Drug Interactions and Wanting Community Input (POLL)

[KavaSpectacular]

What's up everyone, I hope you're all having a great day.

I'm going to order some Kava here within the next few days to help me through withdrawal of coming off of SSRI's. I was wondering if anyone here drinks Kava while on risperdal or propranolol, and if there would be any interactions to look out for.

I'm attempting to get off most of my psych meds to pursue herbal remedies, as I was still a mess on many psych meds with anxiousness, so why not try herbs and plants as a method of medicating myself instead of making pharmaceutical fat cats rich!

I'm going to try Kava anyways (i'll be the kavaforums guinea pig), but just wondered if anybody had first hand experience combining those meds with awa. I'll eventually be off of all meds, but for now need a little something to combat the antidepressant withdrawals, and Kava seems to fit the bill.

Thanks for reading!

I've included a short poll on if people drink Kava with medications so we can gauge the communities response. It'd be great if you could reply with the medication you take after completing the poll. This will all of course be ANECDOTAL evidence as everyone reacts differently to herb/med combinations.

 

[Groggy]

Welcome to the forums, I used to take benzos for anxiety and was a heavy drinker and I've traded both in for kava. It's a safe bet that any transition or reduction on psych meds should be done slowly and under your doctor's supervision. You'll find many people like myself around here with similar success stories. Kava can be a wonderful alternative.

 

[schatz]

Welcome, sorry cannot help you with info on med interactions as I have refused them. Although I have suffered with anxiety and depression I prefer more natural ways to deal with it and kava fits the bill along with some other various amino's and adaptogenics. Good luck on your journey.

 

[Krunkie McKrunkface]

I have not taken any drugs of any kind in over 10 years. Is kava a drug? I tell folks it's an ethnobotanical herbal supplement.

 

[verticity]

I have not taken any drugs of any kind in over 10 years. Is kava a drug? I tell folks it's an ethnobotanical herbal supplement.

It is a technically a drug, yes. In my opinion, it is a good and quite harmless one though.

 

[Krunkie McKrunkface]

Seems to have incredible power as an anti-inflammatory, for sure. I don't know if others have seen this effect. I have a chronic inflammatory condition (USpA) and it has made enormous good changes in my life.

 

[verticity]

Seems to have incredible power as an anti-inflammatory, for sure. I don't know if others have seen this effect. I have a chronic inflammatory condition (USpA) and it has made enormous good changes in my life.

It's true. There is some evidence kava could hava an anti-inflammatory action similar to aspirin. Kava seems to be a COX inhibitor, which is the same effect that gives things like aspirin and ibuprofen their anti-inflammatory effect.
http://kavascience.org/posts/t46-Evidence-that-kava-is-a--blood-thinner

 

[Krunkie McKrunkface]

I even suspect that the cancer preventing effects noted with especially Fijian noble kava could be traceable to its anti-inflammatory effects, i.e. maybe it prevents cancer by in the first place preventing the kinds of inflammation that could lead to cancer. I don't drink kava for this reason (I mean, this isn't why I drink kava), but prostate cancer killed my father at an early age, and my brother has it, so if that's a fringe benefit for me, I think that's great. I'm not pinning my hopes on kava or anything for this, and won't blame it if or when my turn comes around (I've had a good innings, IAE), but if it helps in this way, too, in addition to all the other ways it has made my life better, then I guess I could, um, live with that. ftr so far kava has been completely kicking the butt of my USpA, beyond anything I ever imagined possible, and I had never expected any effect from kava in this regard. A refreshing and delightful surprise, to say the least.

Oh, and thanks for posting that link. That explains why it would act as an NSAID, which is the usual treatment for USpA.