Recovery What are your favorite herbs/supplements/vitamins for recovery or general use?

[Snafu in the Void]

I'm currently getting off the booze which has been a constant in my life for almost 10 years now.

I've found that L-theanine, passionflower extract and magnesium seem to be helping quite a lot both for general anxiety, sleep and taking the edge off. Taking multivitamins, fish oil and vitamin C as well. I still can't sleep more than 4-5 hours per night, but I'm seeing improvements.

I'm curious if anyone has any favorite supplements or other things that they've found effective or useful in recovery or general use.

Peace, love and one day at a time!

 

[RDP89]

Fish oil,Multivitamin,Vitamin C, Vitamin D(both extra in addition to what’s in the multivitamin),Cordyceps, Lions Mane,Beta-Alanine,Taurine

 

[Electrum1]

Milk Thistle

Get the strong ones, like 1000mg

 

[Snafu in the Void]

Lions Mane, Beta-Alanine, Taurine

I'm going to pick these up!

I've read taurine is good for alcohol recovery and has some sort of indirect relation to GABA (?)

I need lions mane too, since I don't usually have mushrooms in my diet, potent anticarcinogen right?

Milk Thistle

Get the strong ones, like 1000mg

what do you use this for? just curious, wiki says it has no discernable medical benefit?

 

[n3ophy7e]

what do you use this for? just curious, wiki says it has no discernable medical benefit?

Milk thistle is used for liver support. I've been taking it on and off for many many years (not at the moment cos I ran out and haven't bought more). But it's usually part of my repertoire.

Silymarin as Supportive Treatment in Liver Diseases: A Narrative Review

Silymarin, an extract from milk thistle seeds, has been used for centuries to treat hepatic conditions. Preclinical data indicate that silymarin can reduce oxidative stress and consequent cytotoxicity, thereby protecting intact liver cells or cells not ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[RDP89]

I'm going to pick these up!

I've read taurine is good for alcohol recovery and has some sort of indirect relation to GABA (?)

I need lions mane too, since I don't usually have mushrooms in my diet, potent anticarcinogen right?

“According to animal studies, taurine produces an anxiolytic effect and may act as a modulator or antianxiety agent in the central nervous system by activating the glycine receptor.” Source- Wikipedia Taurine page which cites 3 studies relating to this. So I could definitely see it helping with alcohol recovery which is good as I have 3 years sober from the dreadful sauce and plan to stay that way.

I mainly use the taurine and beta alanine for athletic training enhancement( long distance running). I used to use creatine as well but cut that out as it’s not that beneficial for long distance running (as opposed to any anaerobic exercise, which it is great for as it raises ATP levels.) and causes a slight weight gain from water weight and I’m trying to stay lean for marathon training. Eventually I will likely add that back in as not only does it help with muscle mass and strength when working out regularly, it also has been linked to positive effects on brain health if I remember correctly.

The lions mane I use mainly for focus and brain health, but yes, there have been promising studies showing anti-carcinogenic properties.

Good luck getting and staying off the booze!!

 

[Eligiu]

I have a veritable medicine cabinet of supplements I use, in part because I have an appalling diet due to Avoidant-Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (an Autism related eating disorder where it doesn't have anything to do with self image, rather I have sensory aversions to many foods, a heavily restricted diet to 'safe foods' and a general disinterest in eating - I view it as a chore - as well as a tendency to feel full very quickly. So I need to supplement my diet heavily with a bunch of stuff.)

At the moment I take: Magnesium, Vitamin D, Vitamin C, and a Multivitamin (I'm soon replacing these three with a more expensive but better Multivitamin which contains all three of them in appropriate amounts), Fish Oil tablets, Fish Oil liquid, Coloxyl (a laxative due to being on Buprenorphine injections), Gut Relief powder (morning), Intestamine (a gut supplement - night time), a 5 strain Probiotic, Calm Relax turpines (for anxiety), Biotene mouth spray (again, due to dry mouth from Buprenorphine injections and Dexamphetamine to keep my dental hygiene in the clear, which has been working since last week I went to the dentist and for the first time in a year I've not needed any fillings and he was happy with everything), sleep drops, and high dose Melatonin.

I don't recommend that everyone take this many supplements, but to give an idea of what my diet can be like when I did a food diary to be referred to a dietician it went something like this:

Breakfast: handful of skittles
Lunch: Up n Go (caramel milk drink)
Dinner: bag of crisps

Soooooo, yeah. That's the reason I don't have scurvy. My GP is constantly astounded that my blood results come back perfect each time. Not just good, but perfect. I put it down to the supplement regiment. He often jokes that it's highly unfair that my bloods come back as good as they do when he has patients who have an amazing diet but can't get their bloods under control yet I eat shit and have great results.

However, I now have a support worker I meal prep with once a week to learn how to cook and have frozen meals to reheat, and my diet is improving. Last week we cooked chicken alfredo and I really liked it, and on Tuesday this week I had salmon for the first time ever and it wasn't terrible.

Supplements can be useful, if you need them and are lacking in them for some reason. But if you have a fine diet and you get enough sun, eat fruit and vegetables (I don't really) and exercise, there really isn't much point.

 

[AbbeyLee]

B vitamins are the most important when booze is involved. They prescribed Thiamine (B1) when I was in hospital last year with alcohol toxicity. Now I just take this "Executive B" with all of them.

Magnesium, Calcium, D3 and Zinc+. Sometimes other stuff but those are the basics.

 

[Jabberwocky]

i used to take no supplements and now i'm basically rattling.

i have glucosamine and turmuric for arthritis, which i'm starting to get in old injuries. one of my colleagues used to do arthritis research and says they make no difference but i'm pretty desperate given i'm only 36.

iron + things that supposedly support absorbtion cos i'm slightly anaemic

magnesium to help sleep. its been a game changer for me, for months i was waking up 4-5 am, it was driving me mad and affecting my mental health badly. haven't since i started. it does have some unpleasant side effects though.

pre conception vitamin in case i'm not actually infertile.

on the whole i try to have a good diet. i take berocca if i've been hitting the booze too hard, but if you're not deficient b vitamins just turn into expensive pee. in addition to helping with booze, i was given a b vitamin complex in rehab because it supposedly helps with some of the neurological problems caused by cocaine abuse. so if you've been snorting/smoking/pinning too much, and have money to spend on supplements (lol) then get on it.

be careful with supplements that are not water soluble (i.e. that you don't just piss out what you don't need). for example, do not take an iron supplement unless you have been diagnosed as anaemic. fat soluble vitamins such as A, D, E and K are stored in the liver and can cause toxicity at high concentrations.

 

[Nas47]

Magnesium is good.Ginseng quality roots-excellent,for good liver functioning milk thistle oil and/or essential phospholipides are nessesery,especially,if you have liver problems,md with shrooms or cacti,ground parts or extracts of Tribulos Terresstris for stamina,libido and cleansing of the urinary tract....a lot of is there.Physicall activity and quality rest.

 

[G_Chem]

I’d like to mention medicinal honeys are also liver protecting. In many studies compared with Silymarin as a control. Here’s one specific to chronic alcoholism.

Antioxidant properties of jujube honey and its protective effects against chronic alcohol-induced liver damage in mice

The antioxidant potential of jujube honey, one of the most widely consumed honeys in China, has never been determined fully. In this study, jujube honey from six geographical origins in China was analyzed for individual phenolic acid, total phenolic content, and the antioxidant effect in chronic...

pubs.rsc.org

These flavonoids also hit on GABA to an extent. Which may be helpful but could also kindle you a bit too. Just remember to buy from people that claim raw and unpasteurized.

-GC

 

[jasperkent]

I'd like to reiterate the importance of B vitamins, especially thiamine, for recovery from alcohol abuse. I got thiamine injections when I was suffering from severe alcohol withdrawal.
I still take daily multivitamins + B Complex with C.

 

[Nas47]

Yes.Everyday alc.consumptuon deprive from vit.B,just like smokin'-mostly vit.C

 

[n3ophy7e]

I'd like to reiterate the importance of B vitamins, especially thiamine, for recovery from alcohol abuse. I got thiamine injections when I was suffering from severe alcohol withdrawal.
I still take daily multivitamins + B Complex with C.

YES!! Here in Aus, every single time you present yourself at a hospital for any reason and say you're an alcoholic they pump you full of thiamine just because.
This thread keeps reminding me, I need to start taking my supplements every day again.

 

[Snafu in the Void]

my multivitamin only has thiamine and B12, I should probably grab a B complex

 

[G_Chem]

So a couple things I use generally..

-magnesium l-threonate, like micro doses cuz I’m super sensitive to it a tiny little bit of powder on my tongue at night and I’m much more energetic the next day as well as wake up earlier/easier. Can’t take too often or I get moody.

-kids multiple with omega 3’s, I like the kids formulation because it has very minimal amounts of the vitamins and omegas. I’m again very sensitive to vitamins so the lower the better. I think my diet already gets most of what I need so don’t want to go too hard. I use this any night before work the next day, again omegas seem to help with my memory and energy the next day but too much will give me a headache.

-cardamom, one I just started using recently. Noticing huge benefits where before I felt stuck in a rut in terms of making gains in regards to my health. Huge increase in libido, confidence and energy. It contains manganese which (in the right doses, not environmental pollution and such) majorly helps with male hormone health. Manganese can even prematurely induce puberty in kids (not that that’s good, but I can use any extra T I can get these days.) I’ll add like 1/4 to 1/2tsp to a spoon, then top it off with maple syrup to make it go down easy right before bed. Maple syrup also contains manganese and zinc. Cardamom contains lots of other healthy substances too.

-zinc, I occasionally supplement this again for male hormone heakth. Small amounts cuz it’ll make me moody. Interestingly foods high in it don’t have the same effect on my mood while still deriving benefits. I used to eat oysters once a week for the zinc, I need to do that again.

-GC

 

[Eligiu]

YES!! Here in Aus, every single time you present yourself at a hospital for any reason and say you're an alcoholic they pump you full of thiamine just because.
This thread keeps reminding me, I need to start taking my supplements every day again.

I used to struggle with taking my medications (because as well as all the vitamins I'm on about 8 different ones for different reasons) and when I used to just take them out of the box I would always forget 15 min later if I'd taken them or not. So half the time I would miss doses due to not remembering if I'd gone to the fridge and taken them out, plus taking then all out of the pill strip was tedious.

I would recommend going to a chemist and picking up one of those weekly pill containers and refilling it once a week as needed with everything you need. It only takes a few minutes to refill and you get quite quick at it (even for me it's a 5 minute job with my list) and now I never have an issue with forgetting if I took it because it's empty. I also have a support worker who calls every morning and night but when I phase that out after Ive built the habit of just doing it, having the pill container stops me forgetting, and double dosing.

Or, you can take all your vitamins into your local chemist if they do Webster packs and they will pack them in the Webster for you. It's actually free and given I know you live in Australia you'd have access to this. My chemist packs my Webster with melatonin that I bring in, then I move the meds from the Webster to the pill box because I can't fit them all into the Webster pack.

That would be my recommendation if you have problems remembering to take them

 

[Nas47]

Phosholipids from soya beans for the liver,lot of water,lot of physical activity and sweat,peace of mind(if God gave me),easy meals -mostly vegetarian when hot.Ain't got any supplement like minerals,vitamins....herbal teas often....Right percerption most important....or right way of think.......such things

 

[Endopharm]

The most important supplements coming off of alcohol would be 100mg b complex and high dose fish oil(10-12grams per day, standardized for 180mg EPA, 120MG DHA.

The fish oil helps replenish healthy fats normally found in your brain sheath etc. Alcohol depletes these and that is why we crave fatty foods after drinking and the inflammation that occurs because of the lack of fatty acids causes the headaches.

This leads the brain to secondarily choose glycogen as fuel for the brain and this is not natural nor optimal. When the brain runs primarily on glycogen, synapses fire randomly and cause anxiety, depression and an imbalance in your unique neuroanatomy.

By using fish oil in 3-4 dived doses with meals daily, you'll see drastic improvements withing 8-12 days. This holds true for ADD/ADHD as well.

 

[ZaneMeyers]

Sorry for bumping into an old conversation.Congratulations on taking the step to get off the booze and make positive changes in your life! As for supplements, I've personally found organic spirulina to be a game-changer. It's a fantastic source of nutrients and vitamins, which helped me improve my overall health, boost my immunity, and reduce stress. The best part is, I now have great sleep and a lot of energy throughout the day. Remember, recovery is a journey, and progress takes time. With perseverance and patience, you'll continue to see improvements.