Am I screwed because I took many different herbs for 9 months? - Alternative Medicine Message Board

kevinnader · 06-26-2006, 09:03 PM

ugh,

Well back in October I got on an herb kick and begin to take Echinacea,bee pollen,ginger root,ginseng complex,garlic,flaxseed, and couple others. I took a lot of these every day for months. I cant even remember which ones I took more or which ones I took less. I do remember for a while I was taking 6-9 capsules of Echinacea a day along with bee pollen and couple others. Thats what the bottle for Echinacea said. 2-3 capsules 2-3 times a day. Well with time I began to cut out certain kinds since I was havin no luck or feelin better. For instance, from April to May I took B12 every day along with 4 garlic and 2 bee pollen. I have now cut down on bee pollen and now I usually take 4 garlic a day and B12 and Beta carotene. What scares me is the fact that I saw an article that my new acupuncturist wrote on Echinacea and chinese herbs. She said just because its sold over the counter doesnt mean its safe to take. I guess she was saying that you should talk to an acupuncturist first or whatever. I took 6-9 Echinacea daily for weeks and weeks and I dont know how long. I stopped and then I started again for a few weeks back in April.

Im just worried I have damage now or whatever. Whatever damage that is. Im worrying sick over this.

kevinnader · 06-26-2006, 09:08 PM

Here is what her husband who is also an acupuncturist had to say in the article about it.

Parsons also has a problem with some commercial products like SoBe drinks. “Echinacea isn’t something you’re supposed to take all the time. It’s actually an immune system irritant. It has a toxic component, but there’s no warning on there that says you shouldn’t drink a SoBe tea with echinacea more than three days in a row. People go in and out of stores buying them and drinking three or four per day.”

Is he saying its only bad with drinking SoBe tea or whatever?

rhody · 06-26-2006, 10:23 PM

I wouldn't be worried about, but it's good that you are concerned. In general natural foods and herbs are safe, but of course with anything we can overdo it.

I used to make many batches of herbal teas, with 10 or so different herbs for years. I think it's been for nearly 20 years. The only problem I had is when I took too many anti-mercury supplements. The combination made me very sick.

But I'm always reading about, and I think we should be aware of any complications. For example, I heard that one shouldn't take too much of licorice herb for too many months. But how much is too much? I don't know. So, I just take the cautious route, and only use a tiny pinch of this herb, and sometimes don't use it for weeks. It helps sweeten up the herbal teas.

Since I had trouble with supplements, I try to stay away from them if I can find them in natural foods. For example, I won't use garlic extract (that was one of my anti-mercury components), but rather use raw garlic instead at times.

I had an interesting experiment with bee pollen once. When I first started taking them one time, my heart kept racing when I just finished my run. I was scared and drank water until 4 am until my heart beat finally settled down. It's well-known that bee pollen can cause some reactions like this. But I persisted and slowly reintroduced bee pollen to my diet. I added them to my natural cereals. I guess what I'm saying in summary, is that we should be cautious, but I don't think you have to worry.

Worrying or anxiety often makes things worse. It's a vicious circle when we are sick. We get sick, we worry, the worry makes us more sick, we worry more.... Finally we say, you're fine...stop worrying. I know because I've been there.

I hope that helps.

rhody · 06-26-2006, 10:29 PM

Also what you could be doing is writing this all down...take notes (if you aren't doing it already). When we use natural care to help us, we have to do what makes us feel better. I think taking too many things all at once, could make it confusing. It's a scattered approach.

I know what you are going through, because I did this for years experimenting with one thing or another...determined to not live this way with my fibromyalgia symptoms. By writing it down, and analyzing what worked and what did not work, I was able to figure it out and cure myself of something that is supposedly uncureable.

kevinnader · 06-26-2006, 10:47 PM

ya well,

I have struggled with this major disorder of my health for 3 years and I havent really felt any worse since I took the herbs. I did get worse in some areas but thats how its been for 3 years. Good months and bad months,good days and bad days,good weeks and bad weeks. My symptoms sound like FMS and GAD both. ugh. specially these fast moving tingly vibrations in my body. Right now they are so bad, I cant stand to lean my head against a couch to rest because my head is throbbin with a pulse and the feelings and crippling feeling vibrations are rushin through my head.

I want to ask my acupuncturist about this whole herbs thing and the echinacea issue,but I am scared she will say I causedc serious damage or whatever...