Social Anxiety Forum - Nutrition, Supplements and Exercise

5-HTP or Trytophan

metamorphosis — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:06:19 GMT

I'd like to take a poll.I'm looking into going the 5 HTP or Trytophan route.When I goggle I get conflicting answers to which has the most efficacy.So my question being to all of you at there that have tried one or the other or both.Which in your humble opionion has been the most effective for SA/depression,general sense of wellbeing etc. and if possible at what dose.
any responses would be greatly appreciated,Thanks!!!

Is it ok to take multiple supplements? Here's my list.

JWSTOCKTON82 — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:01:43 GMT

Is it ok to take multiple supplements? Here's my list.

Magnesium Chloride
Amino Fuel (Twinlab)
L-Theanine
L-Tyrosine
Taurine
Glutamine (powder)
Whey Protein
GABA (powder)
5-HTP
Flaxseed Oil (Omega 3 Fatty Acids)
Multivitamin/Mineral
Vitamin B-50

I'm also going to significantly reduce my intake of simple carbs and sugars, drink nothing but water, eats lots of lean protein, vegtables & fruits, and excercise.

After workout drinks/supplements

sda0 — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:22:48 GMT

I've been doing 15min cardio, about a half hour/45min of lifting, then 25min of cardio afterward. I was drinking a Myoplex shake (42g Protein) after each workout, but they got pricey at $17 for a 4 pack....switched to Muscle Milk Lite (100 calories, 15g Protein) and its cheaper and pretty good.

Is there anything else that would do me a little better? I'd prefer something already in liquid form, easier to toss a shake in my gym bag than mix one before I go.

My goal is weight loss/lean muscle building.

Has anyone found contraceptive injection to help/worsen S.A?

X JO — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:04:48 GMT

I had my 1st depo injection about 6 months ago, after i fell pregnant when taking the pill....
When i was on the depo injection my S.A seemed to improve amazingly. I went back to the old me for a short while, and i was SO happy and all my paranoia went away, i thought people were looking at me for all the right reasons, i got wolf whistled when i walked past a pub, and some guy started congratulating my bf! My happiness and confidence really showed, it was amazing.
Since i've gone on it the 2nd time, my S.A is friken awful and worse than ever. I'm having severe panic attacks, my depression is through the roof, i want to quit my job, i just want to stay home, i never get dressed properly and im suicidal all over again.
Nothing has changed since my 1st injection, so i have no idea why its doing this...or even if it is the injection thats made it worse.

Has anyone else found that the depo affects their S.A??
x

No Motivation to Work Out Anymore

QuakerOats167 — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:08:50 GMT

I used to swim every day and lift every day as well, and I was in the best shape of my life. Now that I'm away at school, I don't like walking across campus to the gym (where lots of people are, and I hate that when I'm working out) or pool... so I haven't been motivated to work out at all. I try to do body-weight exercises in my room whenever I feel like it (push ups, crunches, dips, etc) but it's just not enough. And I know exercise is really good for kicking anxiety and depression, but it's not working out anymore. I can't get fat or lose my tone or I might lose my modeling job, and I will just be even more self-conscious... how can I motivate myself to actually go work out or at least swim?

A possible connection between frozen food and anxiety attacks?

farleyknight — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 02:29:46 GMT

Firstly, I want to explain what tipped me off to this.

I was trying out Piracetam as a study aid, maybe dosing for 2 or 3 days. I didn't get any of the reported effects as far as increased learning ability or memory recall, but I *did* have an elevated mood, even though the day was rainy and horrible and no reason to be happy whatsoever. Which was weird, since none of the people on imminst.org mentioned this. Suffice to say, I took more, but it didn't seem to reproduce the same effects, so I put it away for now.

That said, I have been wondering what effects other nutrients, including my diet, could have on stabilizing (or de-stabilizing) my mood. Earlier this evening, I had some crappy frozen food, just some protein and carbs to keep me going. I didn't think anything of it.

But just a few moments ago, I went through some mild but painful anxiety attacks while studying alone in my room. Nothing in particular to provoke them, my brain just started messing with me without cause. I started wondering what caused this, perhaps my diet? I look at the package and it has 34% sodium of the daily recommended intake. Hmm.. maybe sodium has an effect on anxiety? I Google the terms sodium and anxiety and I come across this journal article:

http://bjp.rcpsych.org/cgi/content/abstract/119/549/129

Unfortunately it's just an abstract, so you can't read the entire article, just the abstract. But they mention that an increase in sodium lactate can produce attacks in people with anxiety disorders.

Quote:

Pitts and McClure reported that anxiety attacks could be produced in anxious patients by the infusion of sodium lactate, and they formulated a new theory to explain how this was achieved. To test their findings, 20 patients suffering from anxiety neurosis and 10 normal controls were given an intravenous infusion of saline followed by one of sodium lactate, and 12 minutes after the infusion ended they were stressed by mental arithmetic. Throughout the procedure, psychological and physiological arousal were monitored by observer and self-ratings of anxiety, forearm blood flow and heart rate. All these measures increased significantly when the intravenous cannula was inserted.

Quote:

Eighty-five per cent of the patients experienced an anxiety attack during or after the sodium lactate infusion, as compared with only 5 per cent during normal saline. The number of anxiety symptoms and mean observer and self-ratings of anxiety, forearm blood flow and heart rate were higher during the lactate than during the saline infusion.

Then I Google the term sodium lactate. Wikipedia says:

Quote:

Sodium lactate is commonly used in meat and poultry products to extend shelf life and increase food safety as it has a broad antimicrobial action and is effective at inhibiting most spoilage and pathogenic bacteria.[1]

I don't want to get into the details of what I ate, since it wasn't appetizing, but I'm nearly convinced that the frozen food I ate was probably loaded with that stuff.

So what does everyone think? Is this a possible connection?

Has anyone else been regulating their diet to help with their anxiety?

Is reducing sodium a part of that at all?

Personally, I'm going to start watching the mood I am in after I eat certain foods, especially during quiet study sessions where there are no social stimulus that would otherwise effect my behavior.

Getting off of Klonopin (Clonazepam)

KindredSpirit — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 22:27:07 GMT

Hello everyone,

I wasn't sure which forum to write this in but I really need some help getting off of this horrible drug called Klonopin and anyone that is an ex-klonopin user I would really appreciate your advice. I've been taking K since June of 2005. I went up to 1 mg 3 X a day back in Febuary of 2007 (Big mistake)
I started a tapering down on Friday November 6th of this year. I'm reducing at a rate of .25 mg a week and now I'm down to 2.5 mg.
I have some questions for the people that have gone down this road before. I would just like to know if I should be cutting back .125 mg a week instead of .25 mg a week.
I was actually seeing an addictionologist to help me out with this back in October and she turned out to be a real drug pusher. She told me that I had Bi-Polar 2 or Type II Bipolar Disorder which I don't have and she wanted to put me on Depakote.(She actually wanted to put me on Seroquel first) When I refused to take the Depakote she pretty much kicked me out of her office. (If you want more details on that fiasco just PM me)
I just recently met this guy on Y.T. that's coming off of Klonopin too and he's been on it for like 18 years, so he's really goin through he** right now.
He's come up with a special tonic that consist of 4 oz of warm water,
1 -1000 mg capsule of Calcium and Magnesium, 3 - 100 mg capsules of
L-Theanine, 100 mgs of 5-HTP and a few drops of Organic Vanilla extract.
Does anyone think this is unsafe or is it harmless?
I would greatly appreciate anyone's input because I have a long road ahead of me.

Does working out actually effect anxiety?

thoresh — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 06:19:46 GMT

Or is it "all in your head?"

I know many people who have gotten into better shape to try and combat anxiety and reduce their attacks.
In my experience, fr some it works and for some it does not.

Anyone out there with experience in this?

Dhea

AbstractAnxiety — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:07:00 GMT

Anybody take DHEA for their SA or any other reason?

Sugar Free food?

MavenMI6Agent009 — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 01:40:11 GMT

Is sugar free food generally bad for your health>? I read somwhere that foods containing ingredients like: saccharin, sucralose, and Aspartame make you fat. I drink a lot of sugar free energy drinks for my well being since it helps my depression but wonder if I should stop.

Do you jump rope?

ShinAkuma — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:55:04 GMT

I bought a jump rope like 3 weeks and it broke, I thought it was cause I was using it outside but I bought another one and used it inside on carpet and it broke, what the hell, it's leather and costs like $7. What kind of jump ropes are the best that are hard to break? what the hell...

Need tips on beginning excercise regime PLZ

DinahD2009 — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 02:21:37 GMT

I've heard excercise can do wonders for your mental health.

That said, I'd like to start getting in shape again. I havent played sports since highschool and I have a goal of losing about eight pounds. I have a treadmill at home and I'm just wondering if you all can give me some tips...

I have asthma and I'm pretty out of shape so I want to start semi-slow. How many minutes should I begin with a brisk walk? I'd like to make my way up to a run. How often a week should I do this?

* EVENTUALLY I'd like to go to my college gym. Thats the ultimate goal.

Thanks very much for any replies. I'm completley cluess! :roll

Breaking up work out time

akstylish — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 01:32:11 GMT

I'm thinking of doing 20 minutes of workout 3 times a day instead of 1 hour in one sitting. Will it be less effective to do so?

Eating raw garlic cloves

Wolfen — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:06:19 GMT

Because of eating raw garlic cloves, both sides of the back of my tongue hurt,like being burned.
Am I damaging my tongue? It hurts all the time now, but I could take it if I knew nothing was being damaged.
Does anyone know if this constant pain is normal?
Thanks.

Squat Check Video

drealm — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 06:22:37 GMT

I finally got everything in order to start my weightlifting/massive eating regiment again. You probably remember my last thread "Another Defeat For Today: Inability to pull off the squat."

With my renewed plan I got a camera to record my workouts in order to study my form. I figured I'd get some feed back from people here who have more experience with squats and general workouts.

This is basically my first time ever really trying squats. So I don't expect my form to be anything less than abysmal. From watching the video I think I have a hell of a long way to go.

The weight was a bit much to manage. So I'm not sure if I should just keep with it until I build muscle, or if I should figure out another exercise. Like should I try finding a standard bar to squat with? Or should I try dumbbell squats until I can manage an olympic weight bar? I'm willing to stick with this if my form is ok for starters, but I just don't know how ridiculous my form is compared to the norm.

Also the popping sound is from my right knee. I don't if it's because I'm double jointed, flexible, skinny, because I'm screwing up or a combination.

I'm basically going to be recording myself from now on in order to closely study my technique along with reading and rereading Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe.

Is this a good angle for reviewing on video? Or should I do it from another angel? I really want to study effectively.

Video below:

http://www.youtube.com/v/mV8jtwZxztY