herbal remedy for serotonin? - Panic Disorders Message Board

anxiousme · 06-16-2003, 01:27 PM

Because I have problems with side effects with antidepressants, I was wondering if there is an herbal counterpart for raising serotonin levels? Has anyone tried herbal medications (Amoryn/Serotab/etc)? Do they work? Are there side-effects with those? And how risky are herbal meds?

hry33 · 06-16-2003, 03:02 PM

st johns wort seems to help sometimes, sam e seems to help some also
herbal side effects are generally less severe

Janik · 06-16-2003, 06:05 PM

Passion flower is a good anti-anxiety remedy and so is valerian root. However, valerian root can trigger depression when taken for long periods of time. There is little evidence that the sam-e pill actually increases blood levels of sam-e. There are few studies about St. Johns wort but it seems to be as helpful as SSRI's against depression. I don't know if it is helpful for general anxiety or panic attacks.

buddha504 · 07-27-2003, 09:03 PM

anxiousme-- any more progress on this topic? unfortunately, i don't have anything to add here, but i'm curious if you've tried anything. i have been on various anti-anxiety meds and it seems that the ones that focus on serotonin levels are the ones that work for me. however, i also have not been able to deal with the side effects. i'd love to find an herb or supplement that affects serotonin w/o side effects.

kentuckychick · 07-28-2003, 08:38 AM

I also hated the side effects of paxil so slowly weined myself off...was really a bad time too still not all the way there but i went to walmart and got some st johns wort and also purchased vitamin b complex,i have been taking them for about a week now and they seem to be helping .....also have xanax to help me along,can't take but a half of .025 but it calms me down...i am homehealth nurse and do alot of driving ....wish me luck need all the help i can get....