please, some feedback!!

[blackbird]

hi all,

i'm superintrigued by this herb (rhodiola rosea). i started taking it just a couple days back, had already been on the potent german-source sjw for about a week. i didn't want to quit the sjw after finding out about the rhodiola (which i'm more attracted to based on it's purported uses and benefits), because it sounds like the rhodiola can wear off (due to tolerance), pretty quick whereas sjw seems to keep working for years, in some cases.

i'm seeing now the wisdom in kelly's advice to not mix treatments so you can clearly identify what works. however, i always seem to need to do things the hard (-headed) way! in spite of it all, i've still been able to discern a little bit how the two different herbs might affect me (though i realize it's a bit soon to jump to any hard and fast conclusions, i've only been on sjw for a week!!). i'm starting to lean towards the r.r., based on what i've read and what the r.r. feels like to me (it does not seem to need the long build-up period that sjw does to have it's effects, some poeple have reported strong experiences with it in the first week)...

but i really would like feedback from long term users, if there are any out there.i would like to hear all you have to say about the rhodiola rosea, but
specifically i want to know--

??? did it wear off pretty quick? what's it's staying power??

??? also, is anyone mixing it with sjw, what are your experiences?

i did call nature's way (company) to ask them if it was ok to mix the two, (r.r. and sjw), at regular suggested daily doses. the woman said yes, there are absolutely no counterindications. i asked about seratonin syndrome and got a slightly snippy repeat of her initial statement (no counterindications).
my own experience from mixing them at suggested daily doses is that i feel a little too foggy/groggy, perhaps seratonin over-kill... i did notice almost immediately that the r.r. was dispersing my anxiety though, more so than the sjw. this was especially easy to identify, because actually the sjw had been making me feel even more uncomfortably cranked up than usual, though i figure that would probably even out with time (i guess lotsa folks have weird experiences in the first weeks of using sjw until the body adjusts, then it's fine).

i would like to possibly drop the sjw and rely on the r.r. alone, which seems more suited to my problem (anxiety disorder with panic attacks which believe me, can lead to depression)... but if i'm going to build up a tolerance to the rhodiola rosea in just a few weeks or months, what's the point? that is even more depressing than doing nothing for my depression at all-- finding the perfect medicine and having it just die out on me after a bit.

pa-LEASE someone give me some feedback...

i asked these questions on the general q & a forum and not a single soul had anything to say. guess there is not much interest in the rhodiola rosea, even though from what i've read it is quite an astonishing herb (the russians sure thought so and kept it a bit of a secret until the end of the cold war, is what i read on one site. they did quite a bit of testing on it, as they seemed to think it could prove very useful for jobs/situations involving high degrees of stress, whether mental, physical or both! it's getting a lot of attention from hard-core athletes, and it has other really cool benefits besides helping the brain and body adjust to stress. so far i have read nothing negative about it, it is very benign, but this is all just web research). it seems there is not much consumer feedback on this one yet, so how about we start here? (thanks to the generosity of our web-host... awesome thing you did, kelly, starting this site for the benefit of others. major good karma-- thankyou!!)

[shy1]

Hi Blackbird,

First of all, I have NO personal experience with rhodiola rosea. But your post and lack of replies piqued my curiosity. Although the literature can be contradictory, I thought you might find the following sites useful:

http://www.herbalgram.org/iherb/herbalgram/articleview.asp?a=2371

http://www.herbalgram.org/iherb/herbclip/review.asp?i=43593

Rhodiola Rosea Emails
Q. I was wondering if you are still taking Rhodiola rosea extract or did you just take it on a short time 'checking it out' basis? The reason I ask,.....Following a parasitic infection and tick fever, I started taking rhodiola at a low dose - 100 mg in the AM & 100 mg before lunch of Amerinden's Rosavin - to treat the chronic fatigue that followed the illness. Initially, the Rhodiola was like a miracle for me. For the first time in years I actually felt normal - increased energy, concentration, just joy for life. After about 3 weeks of rhodiola rosea herb though, the beneficial effects seem to pretty much be gone and the fatigue has returned. Are you still taking it?...If so, have you noticed any loss of benefits over time or heard of this happening with other users. I would like to regain the initial sense of well-being I felt but am reluctant to up the rhodiola dose if there is some feedback loop at play and any initial positive gains will just be lost in a few weeks.
A. You present an interesting and informative observation. One of the reasons "adaptogens" such as ginseng and rhodiola rosea are not taken daily for prolonged periods is due to overstimulation of the system or other problems that occur with chronic use. It is possible that the dose is too high and it is causing a shallower sleep leading to tiredness the next day or chronic use is having some kind of negative effect on your body. It is generally best to take a break from rhodiola, ginseng, and other stimulating herbs every one to two weeks. The length of the break could be a few days but each person is different.
I personally do not take the same herb for more than one week at a time without taking a break. I have not taken rhodiola for more than 5 days in a row. @ http://www.raysahelian.com/rhodiola.html


Perhaps you've read all of these, perhaps not. Seems like you might conclude the following:
Less is more
Periodic breaks from the herb make sense for long term use
RR can be used long term with good results


Hoping someone who has actually been using RR for a long time will choose to respond.

[blackbird]

hi shy1,

thanks for the input! i too was surprised by lack of any reply. i will look into the material you've provided-- again thanks.

it was mainly sonic's glowing reports on the RR that got my interest up, that and the fact that i think my 'symptoms' are very akin to his although it is more of a generalized anxiety disorder not so specifically social, though it does at times spill into that (and everything else). sort of a stuck fight or flight mode that i feel has to do with a turbulent childhood/past. got stuck in that gear, so to speak.

this is all so mind boggling, trying to figure out what's what with this stuff. i may have to check out the books written about it. web reserach always seems a little iffy, hard to say how reliable/authentic the info. is. most of the time someone's trying to sell something.

i don't think i'll give up sjw just yet, don't want to have to go back to the beginning of my 6 weeks or whatever should the RR suddenly fizzle out.

hope you are still doing well:smile: , have read a lot of your posts...

[blackbird]

just took a quick glance at the info you sent (will read more thorougly later)--

somewhere in there it said-- oh(!!), it's in the email q&a shown in your letter above that suggests-- taking a break from the RR for a few days after every week or two of use... and then resuming. ah. i feel better now... i can live with that! thankyou for digging that up. in some of the 'testimonies', also in that info you provided, seems that some people have stayed on it for years even, with good results, though hard to say how authentic the testimonies were. i will still try to sleuth up more on that specific question in the days to come (i.e. herb's longevity for effectivness, necessity of taking breaks etc.).

i have to say, i've already gotten attached to the stuff. so far i rather like the combo of it with the sjw, but i think i'll be tinkering with that a lot to see what's optimal. i took note, reading some post somewhere on this forum, that your claroten has both RR and sjw combined in it, amongst plenty of other things, (correct?), and it seems to work for you. yes, i've read this entire forum up one side and down the other in the last few days, trying to be the super-sleuth. looking on the bright side, i guess anxiety can be motivating!! (i get plenty of exercise too!).......

[shy1]

Glad the info helped. I'm sure you'll find the combination that works best for you!

Wishing you the healing you are seeking.