Is It Safe to Take Ashwagandha Long-Term? Can It Make Tinnitus Worse?

Does anyone know if Ashwagandha is okay to take for stress and anxiety long-term or do you build up a tolerance?

Also, what has been your experience in using it if you have taken it? What's the best dosage?

Thanks for any help you can give.

 

For me, Ashwagandha was safe and worked but I stopped taking it because Ashwagandha focuses on lowering cortisol levels and not increasing GABA, which I wanted instead. It takes about an hour to kick in. I used the ones made by Gaia. I would crack the liquid capsule in my mouth as I don't like pills. Tastes pretty strong like Chinese medicine so chase it with water I you do that method.

 

If you keep using herbs every day or a lot, they can eventually lose their effectiveness

 

Thanks for the response! Do you know if Ashwagandha takes "fight or flight" symptoms away and if so, how long does it take? Unfortunately, I have been having some of those issues lately.

 

I actually saw a highly regarded doctor last week (booked till December) and she said to not take Ashwagandha because it can effect the thyroid negatively. That's news to me. She suggested I take either lavender oil supplements or Serenagen. I got both and only tried the lavender oil so far and I can definitely feel it putting me in and a more relaxed state. I'll try the Serenagen soon but reviews on Amazon looked good and I liked the ingredients.

 

Oh wow that's interesting! Thanks so much for responding back to me. How do you use the lavender oil and how much do you use?

 

Lavender pills are great. They are a natural alternative to drugs like Gabapentin and Pregabalin and work on calcium channels.

Modulation of T-type Ca2+ channels by Lavender and Rosemary extracts

 

I use this one. Made in Europe. One pill does the job for me. You can take it 3 times a day.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MSRCN5O/

 

Looks like a handy herbal supplement to take - I've been taking lemon balm for a couple of weeks to help with sleep and st john's wort for about a week to help with stress but it's good to know there are other herbal supplements that can also help.

 

Here is the thing about Ashwaghanda..about 90% of it on the market is pretty much garbage, so you have to do your research.
Make sure it is the KSM 66 type, because that guarantees it's potency (at least in theory)

I was once talking about Ashwaghanda with a very knowledgeable Ayruvedic medicine practicioner and he told me that even if the Ashwaghanda is of good quality at the origin of harvest, by the time it gets to it's destination (for me North America), most of the potency is pretty much gone.

As far as using it long term, it is not recommended and it has something to do with thyroid.
But short term use is supposed to have lot of benefits.
I tried it, but no effect on Tinnitus.

If you are into Ayruveda ypu can also try Shiljajt.
Shiljait is supposed to be amongst the best supplements on earth, but again there is a lot of garbage out there, so you need to do your research and the good stuff is quite pricey.
It has to be in it's original form, which looks like a blob of roofing tar and tastes about the same.
The pills are far too processed to have any effect.

Pur Black is a good brand based on my own research.
Good luck either way.

 

It's fairly expensive where i live.
I find that herb less effective than others for lowering anxiety

 

What do you make of this @HeavyMantra? :/

How do we know the kind we take is of good quality... I'm worried now.

 

I am waking up with my anxiety off the roof these days and absolutely need to have it under control as it drives me straight to have all sort of dark thoughts. I've ordered some ashwagandha pills but after reading this I am reluctant about taking them. What other effective alternative treatments should I consider?

 

I don't understand the danger of aswagandha on thyroid. I googled it and it says aswagandha actually can help thyroid, so I'm confused.

I have been on it + reishi for about a month, and so far I would say it has helped me at least a little.

 

In which way has it helped to you?

 

I've been taking it since I got tinnitus to help with the depression and anxiety from, well, tinnitus. Also , I have thyroid problems and have experienced no bad side affects. I actually think it helped.

I took Ashwagandha in high doses through most of 2017, and then halfway through 2018 backed off. I now take it twice a week. Also, you might want to take a Vitamin D every morning too. It will help.

 

I've been meaning to check in with you @TheDanishGirl. How have you been?

 

Can't say for sure. Just overall feeling a bit better. Still anxious, still depressed, but not as severely. Not ruminating and catastrophic thinking as much as before.

But I think it's still too early to say if it is the Aswagandha, that's having this effect on my anxiety/depression. I've only been on it a month, so.......

 

How have those two supplements been working for you? I wake up with morning jitters/anxiety. Looking for something to calm that.

 

Let me ask you something... before you quit Ashwagandha the first time, did you take it every day? If so, did your symptoms rev up worse than what they were before you on it? After doing some research on my condition, I do think that Ashwagandha would definitely help. The only problem I have is, the concern of long term consequences. Like if I stopped taking it after my body got used to it, would my symptoms ramp up to an extreme? Would it make long term permanent changes to my body? Does it stop working after a while?

 

At first I did take it everyday. I don't think I quit at the full dose. I think when I got off it I was every other day. You can always tapper if you're nervous, but I never truly noticed any bad affects when I quit it. Or start up again. Yeah, it does slowly fade out of your system if you quit taking it.

 

Thanks so much for your answer. That is very helpful information and makes me more comfortable with trying it.

 

Of course. I'd give it 2 weeks or 3 before you fully start seeing results.

 

Did it lower your tinnitus at all? I'm curious as one of its effects is to make more GABA receptors (in theory) which should quiet tinnitus.

 

My tinnitus has eased up on certain noises and sounds, but I don't think it's the Ashwagandha. It has helped with the anxiety though and stress. I think my tinnitus finally easing up is due to the passage of time.

 

That's good to hear, regardless of the cause

 

Yeah. Though now I've got heartbeat tinnitus, but the crazier noises have eased up. I'm sure that will ease up too over time.

Let us know how Ashwagandha works for you if you decide to take it.

 

I’ve taken Ashwagandha for a while because it’s supposed to lower cortisol levels. Didn’t notice any effect on my tinnitus.

 

I took it for a while and it didn't seem to do anything for me. I do believe in the overall benefit of antioxidants but it's not something I would expect to actually feel in improved mood or tinnitus.

 

There's evidence Ashwagandha acts on GABA receptors. So... in my opinion, not great long term, no.