Magnolia Bark

[Janie]

I want to share some things that have helped me with my protracted withdrawal anxiety symptoms.

 

1) I've found something that has helped quite a bit. It's magnolia bark. It calms and relaxes. I use the Seditol brand product. It can be a bit expensive, unless you shop around on the internet. This was recommended to me by my holistic doctor and I'm so glad to have found it. It has been used in Chinese medicine for thousands of years and is not addictive.

 

I started taking 1 capsule three times a day, but that was actually too much. Now I twist open the capsules and add the contents to a bit of applesauce to better control my intake and only take what I need depending on how I feel.

 

Sometimes I feel quite sleepy maybe 15 minutes after taking it (especially if I take a full capsule), but that passes and the calming effect lasts for several hours until I might need another dose. I feel it calms the tightness in my stomach and my jangled nerves and feelings of worry and anxiety. It helps me function and get through the work day.

 

If I take it at night, I sometimes feel it has a bad side effect of depressing the brain signal to breath. Many cough medicines warn of 'sleeplessness' if taken for too many days. That is because some drugs interfere with the signal to breath while asleep. I would awaken feeling like I had stopped breathing. Each time I fell asleep, I'd awaken with this feeling. But by taking smaller doses of Seditol and trying not to take it at bedtime I have not had that bad side effect.

 

2) As many of you already have mentioned, but new readers might not be aware of - deep breathing helps a great deal. As you breath in, push your stomach out. This allows more air to enter the lungs and has a calming effect. Doing it for even 30-60 seconds can help. I also used Kundalini yoga breathing (very fast breathing with stomach movement) when I was having the worse anxiety (almost a panic attack) and that helped resolve it, or can prevent the worse anxiety coming on. I Now use either of these breathing techniques when the anxiety starts up to keep it from escalating. It helps when the momentary WAVES of anxiety wash over me.

 

3) exercise. I think I would be dead if I didn't have my exercise workouts. Usually after a good workout of getting out of breath and hopefully perspiring too, for at least 18-20 minutes, you will get an after effect of endorphins that will address the anxiety for at least 4-5 hours I'd say. Even just taking a walk or lifting some weights will often get the blood flowing and get you breathing enough to burn off some anxiety energy and help the mood.

 

4) Relaxation CDs. I'm sure meditaion or yoga could also be used, but lying down with a relaxation cd has helped me. I have some of Glenn Harrold's relaxation/hypnosis CDs and find them calming. I always get relaxed and even fall asleep while listening. Using headphones is best.

 

5) My doctor next tried replacement hormones (bio-identical) for me and it has changed my life. After 4 days on the hormones I started to feel much better and it's now been 2 weeks. The anxiety has greatly dissipated. I still have symptoms, but the frequency, duration and magnitude are all lessened. I mostly can function in a 'window' of normalcy or near normalcy. I can now eat again. My stomach is not constantly knotted with tension and I can enjoy food, feel hungry, my mood is better, I am sleeping much better. I still feel depressed and somewhat anxious at times, and get momentary waves of anxiety especially in the early a.m. Yes I am still in withdrawal, but something about these hormones is helping my brain function much closer to normal. My doctor said progesterone has a calming effect. I'm much happier overall and able to live my life with near normalcy.

 

It makes me wonder if all of us on this forum, i.e., we, the smallish percentage of people who have to suffer with protracted withdrawal do so because of some deficiency in the body. If we can help our bodies with good nutrition, good pro-biotics in the gut, check our thyroid and address any thyroid and other hormone problems, perhaps we would recover more quickly. The body is so complex and there can be underlying, undiagnosed problems and deficiencies. At least they could be a CONTRIBUTING factor in our problem with slow healing and recovery.

 

I wanted to share these discoveries in hope they can help someone else. As I near the 1-year mark being totally off Effexor in a few more months, I'm hoping my brain healing will continue. I do have hope that some day I can stop these hormones, the seditol and L-Tryptophan, and be totally recovered.

[peggy]

Hi Janie,

Thanks for sharing!

Interesting comments re magnolia bark - i would be interested in hearing other peoples thoughts on that - certainly the breathing techniques are great and exercise is a MUST for me.

[Sparrow]

Those who take benzos may wish to avoid magnolia bark:

 

Two magnolia bark studies

 

"The biphenolic compounds honokiol (H) and magnolol (M), the main components of the Chinese medicinal plant Magnolia officinalis, interact with GABA(A) receptors in rat brain in vitro...The potentiation of GABAergic neurotransmission by H and M is probably involved in their previously reported anxiolytic and central depressant effects."

 

Sparrow

[GiaK]

peggy,

since you asked I used magnolia bark successfully for a while then, as most substances do, it went paradoxical on me...it seems now that I can't do substances at all...natural or not...food is where my substance use ends these days...

 

 

breathing, yoga, and relaxation CDs are all things I also use...good stuff, I agree. bio-identical hormones were not a good thing...(substances, again)

 

the substance thing is my body...and I used them as long as they were helpful...they just mostly seem unhelpful now.

[peggy]

thanks Gia.... i am not good at taking stuff - sometimes they play with my thoughts and i start feeling guilty...

 

i really like the idea of meditating and breathing through it all. I would really like to work on being able to separate myself from how i feel - since i have been lucky enough to so far avoid a lot of the really bad physical withdrawal, it's mainly emotional stuff for me - anxiety and obsessive thoughts about my anxiety and how will i get cope are the main focus of my withdrawal process - and of course the poor sleep and my anxiety around that My therapist helps me a lot with all of that but i can't keep her in my back pocket!!!

[Ventus]

So this herb definitely helps with sleep. Its more subtle then the other sleep aids since I am still waking multiple times per night but I do sleep more and better when I take it a few hours before bed. but researching it It seems to have the same kind of effect as a benzo. Is it safe? For now I don't plan to take it for more then 2 weeks.