Supplements causing Anxiousness?
 

I have always been a worrier, but recently, my anxiousness is getting worse. I am not sure whether this is caused by my pain or is it caused by any of my medicines and/or supplements. As far as my personal life is concern, there is no problem in that department.

I am currently taking the following drugs and supplements:

1) Gabapentin
2) Synthroid
3) Restasis/Fresh Kote/Refresh PM
3) Benfotiamine 150mg (2x/day)
4) Acetyl L Carnitine (2x/day)
5) R-Lipoic 100mg (1x/day)
6) SAM-e 200mg (1x/day)
7) Multivitamin
8) Omega 3,6,9 (2x/day)
9) Vitamin C 500mg
10) Vitamin E 200mg
11) Calcium 600mg
12) Vitamin D3 2000mg (4x/week)
13) Selenium 200mg (1x/week)
14) Epsom Salt - soaking my feet (and soon I will use Epsom-It Body Rub once it arrives in the mail)

I could not understand why I could not relax...on most days, I would be anxious from the moment I wake up. My husband got me these guided meditations and all sort of calming and meditation music. When I start to listen to them, I try very hard to concentrate but my mind would wonder into something else, e.g. my future with this pain, chores to do (even these chores that I worried about are not critical), Please take note that I am not the kind of person who just sit and whine and complain. I make myself busy doing anything to make myself productive at home. I go out, talk and see my friends, exercise (even my feet are killing me). I do a lot of readings and and yes, gardening! I make myself busy.

I am suspecting it could be gabapentin .Could it be r-Lipoic but I am taking the lowest dosage. Could be SAM-e, but then again, I am only taking the lowest dosage as well. So, I dont know....

Will appreciate inputs.
Thank you.

Are you near or in menopause? Once I started a bio-identical estrogen, it made a huge difference in my anxiety. I too had no reason for anxiety but it seemed like everything was caused my body to have a stress response.

You may want to have your estrogen, progesterone and testosterone checked.

I forgot to include in my earlier post the COQ10.

If it's one of the supplements (some are more/less likely than others), trial & error can often/usually find it - discontinue then one at a time for 1-2 months to see if it makes a difference. I would start with the most likely candidates (I'm not familiar with all of them and their possible SE, so I hesitate to suggest which) and work toward the least likely. Many you won't even have to bother with if you find the culprit. ;)

Marlene has a good point that it could be hormonal. It could be something else too, that might require some detective work on your part.

Doc

No B12? :eek: :D

Doc

Yes, I am menopaused for 3 years now. It came when I was 47.

How many years have you been on estrogen? Is bio-identical estrogen a special kind? What kind of doctor is monitoring you on this? I talked to my endocrinologist and he referred me to my primary care physician for hormonal testing.

I know there are people with success on estrogen treatment, like you. But there are also stories with side effects that is why I am concerned about it. How often are you monitored by your doctor? Is there a test that monitors the safety level in your system (not sure if the phrase "safety level" is correct to use)?

I vote for the SAMe. Stop taking it for a few days, and reintroduce it every other day.

My son gets this way from SAMe. He has tried it several times, and the anxiety issue always comes up with time. He loves it at first, but then he says his neck gets stiff and he becomes irritable after a month or so. SAMe increases neurotransmitter synthesis. Too much of the norepi and dopamine neurotransmitters is stimulating. For some this may put a strain on the GABA system, which calms us. That is my theory. I find Theanine very good for anxiety. This supplement works on GABA receptors.

CoQ-10 is energizing for some people too. So stop that for a few days as well. If you go back, do a lesser dose, or every other day.

As people start to get better, some things then become too high, and need to be cut back. I think the body's metabolism shifts, when things were previously slow, to getting more in gear, and hence dosing may need to be lowered.

I personally cannot take R-lipoic twice a day (200mg) all the time.
If I do take that 2nd dose, it is 2 or 3 times a week. When I started lipoic acid I had to do so slowly as well. For some reason it really jived me up!

Oh yes, I forgot, I am taking Vitamin B12 5000mcg (methycobalamine)....see, how my memory lapses? (well, blame it Gabapentin...LOL)

Is it not that green tea has Theanine? I drink a lot of green tea (decaf). It has been my beverage as early as in my 20's.

How long is "few days" Mrs. D? Sorry, for this trivial question, but I just want to do the right thing. SAM-e could not be the cause of my neck tightness because it has been with me long before I started on it.

I am taking 100mg COQ10, is there a lower dosage?

The R-Lipoic I am taking is 100mg (1x/day), do you think I should continue this dosage daily while I suspend the SAM-e and CoQ10?

Thank you.

SAMe, lipoic acid, CoQ-10 are made in your body too. You are supplementing them, to make up for losses due to aging or another reason (toxin/drug damage).

So skipping them for a while is not going to be harmful.

I really think it is the SAMe. This in particular is very energizing and I warned you about that.

Also look at your tea consumption. CAFFEINE is also in green tea, unless you use a decaffeinated form. CAFFEINE really sneaks up on people and can also give anxiety.

Yes, Theanine is in green tea, but not in large amounts. Using the theanine as a supplement has been recommended recently by Dr. Blaylock MD, and Joano brought that information to us here last summer. That is when I added it to my supplement list.
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/sh...light=theanine

I started bioidentical estradiol in Oct 2011 at the lowest dose of the Viville dot. After two weeks, my symptoms weren't better so my doctor upped the dosage to next level. That pretty much took care of things. Then I was to add in progesterone and that was and is still a balancing act. I started on an oral prometrium and hated it so switched to a compounded cream. Again I started low and worked up. I am still trying to figure out the right dosing for this. Until things are worked out, I test every three months but what I've found is that you also have to take into consideration your symptoms.

For me, I find the progesterone messes with me so I may end up cycling this one. Progesterone cream seems to build up in me and throws all my hormones into a flurry. So now I know what to look for and back off. The problem with hormone replacement is that your levels are never static naturally so a static dosing of the replacement of them is not an exact science.

My OB/GYN is overseeing this for me and she prefers bio-identical hormones. You can find a doctor who deals with them by calling a local compounding pharmacy and asking them for some doctor names. It can take time to find the right product and dose that works for you. And since you have thyroid issues, it may take a while longer.

But start low and go slow.

Regarding testing..... some doctors only believe in blood serum test while others prefer to monitor levels once on HRT via saliva tests. I'm doing both and find even though I may fall into a normal range, that does not always translate to being the right balance for me. So you really have to advocate for yourself.

Thank you Mrs.D.

I take decaf green tea. I remember you mentioned about the potential hyperactive effect of SAMe, I thought it was a feeling of being too excited in a nice way:winky:.

I will skip the 3 supplements for a while, then I will go back re-start.

Hi
I just wanted to chime in I went through menopause and it was easy. My dr suggested HRT and i chose not to use it and used Evening Primrose Oil it is a supplement and you can find it in any vit aisle. No hot flashed as they stopped within 2 days of starting it ,no mood swings ,anxiousness,or any of the many other "wonderful" other thing we get to put up with at this time of our lives.
A Dr at Duke recommends it to his breast cancer patients since it has no hormones of any kind.I was told about it by a breast cancer survivor. I had no side effects except i did not need a walk in freezer any more lol

Hormone balance has been critical for me. The compounded gels. Estrogen, pregnenolone, progesterone, testosterone, 7Keto DHEA. You have to fine excellent doctors for good balance. Most have no idea how to do it.

I love l carnitine, but after a while, it makes me too alert, I have stopped taking it daily. I now take it every few days.