A warning message about using Ashwagandha extract

You're right, all herbs are medicinal and should be treated as medicine - just like pharmaceuticals. We have a tendency to forget this due to easy access, but that doesn't change their effectiveness.

Ashwagandha is an adaptogen - In Ayurveda, there are specific herbs with adaptogenic benefits, Ashwagandha is one of them. Adaptogens are substances (a combination of amino acids, vitamins, and herbs) that modulate your response to stress or a changing environment. Adaptogens help the body cope with external stresses such as toxins in the environment and internal stresses such as anxiety and insomnia. www.chopra.com/ccl/ashwagandha#sthash.iBPK5B2E.dpuf

www.lifeextension.com/magazine/2006/6/report_ashwa/Page-01
"Ashwagandha, an exotic Indian herb, has demonstrated anti-anxiety and neuroprotective effects, and tantalizing evidence suggests that it is also a cancer fighter. Animal toxicity studies indicate that this remarkable plant is safe and well tolerated." But as you have discovered, not every herb is for every person - and this can't be said often enough, really.

I'm taking ashwagandha for adrenal issues more than anything, although it's good for thyroid issues as well for some. I had to run it by my doc first though as I had really severe adrenal issues and she wanted me waiting until I had some healing before trying it. I find it very useful, but still can't take it at night before bed or I won't sleep well at all. 3 hours of sleep just isn't enough.

Hey Trav - what brand/type of Ashwaghanda have you been taking? Ironically, Buhner mentions it may cause drowsiness.

I'm beginning to wonder about the tinctures I bought from Woodland Essence and Sage Woman Herbs...

My doc was concerned that it would ramp up my adrenals too much at first as well since we were still trying to get them to calm down, which is why she only just now gave me the okay to give it a try.

Thank you for a well timed subject!

finisului17 said...
,
maybe in he meantime your adrenals got better and you don t need Ashwaganda anymore?

yeah, maybe

This post really caught my eye and I have to add my experience. For a year and 1/2 I have been taking a giant mix of supplements and some herbals along with Clarithromycin. I am under the care of a wonderful LLMD and I also see a nurse practitioner in a different practice for hormone balancing (thyroid/adrenal/estrogen, etc.) There is significant overlap in their recommendations and they oversee the whole picture very well for me.

In May my nurse practitioner added Ashwaganda to the mix. I got the Pure Encapsulations brand because they both recommend it. Through the summer I had five distinct episodes of what was like food poisoning that lasted about 4 - 5 hours each. Complete involuntary explosive purging...you get the idea. I was careful to track what I had taken beforehand and avoided what I thought were the culprits. This can be hard when you take so much stuff and they all seem important. One of the supplements I suspected was Ashwaganda so I put it away in an upstairs cupboard where it sat in the dark for at least two months.

One night a couple weeks ago in a stroke of genius I decided I should start taking it again because of the benefits I keep hearing about. I dug around for the bottle and took one capsule before bed. Exactly two hours after I took the Ashwaganda, I spent five hours alternately wrapped around the toilet and laying on the cold tile floor next to it bathed in sweat. The velocity of my body getting rid of it was the stuff of horror movies. I can rule out some factors: I had taken all my other Rx/supplements about three hours prior, and my stomach was not empty.

I called Pure Encapsulations a couple days later when I felt normal again to give them the batch number in case they got other calls on it. We ruled out expiration date issues and I confirmed I only took one capsule, not megadoses.

If any of you have had this happen, it would be really good to hear. I'm pretty sure I threw the bottle away. Hmmmm, I should have kept it in case I need to inflict harm on any extended family members after Christmas get-togethers. Just hope they all behave and don't get into any crazy political arguments! LOL!

Petez have you tried the chronic tonic..? I know it has other thread but just curious