Zoloft and Kava

[jetsman21]

Hi,

2nd question of the day for me- dang newbies! I currently take Zoloft (150MG Day). Is it safe to use Kava Kava while taking Zoloft? This is my 2nd day on Kava Kava and I just had a HUGE anxiety attack because I never thought about the adverse affects of mixing them and if it could hurt and or kill me. I am having visions of being rushed to the emergency room this evening by my wife and kids........... I HATE anxiety!

 

[The Kap'n]

Ssri's and kava work in totally different ways. I can't tell you exactly what to do because I'm not a doctor, but there should be no interaction between the two.

 

[verticity]

I take Effexor, which is an SNRI, with kava with no ill effects. I can't recommend anyone else do so, because I don't believe the interactions have been studied enough, or at all, to definitively say it is safe. But it is a risk I choose to take, and so far have had no problems. I'm not a doctor either, just relating my experience.

 

[jetsman21]

Ok thank you for the info. I just did a quick google search about SSRI's and Kava and couldn't find anything that scared me LOL. I wasn't even familiar with the acronym SSRI but I am now!

 

[The Kap'n]

Technically Zoloft works by partially blocking the re-uptake of serotonin in your brain's synapses. This allows more seratonin to remain present. Kava works on a totally different system known as the gabaergic system. More similar to the way benzos work, but without the addiction and withdrawal portion that's seen with benzos. There are people here who can explain it wayy better than I can, but that's the general idea.

The herb you wouldn't' want to mix with Zoloft is St. John's Wort.

 

[verticity]

Right, I wouldn't be concerned about interaction between neurotransmitter effects, but more about interactions involving metabolism. In other words, if a med you are taking is metabolized by one of the same liver enzymes that metabolizes kava, there is the potential that kava could alter the concentration of your meds in your system. I don't know enough about the details to say whether or not this would be the case for Zoloft. But basically this kind of problem is possible when you use any combination of 2 or more drugs that are metabolized by the liver; it is kind of a lesser order problem than something like serotonin syndrome from taking too many serotonergic meds; but there are combinations you definitely need to avoid for this reason, such as Tylenol + kava, or alcohol + kava.

And please remember... I'm not a doctor. But unfortunately not very many doctors would know much about this either.

 

[The Kap'n]

See! I'm so glad we have such awesome members or I would have totally forgotten to remark on the metabolization process. We've got some seriously smart people in here.