Kava

Anyone have any experience with taking Kava in pill form? Does it truly reduce anxiety? What about side effects, sleep etc…? Thanks.

Yes, it seems to take the edge off nicely. I use more than the label recommends however. (Sorry, don’t have my bottle handy so I’m not sure of my dosage.) The only bad side effect I’ve noticed is that if I take too much I feel a little hung over or “fuzzy” the next morning. But maybe that’s just me.

Can you tell me more about what this is? Is it a drug? supplement? My sister-in-law suffers from pretty bad anxiety. Right now she’s on Paxil, or some other type of drug … would this be a good supplement with that? Thanks.

Kava Kava is a legal supplement.

I know from experience with psycho-active drugs that you should never take herbals in conjunction with prescription meds. Herbals are real medicine, but almost no research has been done to explore possible dangerous interactions with other drugs since they fall under the category of supplements. Interactions with psycho-active drugs can be especially powerful and unpredictable and vary widely from person to person. If she’s interested in kava, she should talk to her doc and consider gradual weaning off the scrip med and then cautious experimentation with the kava. Best of luck, and remember, herbals can be dangerous when used in conjunction with prescription meds, especially pyscho-actives!

I did some recent reading on Kava. Apparently, it is a type of bean. Kava apparently has the properties of a tranquilizer. My mom drinks a type of coffee called Kava (brand name) in fact which I would guess, is from none other than Kava beans itself. I know tranqs are great remedies for anxiety and as with pretty much all tranqs, they relax your body making it easier to get drowsy. Perhaps if you want to offset that feeling, Kava coffee might be a good alternative because of the caffeine in it but I’m not too sure. Hope this helps.

Thanks for the info guys … I’ll tell her to ask her doctor about it.

I have tried Kava because all my life I have had trouble falling asleep. I only got a mild benefit from the Kava (one cap. but I do not know the dose), however every morning thereafter I wake up with a headache.

Kava Kava is good for occasional use but can make you drowsy. Another supplement that works well for anxiety is SAMe. My girlfriend has been using it to help with stress from work and it has helped greatly. The main draw back is that it is expensive. Another herb that works is valerian root, but that can also cause drowsiness.