"Over the counter" anti-anxiety drugs?

[CrimpJiggler]

You can try smoking chamomile tea. Smoking it is more effective than drinking it. I recommend giving picamilon a try too.

 

[nsauce]

I tried plain Valerian with no results, but I found a widely available product (here in the states, anyway) which is a combination valerian/passionflower mix that worked quite well. It did not work on consecutive days, however, and I found it was only effective if I used it about once every 10-14 days.

 

[Swimmingdancer]

tyrael - I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on the subject for now (not that I disagree with everything you said), since I don't want to totally derail the thread

 

[after8mink]

It's been mentioned earlier but I'd like to agree with chamomile, and talking therapies to reduce the source of your anxiety.

 

[PeedOff]

5htp is the best otc drug for anxiety for me. It literally feels like you're on prozac or zoloft for a few hours. Like that subtle calmness that they bring on. However, Im pretty sure it doesnt work if you take it every day. Higher doses will really make you feel empty headed and care free -but not euphoric- but it is still mild and will make you fall asleep.

 

[Bro Smurf66]

Definitely DO NOT USE PHENIBUT MORE THAN TWICE PER WEEK! Phenibut works great, but tolerance build up and addiction builds extremely fast and loses effect quite rapidly.

This is the recipe I use and works great with no addiction or withdrawals: Monday - 500 mg Phenibut. Tuesday - 2 grams Kratom in the morning (stay away from extracts, they aren't as effective as plain leaf despite what others say, and are overpriced), 2.5 mg in the afternoon (makes you motivated to do things, kills social and general anxiety, gives awesome mood lift, and makes you feel great all-around). Don't use more than 2.5 grams per dose, because Kratom contains opioid receptor agonists AND antagonists, so by taking larger doses, the antagonist aspect will interfere with the agonist aspects so it kind of defeats the purpose. Wednesday- Kava (take with whole milk or something fatty, since it is fat soluble and will make is stronger and last longer) . Thursday - 500 mg Phenibut. Friday - More Kratom. Saturday - Kava. Sunday - Picamilon. Repeat.

Something you can add everyday is Aniracetam (works on GABA receptors and is a nootropic. Take with whole milk, fish oil, or something fatty since it is also fat soluble). You can also add Picamilon to the mix every day or as needed. Also, Kanna is great because it is a natural SSRI and is non-harmful and non-habit forming in my experience (can als8 be added to the mix every day). It works fast and just makes me happier, which in turn makes me more motivated to do things and helps a lot with my social anxiety.

Avoiding Caffeine is a good idea since it causes anxiety. If you do drink coffee or energy drinks, DEFINITELY TAKE L-THEANINE WITH IT! L-Theanine takes the "edge" off, leaving you stimulated and concentrated, but less jittery and anxious). You can use 2 grams of any White vein strain, or Green vein Thai Kratom every morning to help you wake up -but no more- to avoid tolerance/dependence (wakes me up like a cup of coffee, but leaves me in a better mood and gives me no jitters and kills morning anxiety). Taking a multivitamin might help, I'm not sure, but it surely doesn't hurt!

Just be really careful with the Phenibut as it can cause typical benzo withdrawals. Don't use it at all if you can help it, just save it for those times you'll really need it (for speeches, presentations, meeting your gf's parents for the first time, parties and social events, etc.). And also, keep the Kratom to a minimum because it is physically addicting and can give you typical opiate withdrawals if you take around 5 or more grams every day. I speak from experience on this. I became addicted to Phenibut by taking 1 gram daily, and Kratom by taking 6-12 grams daily. They are awesome, but are waaaayyy more effective and helpful when taken with a low tolerance.

<snip>

 

[《Plasticity》]

Welcome to bluelight

I had to edit your post as sourcing of any kind (whether it be on the boards or through PM) is not allowed. If you're ever caught participating in source discussion you will be banned. Consider this a warning.

 

[noone1]

I agree, I'm sure I never said as such?



I agree however I am in Australia (read: Western society), so yes I am only referring to these regions, additional there is a general consensus/opinion of what constitutes a "CAM therapy".
It's easy to - and in the same instance I'm in no way defending/justifying actions of pharmaceutical companies ("Big-Pharma" if you want to go down the "down with the big, insensitive, only about the financial gain-corporations"-type conspiracy bandwagon) however I don't believe this to be true! I'm sure you're aware of the patenting capabilities/persuasion abilities of pharmaceutical companies, I'm sure they would in deed find a way to patent a tx....if shown to truly be (decently) efficacious! I'm extremely doubtful that if a tx/dx capability/etc. was in fact shown to have beneficial activity, there would be no stopping it from becoming a legitimate therapy! Yes many pharma advances are and were financed/directed/employed/etc by pharmaceutical companies, on the individual/team level the good intentions are predominant - people with technical skill and applying it for advancements!



It's well known that drugs/tx/therapies (unfortunately) do in fact come in and out of vogue - often irrespective of efficacy however this is obviously a primary influence (new, better treatments become available/economically viable and such and hence start to be used). So I agree with you about extrinsic factors can be the motivating factors, instead of the more important pt's interests!




I never inferred that allopathic/mainstream "Western" medicines weren't harmful, of course they can be! I've always said and tried to make it known that all drugs can be poisons/harmful, no drug (mainstream or otherwise) is without risk! The main difference / point of the dangers of CAM therapies is that, due to the field (for the most part) not having any sort of regulation (other then "self" 8) ), nor any specific legislation in terms of quality/purity, nor requirements for any sort of proof of efficacy/(contra-)indications/benefit which all lead to negative outcomes for pt's either because they've attempted to diagnose/treat themselves (a case in China comes to mind where a women attempted to perform acupuncture onto herself, without training of course, leading to her piercing her heart with one of the needles!), the pt choosing to replace their (allopathic) treatment leading to anything from a longer recovery period to morbidity (there have unfortunately been a number of cases of pt's refusing typical neoplastic/cancer targeted therapies, using a CAM alternative and dying from their disease!) or in the worst case an alt-med "professional" knowingly deceiving an individual for financial gain (has/does happened )!

Even from a public health/epidemiological perspective - it is full well known that there is an increased burden on the health system (it could be said a burden effecting everyone, from the individual to family/friends, health care professionals even to the tax payer and regarding many aspects; financially, physically, emotionally, etc) the longer one is ill (ie, chronic conditions). Yes this is true irrespective of treatment, yet this period may be extended if someone is using a treatment which isn't (not scientifically, empirically proven) to be beneficial/efficacious!! No one can sit there and expect (I assume ) intelligent people to believe in ridiculous "treatments" such as homoeopathy! -_-

I'm not "against" alt-med type treatments, many (what would today be called) "mainstream" treatments such as "old-wives tales"-like things began as such - aspirin (specifically salicylic acid) is a well known example! Taken (and used for centuries for even today's indication) from the bark of certain willow trees! The difference however is that those (now incorporated) have been tested and been shown to actually work! (often purified and/or synthetically made) There definitely exists treatments which do help - Saint Johns Wort is a nice example - with it's serotonergic activity for use in mild-moderate depression!

There are a few specific things which just irks me about not just the alternatives but the actual alternative med profession! There is absolutely no accountability of the provider's actions (good or bad)! and (I'm a man of science so) I believe if a product is marketed/purposed to provide something....it should! Many of these therapies have been extensively researched/trialed and it's overwhelmingly clear the evidence shows many of them in fact not to be efficacious! (with some show possible damage) The research CAM proponents often present are, in subsequent trials / examination of the trails, shown to be flawed! Introducing biases (intentionally or not), flawed procedures, contaminants, subjective responses (which isn't a form of scientific evidence) and the influence which bias results toward an outcome!


http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/
http://whatstheharm.net/
www.quackwatch.com/
edgydoc.com/
http://skepdic.com/refuge/harmarchive.html

Good post. I like the term "So Called Complimentary And Alternative Medicine" myself.

The "big pharma" people irk me all they have is rhetoric and anecdotes instead of facts and evidence. As Ben Goldacre noted "just because big pharma is shit does not mean magic beans cure cancer"

If something natural works it's because there is a chemical in there and if it's not distilled down then you are getting unknown doses and experimenting with potentially unknown side effects for something that is potentially just placebo. I'm grateful I can go to the store and get a regulated dose of aspirin rather than buying something that might or not might be willow bark.

That said there are a lot of otc things that can work but you have to experiment with it remember they are all still drugs and anything that actually works will have side effects. A warning sign for if something is probably bullshit if it is seemingly a cure for everything (panacea) as a rule I would stay away from "natural" websites and do your research on places like wikipedia or webmd which offer more broad info.

Placebo is incredibly powerful. Personally I suggest stuff like breathing exercises, meditation, spirituality, mindfulness, hypnosis etc for your placebos you might as well do something that doesn't have the potential to harm you. Before someone argues with me I'm not saying these things are for sure placebo but evidence based studies are iffy on all of them.

Also diet and exercise is the key to everything. Just do whatever is in your power to do no matter how small.

I can't say personally that any otc drug has helped me but whatever the stuff is in CALMS forte stops me from having a panic attack. I wouldn't recommend it for anxiety since the shit is overpriced and a random swill of drugs like most "natural" products I wish I had the patience to buy and try each herb individually but I don't.

 

[RedHandedDenial]

i like kava kava

 

[Nom de Plume]

Alternative medicines and OTC drugs consist mostly of beguiling nostrums and patent bullshit.

"Big pharma" conspiracy theories and an irrational, albeit extremely popular, reliance upon alternatives to pharmaceutical evidence-based medicine is, I think, what fuels these types of threads.

There are no efficacious OTC anxiolytics. In point of fact, there are no OTC anxiolytics, period.

 

[Burnt Offerings]

Kratom is probably the most effective anxiolytic drug I've found, that's easily accessible to anyone so inclined to try it.

Besides that, there are a lot of people who swear by phenibut. Personally it didn't really do all that for me after the brief "honeymoon phase", but...