Posted by omegon on October 4, 2003, at 6:13:07
In reply to Kava V.S. BuSpar. Also St. John's Wort, posted by sisyphus on October 4, 2003, at 5:48:20
I use Kava occasionally to relax at home, and find it very pleasant. You have to get used to the taste, though. The effects are quite subtle and some people don't notice anything at first, but they seem to get stronger after a few tries.
You might find it difficult to get hold of in the US or UK thanks to unreasonable bans on sales by the regulating agencies. Don't bother buying Kava tablets or capsules, as they are too weak to have a real effect; you need to buy the dried root powder and make "tea", using a tablespoon or so of powder for two cups.
I haven't had any anti-anxiety meds to I can't give you a useful comparison. Kava does help for me, though.
I also used St John's Wort in the past, taken daily in capsules. It takes many weeks to have a useful effect. It's nothing like Kava. It worked as an antidepressant but didn't do much for my anxiety; if anything I was more nervous and "jumpy". I gave it up due to tyramine headaches (see my post above about selegiline).
Don't know about interactions; I never used them together. You shouldn't use Kava with alcohol, though, and probably not with other sedatives either.
> Hi!
>
> I read some books stating that Kava can be used for replacing BuSpar or Benzo. Anybody has tried them and can make comparison?
>
> Also, I would like to know are there any differences between the usages of Kava and St. John's Wort? Can they be taken at the same time?
>
> Thanks.
poster:omegon
thread:265456
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20031004/msgs/265458.html