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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 4 of 4. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by DaOrlando on November 16, 2005, at 23:00:50
I'm having social anxiety issues with slight depression. I've tried numerous supplements but haven't found The One yet. 5-HTP takes away the anxiety but makes me dull (dumb) and seriously depressed the following day. Kava and Valerian both work fine, yet they also dumb me down so I have serious trouble maintaining my focus and clarity of thought while on them.
Lately I've been checking out the book "Healing Anxiety and Depression" by Daniel G. Amen and found some interesting stuff in there. Supposedly I fall into Unfocused A&D type (trouble staying focused, spaciness, feeling overwhelmed, easily distracted all caused by decreased activity in the prefrontal cortex and increased activity in the basal ganglia or deep limbic system). Both SSRIs and sedatives make the situation worse.
The author recommends L-tyrosine, DL-pheylalanine and SAMe for my type. Before I go on the shopping spree I would like to hear from other members with similar brain chemistry. Has any of you tried any of these (or other) supplements and found them helpful?
Thanks!
Posted by blueberry on November 26, 2005, at 20:31:30
In reply to L-tyrosine, DL-pheylalanine or SAMe for anxiety, posted by DaOrlando on November 10, 2005, at 7:41:52
I will be trying these right along side of you. I've been weaning down lexapro now at 5mg and zyprexa now at 1.25mg. I will have to cross taper onto something else. I think L-phenylalanine is first up, 5htp second, SAMe last. I've tried SAMe one day at a time several times recently, at just 25mg, and found it just skyrocketed anxiety. So I'm a little shy of that one. Low dose st johns wort is on my radar screen, since it worked so well for me in the past. Low dose sjw is amazing for anxiety. At pubmed there are a couple studies showing gingko biloba has mild antianxiety effects, and of course there is always low dose kava kava. The land of alternatives is just as complicated as pharmaceuticals. Darn.
Posted by Jimmyboy on December 30, 2005, at 12:43:26
In reply to Re: L-tyrosine, DL-pheylalanine or SAMe for anxiety, posted by blueberry on November 26, 2005, at 20:31:30
Definitely would not reccommend Sam-e for anti-anxiety .. it has helped as an AD for me in the past , but it actually caused quite a bit of anxiety , especially after taking a 400 mg dose, felt real jittery like I drank too much caffeine.. The smaller doses did not cause as much, but to get to the AD level I had to take a alot , so that wasn't really an option. But, of course different people have different reactions to things...
Posted by anony on January 5, 2006, at 2:26:39
In reply to L-tyrosine, DL-pheylalanine or SAMe for anxiety, posted by DaOrlando on November 10, 2005, at 7:41:52
SAMe...I definitely would not recommend it for social anxiety.
I'm in very similar situation, and I've tried SAMe about a year ago, and it wasn't funny at all.
If you really want to try, try it during weekends or holidays when you don't have to go out and test it yourself at home.
Btw, never drive a car until you know how you react to SAMe!
This is the end of the thread.
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