Hi
Can you take a one-off medication to help with anxiety in a specific situation, or is something you have to take long-term so it gets into your system?
Naturally you can take herbal products, like Valerian ( make sure it's standardised to contain Valerenic Acid, and read the label that only the roots are used, not including the rhizome.) I self experimented with several Valerian products, and those that include the rhizome gave me headache.
The active ingredient of Valerian, used to be standardised according to the content of the Valepotriates, but just recently, it was found, that, Valerenic Acid is the active ingredient which binds to GABA-A ( sort of how benzodiazepines like Ativan, Xanax, etc binds, but only different in their subtypes.)
Passionflower is also good. And according to research, its effect is comparable to Oxazepam ( a short-acting benzodiazepine). Passionflower is also used traditionally to patients who are tapering down from Opiates ( Codeine, Morphine, Oxycodone etc).
There are many other various natural antianxiety herbs around, such as Kava, LemonBalm, Magnolia ( just recently added as a western herb, from a chinese herb), Zizyphus ( Chinese red dates), etc.
My advice if you want to use these natural product, make sure you consult with the Naturopath, and never just take it on the specific situation.
The reason is everyone reacts differently even to the same active ingredient, and the best person to seek advice from, is your own Healthcare professional.
Say I did wanna go to a party/meal or something - can I just take a tablet for these one-off occasions to help me cope? Also how effective are these meds? I'm planning on seeing my doc next week to discuss this matter. Any feedback beforehand would be appreciated - thanks
If you opt to see a doctor, then Pharmaceutical Products are prescribed.
Nowadays, doctors are more into antidepressants to treat anxiety and Panic Disorder.
According to the paper research I read, in the long term treatment of anxiety, antidepressants work better than benzodiazepine-type antianxieties.
But, the initial effect of antidepressants could make the patient more anxious, until about 3-4 weeks where the brain's neurotransmitters' receptors actually downregulate ( the simple term is the antidepressant "KICK" in).
So, during those time gap, doctors often prescribe Benzodiazepine-type of antianxieties, then it is tapered down slowly as the anxiolytic effect from the antidepresant works.
When you say anxiety, if it's performance anxiety, such as playing piano on stage, etc, then antihypertensive of the beta-Blockers are used.
The most common one is Inderal ( Propranolol), as it crosses the Blood Brain Barrier. While others don't.
So my advice is, you should seek sound advice from your doctor who knows your condition better.
Good luck.
kind regards,
Dave
