Misc Ashwagandha for Insomnia.

[velmwend]

Hi

I just wanted to report that I'm getting good results with Ashwagandha for insomnia. I take 300mg an hour before bed, and I spend the night feeling more comfortable, experience less wakeful periods, and feel more refreshed the next day.

I've suffered from insomnia for a number of years and tried a range of meds, including zopiclone, etizolam, valium, 5-htp, kalms, valerian and phenibut. Phenibut and etizolam have worked well but, for obvious reasons (dependence), us insomniacs need something a little kinder to the body and mind.

Anyhows, if you'd like to read more about Ashwagandha, I've found the best resource to be here

I just thought I'd put this out there and, please, if you decide to experiment, let us know how you get on

Cheers.

 

[MagickalKat777]

Careful with Ashwagandha as it is GABAergic like many of those drugs and herbs that you listed. It does have the potential to cause dependency.

If you need something for insomnia, trazodone tends to work quite well as does mirtazapine. I took trazodone for years without ever developing tolerance or an addiction to it. It is one of the only known medications that works for sleep that doesn't have dependency and withdrawal issues. I don't personally like mirtazapine but I can't deny that it works for sleep. I like the sledgehammer to the head that trazodone gives though.

 

[Mysterie]

Careful with Ashwagandha as it is GABAergic like many of those drugs and herbs that you listed. It does have the potential to cause dependency.

i think ashwagandha mimics gaba but it doesn't actually increase it

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1660034?dopt=Abstract

ive been taking ashwagandha for the past week or so and had the idea today that ive been a bit lethargic during the day due to it affecting me more as a sedative than a stimulant which is individual based apparently, so im taking my whole dose at night now and hoping that makes a difference

 

[velmwend]

Careful with Ashwagandha as it is GABAergic like many of those drugs and herbs that you listed. It does have the potential to cause dependency.

If you need something for insomnia, trazodone tends to work quite well as does mirtazapine. I took trazodone for years without ever developing tolerance or an addiction to it. It is one of the only known medications that works for sleep that doesn't have dependency and withdrawal issues. I don't personally like mirtazapine but I can't deny that it works for sleep. I like the sledgehammer to the head that trazodone gives though.

Trazadone cured my insomnia right away, but I suffered cardio probs so had to stop. It was a real shame.
Mirtazapine left me groggy and irritable, although the dreams were fantastic.

Mysterie is right, Ashwagandha mimics gaba but doesn't increase it. Good luck with it, mysterie, let us know how you get on.

 

[cpuller]

Careful with Ashwagandha as it is GABAergic like many of those drugs and herbs that you listed. It does have the potential to cause dependency.

Its true, but if used in normal dosages this effect is not very strong. I even had a small withdrawal from taking lots of ashwagandha extract over a perdiod of two months.
I estimate that you get into these regions dosage wise with 20mg-50mg of withanaloids whereas a pill of the himalaya brand has 3mg of withanoloids.

So this is more likely to happen with stronger extracts and several pills or when you have bulk powder.
At times I was throwing in 500mg of a 8% extract.
The withdrawal was relatively benign and was about 3-4 days of tension in my neck and shoulders.
In any case try this before trying etizolam etc because the AWG calms you down and leaves you not impaired at all memorywise.

Right now I use it again in 10x lower dosages from time to time and Im fine, no more problems with GABA downregulation etc.

 

[MagickalKat777]

Keep in mind that we have GABA-mimetics and they do have a withdrawal syndrome associated with them:

http://www.pharmacorama.com/en/Sections/Gaba_3.php

Picamilon is another one that is not listed on there but there hasn't been much research on it in the states.

I agree though that the dosage in a full-spectrum extract should not pose a big risk and that extracts would be more problematic.

@velmwend - sorry to hear about your problems with those meds. Trazodone is usually really well-tolerated with the exception of nightmares.

Glad to hear that Ashwagandha works though. I was curious about that one for a long time but can't see myself ever taking it now since I am trying to stop any and all GABAergics.

 

[velmwend]

Keep in mind that we have GABA-mimetics and they do have a withdrawal syndrome associated with them:

http://www.pharmacorama.com/en/Sections/Gaba_3.php

Picamilon is another one that is not listed on there but there hasn't been much research on it in the states.

I agree though that the dosage in a full-spectrum extract should not pose a big risk and that extracts would be more problematic.

Thanks for this info, I'll keep a close eye on it.

Must say, I had no waking periods last night. That's a first for me for over a year (except when I take phenibut).

 

[Morphling]

I've had some decent results with bacopa, in high dosages, as well. Could look into that!

 

[velmwend]

I've had some decent results with bacopa, in high dosages, as well. Could look into that!

Isn't there some heavy metals issue with bacopa at the mo?

I'm quite astounded at Ashwagandha, it's cured my insomnia!

 

[theantiadult]

sum of them have no withdrawls or addictiveness.kava and melatonin can work pretty well

 

[gh0stmAn]

Have any of you guys tried this extraction of Ashwagandha called "KSM-66" ?? I just got some and it works pretty damn good for being a natural herbal supplement...

 

[Skippwiggins]

That is actually the most potent and well studied extract.