85 replies to this topic

[Introspecta]

Ashwagandha never aboloshied my Phenibut withdrawals. Thats with me sometimes taking up to 20 capsules of the 8% extract. So I can't say I agree.

[health_nutty]

I've been taking Ashwagandha for two years now (with breaks during vacation and other odd times). I've never noticed tolerance or withdrawals (even with larger doses of 2g of 7% extract).

[jetmango]

Hi, currently I'm taking ashwagandha for approx 45 days... without any breaks. I've noticed strange nervousness, that lies underneath normal ashwa-working... It's like being a GABA machine as someone over this forum noticed... it started a couple of days ago but my GF told me that she noticed I am far more cynical, complaining a lot about other ppl and basically it is more easier for me to become aggressive [normally I am not]

I will do a break after a few days and see whether the effects will wear off. Also, I noticed weird action- when taking KSM-66 extract tolerance build up rather quickly [approx. 2,5 weeks] but I started taking ashwa from Himalaya and... tolerance disappeared! Now I usually take one from KSM-66 and the 2nd one [I am taking 2 per day] from Himalaya and this way I am avoiding tolerance - really curious.

[Multicultural Harmony]

Withania, for me is like a weak version of water. I actually notice more effects from water than I do withania. I like nicotine though and am addicted to it, and proudly so, although I can quit whenever I choose to and often do for a week or two at a time. Sensoril, whole root, damnit maybe I've been too impatient w/it, even though I've given it a months + trial of both.

IMO. Addiction is good, it is the opposite of nihilism, especially if controlled. My only wish would be for nicotine to not be carcinogenic. Nicotine helps keep me in the state of 'wanting' rather than not giving a damn about anything. For me, this means nicotine pawns withania. Although I think withania does contain trace amounts of nicotine? lol, idk.

Withania, for me is like a weak version of water. I actually notice more effects from water than I do withania. I like nictine though and am addicted to it, although I can quit whenever I want to. Sensoril, whole root, damnit maybe I've been too impatient w/it, even though I've given it a months + trial of both.


IMO. Addiction is good, it is the opposite of nihilism, especially if controlled. My only wish would be for nicotine to not be carcinogenic. Nicotine helps keep me in the state of 'wanting' rather than not giving a damn about anything. For me, this means nicotine pawns withania. Although I think withania does contain trace amounts of nicotine? lol, idk.

btw the edit feature seems laggy

Edited by Pitolisant, 21 December 2013 - 07:13 AM.

[Multicultural Harmony]

Withania, for me is like a weak version of water. I actually notice more effects from water than I do withania. I like nicotine though and am addicted to it, and proudly so, although I can quit whenever I choose to and often do for a week or two at a time. Sensoril, whole root, damnit maybe I've been too impatient w/it, even though I've given it a months + trial of both.

IMO. Addiction is good, it is the opposite of nihilism, especially if controlled. My only wish would be for nicotine to not be carcinogenic. Nicotine helps keep me in the state of 'wanting' rather than not giving a damn about anything. For me, this means nicotine pawns withania. Although I think withania does contain trace amounts of nicotine? lol, idk.

Withania, for me is like a weak version of water. I actually notice more effects from water than I do withania. I like nictine though and am addicted to it, although I can quit whenever I want to. Sensoril, whole root, damnit maybe I've been too impatient w/it, even though I've given it a months + trial of both.


IMO. Addiction is good, it is the opposite of nihilism, especially if controlled. My only wish would be for nicotine to not be carcinogenic. Nicotine helps keep me in the state of 'wanting' rather than not giving a damn about anything. For me, this means nicotine pawns withania. Although I think withania does contain trace amounts of nicotine? lol, idk.

btw the edit feature seems laggy

Somehow the post quoted itself wth, lol

[ratzynal]

Actually, benzodiazepines produce anxiolysis within an hour or so, or 5 minutes if taken sublingually. If ashwagandha mimics the effects prodcued by benzodiazepines, then it can be expected to act fairly quickly. I noticed an effect from a dose of 1.2 grams (extract) within an hour and a half the first time I took it.

Unfortunately, benzodiazepines are very addictive, and cessation can be fatal in some instances. So it is possible that ashwagandha could produce a similar type of dependence/tolerance, but at a much slower rate. Ashwagandha, afterall, is not nearly as effective as benzodiazepines. I'll try stopping ashwagandha abruptly after 2 months of use and let you all know what happens.

Really, what is the water solubility of benzos? Almost nil. Let us look at Diazepam, 50 ug per ml in water, so you need 200 ml to dissolve 10mg. So the answer is , the sublingual effect of benzos is......Placebo.

[ratzynal]

Actually, benzodiazepines produce anxiolysis within an hour or so, or 5 minutes if taken sublingually. If ashwagandha mimics the effects prodcued by benzodiazepines, then it can be expected to act fairly quickly. I noticed an effect from a dose of 1.2 grams (extract) within an hour and a half the first time I took it.

Unfortunately, benzodiazepines are very addictive, and cessation can be fatal in some instances. So it is possible that ashwagandha could produce a similar type of dependence/tolerance, but at a much slower rate. Ashwagandha, afterall, is not nearly as effective as benzodiazepines. I'll try stopping ashwagandha abruptly after 2 months of use and let you all know what happens.

Really, what is the water solubility of benzos? Almost nil. Let us look at Diazepam, 50 ug per ml in water, so you need 200 ml to dissolve 10mg. So the answer is , the sublingual effect of benzos is......Placebo.

Forgot about ativan. Sorry.

[Mossy86]

I'm very glad I found this thread.

I am experiencing some very unpleasant withdrawal symptoms after being on an Ashwagandha Root tincture for ~6 months and stopping for the past 2 days. Since stopping, I have been unable to fall asleep. I lay awake for hours with a fast heart-rate, and I go through periods where I feel very warm and have to kick off all the covers. I also feel very agitated, but that could very well just be the lack of sleep.

I have skimmed through most of this thread, and I understand that these types of withdrawal symptoms are unusual. With that said, I have always been very sensitive to drugs/supplements/etc of any kind. My health specialist put me on Ashwagandha to help alleviate adrenal fatigue symptoms. I have been taking a "professional strength herbal fluid extract" at "1:1" strength. It says on the back that 1ml (20 drops) is equivalent to 1000mg of plant. For these past 6 months, my dosage has been 10 drops (=500mg) twice daily (morning and early afternoon). I never took any breaks because I was under the impression that this was a harmless herb. Now I'm learning just how powerful it is.

Could someone please help me to determine my best course of action? I could start using it again, but am very hesitant to now that I am 2 days into withdrawal. I'm inclined to believe my best bet is get through the withdrawals, take a break from it, and then consider reintroducing it (in moderation) once things have normalized. Can anyone tell me how long I should expect the insomnia to continue. Also, is there anything I can do to reduce the withdrawal symptoms? Is there any merit in taking a low-dose of ashwaganda to ween myself off?

Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks!

[machete234]

If it is really that strong and the withdrawal that bad tapering off could be an option.
Basically mabe you are at half your dose allready so you take that half dose from now on and you take a drop less everyday.

Tapering off would simply make it more pleasant thats the merrit I guess.

When I took lots of extract and stopped cold turkey the symptoms where there maybe for 3-5 days (stiff neck and so on)

[HoldingTheFaith]

I'm very glad I found this thread.

I am experiencing some very unpleasant withdrawal symptoms after being on an Ashwagandha Root tincture for ~6 months and stopping for the past 2 days. Since stopping, I have been unable to fall asleep. I lay awake for hours with a fast heart-rate, and I go through periods where I feel very warm and have to kick off all the covers. I also feel very agitated, but that could very well just be the lack of sleep.

Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks!

I would try Bacopa, Scienceguy says it upregulates GABA receptors, thus, it is likely to be very useful in this scenario. And next time, remember, take breaks from adaptogens and such. 2 month on, 2 month off, 2 weeks on, 2 weeks off, or even just stopping the weekends (5/2). A guy in a forum did 6 weeks on and 2 weeks off from Gotu Kola for his social phobia.

I also have adrenal fatigue and I have came up with an awesome plan. For a period of time, say 2 months, I will be with x adaptogens, and on the off period of these, I will be on others. Bacopa which is also a powerful adaptogen will be always in the off period of Ashwagandha and Gotu Kola (allegedly GABA receptor downregulators). I know, brilliant. XD

Edited by HoldingTheFaith, 17 February 2014 - 03:59 PM.

[jetmango]

Also, you can try to ask your GP to prescribe you BISOCARD / BISOPROLOL -it's a beta-blocker , it's very potent and very safe and it works wonders with GABA downregulation

http://en.wikipedia....wiki/Bisoprolol

and most of all - do not panic! These symptoms might be unpleasant and pretty scary [unable to fall asleep, tachycardia etc] but they will wear off in 7-10 days. Probably sooner than that. So don't worry.

Ah, don't drink alcohol - it might make tachycardia worse. Good luck

Edited by mangoa, 17 February 2014 - 03:55 PM.

[Mossy86]

Thanks for the information, guys. For what it's worth, my sleep returned to normal after 5-6 days. I'm kind of scared to start using it again, but perhaps I'll take your advice and try taking regular breaks after reintroducing it.

[Epigenesis]

Speaking of Ashwagandha acting like a benzo from the beginning of the thread, can it cause a false positive on a drug test? Can any nootropic or herbal supplement discussed on this forum cause a false positive? This is very important to me, I am drug free but if I fail a drug test because of a false positive there could be some pretty bad consequences for me as I am not sure I'll get benefit of the doubt. Thanks

Edited by Epigenesis, 17 February 2014 - 06:55 PM.

[jetmango]

I seriously doubt it, besides it is legal you can simply tell the truth - its a herbal supplement available without prescription

[UL Vijayendran]

I was on 2gm asw powder concentrate for 2months. Then after a week of cold turkey I was on withdrawal this scares me,i have to some how recover from this situation. Right now I have faster heart beat, shaking, stiff neck, insomnia. Plz help..

Edited by UL Vijayendran, 12 August 2015 - 01:58 PM.

[Mossy86]

I was on 2gm asw powder concentrate for 2months. Then after a week of cold turkey I was on withdrawal this scares me,i have to some how recover from this situation. Right now I have faster heart beat, shaking, stiff neck, insomnia. Plz help..

 

Hi, I received your PM but was not able to reply for some reason (possibly because I have not made enough posts yet to be given PM privileges).

 

Anyways, in my case, the withdrawal symptoms subsided after about one week if I recall correctly. My health is fine now; things quickly went back to normal after I got over the initial symptoms. I suspect you'll be feeling better soon. Good luck.

Edited by Mossy86, 12 August 2015 - 04:43 PM.

[UL Vijayendran]

Thanks mossy86 for the quick reply. That was really helpful n refreshing. have u tapered ur dose or on cold turkey while withdrawal? Im counting days to become normal.

Everyone out there please Do NOT try Ashwagandha! its more potent! that's my humble advice.

Edited by UL Vijayendran, 13 August 2015 - 12:33 AM.

[machete234]

2g of concentrate was too much.

You could taper down over a few weeks

[AlmostEasy]

I developed complete tolerance of Ashwgandha KSM-66.  It was great at 250mg for months, then 500mg for more months, I then discontinued to try other things.

 

Upon using it again at 500mg a year or so later it was potent for a couple days and now even with 1.5g I don't even notice it.  Extremely disappointing, it was one of my favorites.

[Lee H]

Hi, i need help please. This is the first time I have used ashwagandha and iv read that you add 1 and a half teaspoons of ashwagandha raw powder to a cup of warm milk. I added 1 teaspoon of sugar too, I stired it up well and I came to drink it and it tastes absolutely discusting, I found it hard to drink even half of it. Is this normal? The powder sticks to the side of the cup too. I just need to know if this is how it's supposed to be, I purchased my ashwagandha powder from nutriseed online. Thankyou

[aurenzzi]

The ashwagandha becomes much more effective after a break. My tolerance is reset.

[gamesguru]

I developed complete tolerance of Ashwgandha KSM-66.  It was great at 250mg for months, then 500mg for more months, I then discontinued to try other things.

 

Upon using it again at 500mg a year or so later it was potent for a couple days and now even with 1.5g I don't even notice it.  Extremely disappointing, it was one of my favorites.

 

 

The ashwagandha becomes much more effective after a break. My tolerance is reset.

 

ok, certainly.  But did we experience withdrawals, or anything near the end of the spectrum.. of benzo withdrawal?

[jroseland]

The gandha is staple in my biohacking!

[gamesguru]

The gandha is staple in my biohacking!

 

thats cool brah.  nothing is my biohacking.  so simple.  and i just got back from two professors' offices.  i am neither employed with nor attending the university.  the math prof i just shot the shit with and swapped putnam exam sets.  the physics ones i hadn't met before and i was just trying to pressure into writing research with some guy off the streets

[motorcitykid]

Try cycling it every other week, that works for me.

Edited by motorcitykid, 31 October 2018 - 04:36 AM.

[rgnvld]

I took 450-900 mcg of Ashwagandha extract daily for about 2-3 months three years ago and have still not recovered. I don't know what caused this, but I appear to have downregulated my serotonin receptors, as I have symptoms of mild PSSD. I stopped taking Ashwagandha due to not really noticing any effects other than decreased libido, but after I went off of it I lost all desire to seek out pleasure, sexual or otherwise, and I totally lost the urge to masturbate. I suspected it was a hormonal issue, but my testosterone levels are in the upper range, so there is no problem there. These are my only symptoms, though, as I have no problems with mood, sleep or energy. I have never read about anyone having a similar experience, so I don't really know how to proceed in fixing this.

Edited by rgnvld, 17 January 2019 - 10:05 PM.