Natural anti anxiety remedies

Hi doe anyone know if it is possible to take rhodiola rosea and diazepam together? Are there any bad side effects?

I am on a course and starting to get really stressed, I can feel tightness in my chest all day long now and starting to feel restless again. I have been taking probably no more than 4 milligrams a day of diazepam to try and lessen the tightness in my chest and restlessness feeling. I know if i don't get this under control Im heading for another breakdown.

I have 4 weeks left on my course and Im currently away from home so don't have much support around me and cant afford to start to feel bad now.

I went to the doc this morning and they gave me 5mg of escitalopralam and 2 weeks supply of 2mg tabs of diazepam.

I really dont want to go down the route of antidepressants especially as I know it could take 3 -4 weeks before they kick in and I could feel a whole lot worse which I cant afford to feel as the course is only on for another month.

NB; Does anyone know if Ashwagandha is good for physical anxiety and depression?

Can anyone offer any advice? I would be really really grateful.

many thanks

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Sorry, I can't offer any advice but just to say that both Ashwaghanda and Rhodiola Rosea are adaptogenic herbs and can lower cortisol.

[Hidden in reply to SeasideSusie]

Hi there, cheers for your reply. Thats good to know, I might start taking the rhodiola again. I also found that lemon balm and l-theanine might help the physical side of anixety.

many thanks

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Hidden]

Lemon balm came up the other day. Not a good idea for us thyroidies, it can decrease the effectiveness of thyroid hormones.

[Angel_of_the_North in reply to Hidden]

Don't take lemon balm if you have an underactive thyroid - it's a herbal treatment for overactive thyroid and can lower thyroid hormone production and bind thyroid hormones (without necessarily raising TSH). Anxiety can be a side effect of a) taking antidepressants and b) low free T3

[greygoose]

I thought Rhodiola Rosea was a stimulant.

[Hidden in reply to greygoose]

hi there, thanks for your reply, Ive tried the rhodiola before and know if you take it at night it would stop you from sleeping. Also if you take it in too high a dose for more than a month you could feel more anxious but everyone could be affected differently and no side effects.

many thanks

[greygoose in reply to Hidden]

You're welcome.

[masa2333]

Hello,

I’ve been diagnosed with Hashimoto’s for many, many years. Lately I’ve been struggling with panic disorder, which is subcategory of anxiety disorders. I’ve been really anxious for the past 6 months, but I did take antidepressants and Xanax and it did help me a lot. Yes, it takes 4-6 weeks till antidepressants kick in, but that’s why you have to take Diazepam (or Xanax, in my case) to ease that period for you. Once your antidepressants kick in, you will no longer need Diazepam.

For natural remedies, the only thing that works for me is better diet (meaning really HEALTHY diet) and not consuming any tobacco/alcohol/caffeine etc.

[ShootingStars]

Here are some links to articles about Rhodiola and other common supplements and medications that reduce thyroid function. Rhodiola indirectly increases dopamine, otherwise known as an "indirect dopamine agonist. (agonist increases, antagonist decreases). Dopamine suppresses TSH. Technically low TSH usually increases thyroid hormones. In my case my thyroid hormones also decreased. Some of the other side effects of Rhodiola are headaches and an increase estrogen. Excess estrogen is a known cause of headaches.

= DRUGS THAT SUPPRESS TSH OR CAUSE CENTRAL HYPOTHYROIDISM. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl... . In the table, see "TSH Suppression", "Dopamine agonists".

= 54 supplements and ways to increase dopamine and mess up your thyroid (nicotine, alcohol, tyrosine, caffeine, St. Johns Wort, magnesium, ginko, curcumin, sam-e, ginseng, resveratrol, kava). (Hormones that increase dopamine: estrogen and ghrelin). Plus substances and supplements that decrease dopamine. selfhacked.com/blog/ways-to...

= Abstract about study using Rhodiola to increase dopamine in Parkinson's patients. (Parkinsons patients are normally treated with dopamine increasing medications, such as Levodopa). ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/280...

= Rhodiola and how it increases dopamine. draxe.com/rhodiola-benefits...

= Rhodiola and dopamine. nootropicsdepot.com/article...

= 15 Reasons Why Your TSH May Be Fluctuating Things to Consider When Your TSH Is Not Stabilized://thyroid-info.com/articles/t...

= Top 12 Surprising Factors That Decrease Thyroid Hormones. selfhacked.com/blog/hypothy...

[Hidden]

To everyone, I'm so sorry I didn't reply to the other messages above, I just got bogged down with my course. Have still being feeling under par though for the last few months with not working. Same issues with anxiety and sometimes low moods.

I got through the course without meds and used magnesium bisglycinate (twice a day) and magnesium chloride flakes (footbath) 3 times a week to raise my magnesium levels which stop restlessness and chest pains. Seemingly, low magnesium is really important for a lot of functions in the body especially nerve and muscle function.

I also took lemon balm and l-theanine for a while too and that helped.

I've cut back now to see if I still need them or can do without.

I have found diaphragmatic breathing helps too, especially at night before I go to bed so I've only tried this a few times so not sure if it is that or because I took vit b12 but I woke up this morning without any chest pains and not feeling depressed which is the best feeling in the world.

I don't have any thyroid problems that I know of but will keep everything in mind when looking into supplements.

@ShootingStars thank-you for the links, I had a look into some of the information. Will need to have a better look but some good info there.

Many thanks to everyone for your advice.

[Hamster18]

I take a b-complex and eat very healthy. I find this works for me