# Any good effective herbal or synthetic alternatives to benzodiazepines and phenibut that can be taken long term as supplements for anxiety and panic?



## PeaceSeeker (May 31, 2018)

(And sleep as well as DP/DR.....Couldn't fit it in title.)

I was looking at things stuff like 5-htp, cbd, and l-tryptophan but one thing these all have in common is that they affect serotonin in my brain, and I noticed that any medication or supplement I've taken that affects serotonin makes me feel all foggy, yucky, and crappy. My anxiety and panic attacks seem to be correlated, or at least in part to me feeling malaise, dysphoric, or sick, or like I'm going to die, and everything feels dreamlike or unreal, so serotonergic drugs don't help all that much, or make me feel even more foggy and dissociated, sort of this numbing "zombie" shut down effect in my mind and body. The medications prescribed to me and nootropics that have helped me the most right away were Klonopin and phenibut, foods like turkey and bananas seem to consistently have an anti-anxiety and mood lift effect, and I don't understand why but I'm trying to maybe get people to understand my chemistry a little more to help me figure out what would work best to ease symptoms and have a more consistent effect that will work longer. I know none of you are doctors but I feel like community discussion is a great way for mutual understanding, especially people with similar problems.

Here are medications I've tried and either didn't work well, worked for a short period of time, or made things worse for me within hours and days of dosing:

Zoloft

Prozac

Mirtazepine

Zyprexa

Propranolol (made me so sick and potentially caused my muscle fasciculation problem I am dealing with to this day)

Seroquel

Gabapentin (helped a little at first, now just causes pain in my finger tips when I go to sleep, and it kind of has a neutral effect overall)

Doxepin

Hydroxyzine (thought it was helping somewhat, makes my eyes feel heavy and dry, and has the foggy feel)

Might be missing some here but will edit if I think of any.

These are herbs I've tried and had some mild or no success with:

Passionflower: mildly effective/could be placebo

Valerian: mildly effective/mostly placebo, feel slightly refreshed the next morning with mild brainfog, not worth the smell and taste

L-Theanine: inconsistent/not effective/mostly placebo

Chamomile: causes brainfog and drowsiness/lethargy, mildly effective/mostly placebo, causes worse anxiety/disassociation in some areas

Lemon Balm: no effect, possibly makes anxiety worse

Catnip tea: mildly effective in some areas/mostly placebo

Skullcap: not effective/mostly placebo

Lemongrass: no apparent effect

Holy Basil: mild apparent effect/could be placebo

Gotu Kola: no effect/mostly placebo

Other teas or combination teas with various herbs including some listed above: no effect

GABA: makes anxiety worse, causes bouts of shortness of breath, possible stomach issues

Melatonin: mildly effective for inducing sleep, makes anxiety worse/uncomfortable drowsy/dizzy feeling, possible brainfog the next day

Magnesium: nothing other than stomach issues

CBD: inconsistent, mild, can go both ways.

Music: can sometimes help enhance what you are already feeling or make things worse.

None of these have successfully stopped or prevented my panic attacks, except for maybe Holy Basil and passionflower being the most up my alley with lifting mood, helping DP/DR, or reducing excess stress.

Most effective medications, supplements, nootropics, and food in a nutshell:

Klonopin (has been the most effective go to Rx)

Valium

Xanax

Phenibut FAA (best next to klonopin, when it works, has inconsistent effects)

Turkey

Bananas

Coffee (double edged sword), makes anxiety worse hours later after the initial boost

Potentially Milk when it's not irritating my stomach (double edged sword)

Multivitamins for a short period of time

Diphenhydramine and Dramamine (sometimes/double edged sword)

Passionflower

Holy Basil (Tulsi)

I'm sure I'm missing some stuff here but I'll edit if they pop into my head or if I feel they're relevant enough to mention in terms of me giving them enough time to try.


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## Cali123 (Jan 5, 2019)

I’ve tried majority of those too and they either didn’t work or slightly helped but I guess my body built tolerance for it. Currently using lemon balm which keeps me relaxed but being relaxed is not the issue for me. I tried to ask if anyone has tried Wood Betony but no one responded so I guess not. I use the tincture version cause the tea didn’t do anything. But it helps my dp a lot. You can do your own research depending on your symptoms but it helps me feel more in my body. The only thing I don’t like is it’s an alcohol based tincture. I want to possibly they the glycerin version to see if it does the same thing (hopefully). I currently want to try calamus because it supposedly helps our dp/dr symptoms. Also I want to try gotu kola for better focus but you said it had no effect ???? but we’re two different people so who knows


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## PeaceSeeker (May 31, 2018)

Cali123 said:


> I've tried majority of those too and they either didn't work or slightly helped but I guess my body built tolerance for it. Currently using lemon balm which keeps me relaxed but being relaxed is not the issue for me. I tried to ask if anyone has tried Wood Betony but no one responded so I guess not. I use the tincture version cause the tea didn't do anything. But it helps my dp a lot. You can do your own research depending on your symptoms but it helps me feel more in my body. The only thing I don't like is it's an alcohol based tincture. I want to possibly they the glycerin version to see if it does the same thing (hopefully). I currently want to try calamus because it supposedly helps our dp/dr symptoms. Also I want to try gotu kola for better focus but you said it had no effect but we're two different people so who knows


I'll take that into consideration, which brand do you prefer?


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## Cali123 (Jan 5, 2019)

I take herb pharm tinctures


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## Lolla_ (Apr 26, 2019)

H,

I am also struggling with DPDR. Based on my analysis it was anxiety induced. I have taken Prozac before for about 8 months and then stopped it abruptly and i think it make things worse. Since then I said I dont wanna go back to meds so trying different herbs and natural remedies. 
I also have insomnia problems- the funny part is I can sleep 10h on the weekend but on the weekdays i cant sleep. Im trying different herbs at the moment, so far i started with some adaptogens. I take Reishi which i find it helps to reduce the anxiety a bit, I also take fish oil but not sure if it helps. I e heard also ashwagandha is good and rhodiola, havent tried them yet but they r on my list. I also take multivitamins.

Have you guys tried any adaptogens?


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## eddy1886 (Oct 11, 2012)

If ANYBODY on here finds a herbal alternative to Xanax or Valium that does the same job without the crazy dangers involved they need to tell the whole world not just the DP sufferers on here.......

Im sure its growing on a tree somewhere in the amazon rainforest...Or else it has been already wiped out by humans and their constant destruction of the natural world...

Or the pharmaceutical companies are hiding it from us all....

Gotta love the Western World for its capitalist greed......Money is the ultimate happiness after all - Isnt that what we all are lead to believe?????


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