Posted by verne on April 4, 2009, at 22:06:23
In reply to Re: Is it safe to use Kava during benzo withdrawal? » qbsbrown, posted by myco on April 4, 2009, at 20:31:58
I've read that the Kava "root" isn't harmful to the liver and get mine from Kona Farms or iamshaman.com I never notice that much with Kava, good or bad, and rarely use it.
As for benzo withdrawal. I've had no success with melatonin, Gaba, Valerian, Passion Flower and Skullscap to name a few. Most of the typical sedating herbs just make me tired and agitated at the same time with the following exceptions: Graviola and Mulungu - also known as Mulacca.
Both are Amazon rainforest herbs with sedating and anti-depressant qualities without the invasivness or body load you mention. Both are very smooth and nothing like the usual western herbs like valerian - with the accompanying drugged feeling and sweatiness.
I've tried most of the enthno alternatives, some barely legal, the best that Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine have to offer, yet there's no comparison to the amazon herbs. I had a headache for 3 days after ingesting a moderate dose of Kratom from Vietnam. Of all the lotus plants, only the white lotus from a pond in Nepal seemed to have any real effect. You name it, I've probably tried it.
I've had better success buying graviola and mulungu in bulk and capping it myself. I don't know why but the pre-capped is less effective, not mention more expensive. I stay away from any rainforest mixture because they often throw in Passion Flower which is another late-night wallclimber for me.
I recently added one more rainforest herb to the mix which I also buy in bulk: Sarsaparilla. I used to buy it from Nature's Way for a skin condition and noticed that it had a slightly sedating, even analgesic feel to it. The literature bears that out.
The Rainforest Herbs site has extensive literature on all the amazon herbs. However, I usually buy graviola at iherb.com for about 25% less but both sites have been sold out for over two months.
I hope to be off benzos in the next year after a long taper. Recent binge drinking upset the tapering and I'm back where I started.
Verne
poster:verne
thread:888648
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20090204/msgs/888732.html