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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by manic666 on July 17, 2008, at 5:04:03
hello people i am on 120 mg of cymbalta,its ok for my depression but sill have anxiety problem,s so im trying the herb road as well as a back up i see it as nothing to loose. i take 500mg magnesium an 1000mg taurine a day.also trying different times valerian 500mg a day.is there anyone who has gone the herb road with success when on cymbalta, give me some feed back friends manic666
Posted by raisinb on July 17, 2008, at 13:06:02
In reply to cymbalta plus herbs, posted by manic666 on July 17, 2008, at 5:04:03
I think herbs are great, but I think you should check with your doc before you start taking them in combination with your AD.
Many combinations like this can have life-threatening side effects (like St. John's Wort plus an SSRI. SJW is actually an MAOI, but it is hard to remember this when it's an herb, not a drug). It's hard to know what chemicals are in herbs, and how much, since they are not regulated by the FDA.
I had more severe side effects from taking SamE than I did from any prescription.
Posted by Phillipa on July 17, 2008, at 17:15:58
In reply to Re: cymbalta plus herbs » manic666, posted by raisinb on July 17, 2008, at 13:06:02
Thanks for the heads up didn't know this thanks Phillipa
Posted by bleauberry on July 17, 2008, at 18:07:05
In reply to cymbalta plus herbs, posted by manic666 on July 17, 2008, at 5:04:03
You are pretty much in uncharted waters when combining meds and supplements. The two main things to research on your own would be:
Does the herb create any boost in serotonin via serotonin reuptake inhibition or maoi activity?
What liver enzymes metabolize cymbalta, which ones metabolize the herb, and does the herb speed up or slow down any of the enzymes that metabolize cymbalta? For example, st johns wort speeds up the metabolism of many meds, effectively creating lower doses of them and diminished effectiveness of them, done by speeding up the liver enzyme CYP3A4. It also slows down a different enzyme, which can triple the dose of zyprexa.
So you want to do a search at pubmed and google for "herb name + CYP" and see what you can find.
In the absence of any of this data, you can probably be safe by trying very small doses (1/8th to 1/4 minimum dose) for a few days before making any other changes.
All that said, most common herbs should be pretty safe I think, though I would still stick to very low doses to test the waters.
Herbs I've tried that were good for anxiety were:
Passionflower
Skullcap
Lemonbalm
Valerian
I used all of these, sometimes mixed, sometimes separetly, to survive the horrendous anxiety and insomnia of getting off zyprexa.And the so-called adrenal herbs (Siberian Ginseng, Ashwagandha, Astragulus, Reishi). I believe many anxieties are actually in the cortisol/adrenal axis. Was surprised my pdoc today said he believes most bipolar disorders are within the cortisol/adrenal axis. I found all those herbs quite calming and serene after a few days, but with Ginseng it has to be the Siberian one.
Other supplements:
Phosphatidylserine (good all around brain supp, but also dampens the cortisol response)
Lithium orotate
Magnolia extract
Reishi Mushroom extract120mg is a high dose, so I would be respectful with supplement dose sizes.
Posted by manic666 on July 18, 2008, at 5:20:42
In reply to Re: cymbalta plus herbs, posted by bleauberry on July 17, 2008, at 18:07:05
thanks my freind , my friend venla on the velafaxine wed site, gave me a list of whatis ok with cym. plus i ran it by the pharmacy an the health store.i no saint johns wort is a no no thats the first thing you learn in the med game. but the health shops get it wrong to they said try 5htp but thats a no when on high meds. tried valerian,none flush niacin.but the one i hold hope for is i-taurine.this one interacts in you blood stream with the cym.so as to help anxiety which the cymbalta dont seem to help
This is the end of the thread.
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