstop in my mind and find a flaw in everything. On large doses of 5htp i feel euphoria, joy of simply being and tolerance to everything and most importantly i easily deal with any new stressor.
At first i thought it was a low-serotonin problem but lately i think it might be some nerve/hormone problem underlying it. Any ideas/tips/help?
Thanks!
I've been struggling with the same problems for decades. The danger is with the flare-ups. Flare-ups are like being poked hard by a sharp stick. Sometimes you can see the stick. Sometimes you can't see it until after the anger dies. Sometimes you never see the stick and just wonder what the hell happened.
If you need to unwind, try meditation. But you don't need to unwind; you need to rewire and you need it now.
The first thing to do is eat. Low blood sugar makes me stupid, shakey, and easier to set off. On the vegetarian days, if I don't eat every couple hours, I'm unstable. On days when I exercise, the problems are exacerbated and can persist into the next day. Even if you've never been tested as hypoglycemic, you might want to try eating smaller meals more often. Of course, make the meals or snacks as healthy as possible.
Eating correctly doesn't fix it entirely. For a few years, I tried different prescription meds: Paxil, Effexor, Remeron, Wellbutrin, Xanax. Even when they helped, the side effects were too severe. Same with St. John's Wort (Perika brand). I've experimented with thyroid hormones, but this didn't do much and I was afraid to increase the dose. What I've found recently is that two Jarrow Ashwagandha with two Now Foods Rhodiola in the morning is a great combo that so far works better than the previous drugs. No noticable negative side effects either. The postive mood stays level throughout the day and doesn't feel false. I am more stable, more awake, and more engaged in the world than I have for most of my adult life. This is no small thing. I'm not a marginal case.
It's always nice to back up the anecdotal claims with some research, right?
Anxiolytic-antidepressant activity of Withania somnifera glycowithanolides: an experimental study.
Bhattacharya SK, Bhattacharya A, Sairam K, Ghosal S.
Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India. salil@banaras.ernet.in
The roots of Withania somnifera (WS) are used extensively in Ayurveda, the classical Indian system of medicine, and WS is categorized as a rasayana, which are used to promote physical and mental health, to provide defence against disease and adverse environmental factors and to arrest the aging process. WS has been used to stabilize mood in patients with behavioural disturbances. The present study investigated the anxiolytic and antidepressant actions of the bioactive glycowithanolides (WSG), isolated from WS roots, in rats. WSG (20 and 50 mg/kg) was administered orally once daily for 5 days and the results were compared by those elicited by the benzodiazepine lorazepam (0.5 mg/kg, i.p.) for anxiolytic studies, and by the tricyclic anti-depressant, imipramine (10 mg/kg, i.p.), for the antidepressant investigations. Both these standard drugs were administered once, 30 min prior to the tests. WSG induced an anxiolytic effect, comparable to that produced by lorazepam, in the elevated plus-maze, social interaction and feeding latency in an unfamiliar environment, tests. Further, both WSG and lorazepam, reduced rat brain levels of tribulin, an endocoid marker of clinical anxiety, when the levels were increased following administration of the anxiogenic agent, pentylenetetrazole. WSG also exhibited an antidepressant effect, comparable with that induced by imipramine, in the forced swim-induced 'behavioural despair' and 'learned helplessness' tests. The investigations support the use of WS as a mood stabilizer in clinical conditions of anxiety and depression in Ayurveda.
Adaptogenic activity of Withania somnifera: an experimental study using a rat model of chronic stress
BHATTACHARYA S. K. (1) ; MURUGANANDAM A. V. (2) ;
(1) Department of Pharmacology, Postgraduate Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Calcutta University, 244 B Acharya J.C. Bose Road, Calcutta 700 020, INDE
(2) Research Division, Indian Herbs Ltd., Shardanagar Saharanpur 247 001, INDE
Withania somnifera (WS) Dunal is classified in Ayurveda, the ancient Hindu system of medicine, as a rasayana, a group of plant-derived drugs reputed to promote physical and mental health, augment resistance of the body against disease and diverse adverse environmental factors, revitalise the body in debilitated conditions and increase longevity. These attributes are remarkably similar to the properties ascribed to adaptogens like Panax ginseng (PG) in contemporary medicine. As such, the adaptogenic activity of a standardised extract of WS roots was investigated against a rat model of chronic stress (CS). The stress procedure was mild, unpredictable footshock, administered once daily for 21 days to adult male Wistar rats. CS induced significant hyperglycaemia, glucose intolerance, increase in plasma corticosterone levels, gastric ulcerations, male sexual dysfunction, cognitive deficits, immunosuppression and mental depression. These CS induced perturbations were attenuated by WS (25 and 50 mg/kg po) and by PG (100 mg/kg po), administered I h before footshock for 21 days. The results indicate that WS, like PG, has significant antistress adaptogenic activity, confirming the clinical use of the plant in Ayurveda.
A Pilot Study of Rhodiola rosea (Rhodax®) for Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
Alexander Bystritsky, M.D.
Department of Psychiatry, University of California, Los Angeles, CA.
Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA.
Lauren Kerwin, B.A.
Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA.
Jamie D. Feusner, M.D.
Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA.
ABSTRACT
Background: Rhodiola rosea is an herbal supplement that many in the general population in Russia and elsewhere in the world have used for decades to alleviate everyday anxiety, depression, and insomnia. Whether R. rosea is effective in reducing similar symptoms in clinical samples is unknown. The goal of this pilot study was to evaluate whether R. rosea is effective in reducing symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).
Method: Ten (10) participants with a DSM-IV diagnosis of GAD, recruited from the UCLA Anxiety Disorders Program and between the ages of 34 and 55, were enrolled in this study from November 2005 to May 2006. Participants received a total daily dose of 340 mg of R. rosea extract for 10 weeks. Assessments included the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HARS), the Four-Dimensional Anxiety and Depression Scale, and the Clinical Global Impressions of Severity/Improvement Scale.
Results: Individuals treated with R. rosea showed significant decreases in mean HARS scores at endpoint (t = 3.27, p = 0.01). Adverse events were generally mild or moderate in severity, the most common being dizziness and dry mouth.
Conclusions: Significant improvement in GAD symptoms was found with R. rosea, with a reduction in HARS scores similar to that found in clinical trials. These preliminary findings warrant further exploration of treatment with R. rosea in clinical samples.
Clinical trial of Rhodiola rosea L. extract SHR-5 in the treatment of mild to moderate depression
Authors: V. Darbinyan a; G. Aslanyan b; E. Amroyan b; E. Gabrielyan b; C. Malmstroumlm c; A. Panossian d
Affiliations: a Department of Neurology, Armenian State Medical University, Yerevan, Armenia
b Scientific Centre of Drug and Medical Technology Expertise, Yerevan, Armenia
c The PBM Clinic, Institute of Health Competence, Stockholm, Sweden
d Swedish Herbal Institute Research &Development, Aringskloster, Sweden
Abstract
The objective of this study was to assess the efficacy and safety of standardized extract SHR-5 of rhizomes of Rhodiola rosea L. in patients suffering from a current episode of mild/moderate depression. The phase III clinical trial was carried out as a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study with parallel groups over 6 weeks. Participants, males and females aged 18-70 years, were selected according to DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for depression, the severity of which was determined by scores gained in Beck Depression Inventory and Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAMD) questionnaires. Patients with initial HAMD scores between 21 and 31 were randomized into three groups, one of which (group A: 31 patients) received two tablets daily of SHR-5 (340 mg/day), a second (group B: 29 patients) received two tablets twice per day of SHR-5 (680 mg/day), and a third (group C: 29 patients) received two placebo tablets daily. The efficacy of SHR-5 extract with respect to depressive complaints was assessed on days 0 and 42 of the study period from total and specific subgroup HAMD scores. For individuals in groups A and B, overall depression, together with insomnia, emotional instability and somatization, but not self-esteem, improved significantly following medication, whilst the placebo group did not show such improvements. No serious side-effects were reported in any of the groups A-C. It is concluded that the standardized extract SHR-5 shows anti-depressive potency in patients with mild to moderate depression when administered in dosages of either 340 or 680 mg/day over a 6-week period.
Edited by NarrativiumX, 30 August 2008 - 05:32 AM.
