9 replies to this topic

[orangish]

so nowadays i absolutely can't focus, and after attempting some theanine, and managing to get a full night's sleep, i thought to venture some rhodiola. now i'm not sure if the supplement either didn't help at all or exacerbated my symtpoms, but am wondering what a poor reaction to rhodiola is indicative of, i.e. what kind of symptoms does a terrible response shed light into?

[drmz]

How much rhodiola did you take and for how long ? Just one dose on one day ?

[orangish]

took it only for a day because of what i thought was an adverse reaction due to the rhodiola.
am currently on theanine, 5-htp, which i took in addition to the rhodiola.
took about 500 mg rhodiola.


i am quite depressed right now/can't focus (have low dopamine) but have a tendency toward anxiety. i'm not sure if the rhodiola made me any more anxious, but i felt equally depressed after taking the rhodiola, if not more so because of the foolish assumption that i had of the potential helpfulness of the rhodiola.

[REGIMEN]

I had bad responses to rhodiola and holy basil, both "cortisol killers". In fact, the reaction I had to both was so similar it probably was the mechanism of cortisol that could tie to two together here.

I don't have anything else to add aside from my reaction which was marked by some kind of "dark snaking tension" about the head with a drop in energy and a lockstep into pessimistic ruminations. Is this what you experienced, orangish?

[orangish]

of some sort similar, liplex.
I was thrown into an even darker muddle than that which usually engulfs me. instead of the normal passive shrug approach to my problems, consuming rhodiola partially brought my thoughts from indifference.

What's curious is that I have cortisol problems, as well as dopamine problems...So I don't know why rhodiola would have this effect?

[guyledouche]

I personally think that 500mg is way too much for Rhodiola. Thats prolly why you felt bad. + Rhodiola doesnt show its effects right away. You need to give it a few days. Ive been using it for over a week now and Ive felt much less stress when I take this stuff. It took a couple days to kick in. I use 150-200mg twice daily. If you have dopamine problems then the Rhodiola should do some nice things for you. I have low dopamine levels as well. I can feel a balance on my dopamine levels when I take Rhodiola. I think you should lower your dose and give it another shot.

[syr_]

Could be dosage, but I had no problems at all taking TWO 500mg doses in a single day. And its a quality 3% extract.

[guyledouche]

^I guess it depends on the individual. 500mg works for you without a problem but for someone else it could maybe make em nervous or not even work or something.

[syr_]

Yeah, but I suspect is the interaction with other nootropics (that for istance I DONT take)...

[guyledouche]

I had bad responses to rhodiola and holy basil, both "cortisol killers".  In fact, the reaction I had to both was so similar it probably was the mechanism of cortisol that could tie to two together here. 

I don't have anything else to add aside from my reaction which was marked by some kind of "dark snaking tension" about the head with a drop in energy and a lockstep into pessimistic ruminations.  Is this what you experienced, orangish?

^Thats exactly what its been doing to me as well. I was fine on Rhodiola at first when the effects were very minimal. My stress levels were reduced so I decided to keep taking it. After a few days I had noticed that I was feeling sorta insane and having some really negative dark thoughts and I almost decided to call it quits. I didnt take any Rhodiola the other day and I had a great day. I took some Rhodiola before going to work today and I felt very negative and paranoid until it wore off. I thought that it was from too much serotonin since my serotonin levels are already quite high naturally. I think the cortisol blocking may have been what screwed me over as well liplex. As much as people say cortisol is bad I am actually a huge fan of it. I love sleep deprivation and caffeine which both boost the hell out of cortisol levels.

I decided earlier today that I am never going to take this stuff again. It really screws me over. I was only taking 150-200 mg doses as well. I tried a 300 mg dose one day at work and I felt depressed as hell and everything felt very dark and sinister. I should have quit right then and there. It also takes away my ability to speak. Its real hard to talk when Im on Rhodiola which is a big one for me considering that I have social anxiety problems.