General Herbals And Meds

[Lady of Longbourn]

Have you ever been drug induced manic? I have, and it was not fun!

I have been there too. Both drug and non-drug induced. Not fun at all. And not safe for myself or anyone around me!

 

[Jen L]

Honestly, I don't think you're taking us seriously.

It's NOT about what you want.

...You're getting advice from people who have been dealing with PTSD for years if not decades, but you still think that herbals are no big deal (not a big risk). I realize you're new to both the forum and to your PTSD relationship (just a few months), but please don't assume that you know better when it comes to his medication.

Solara, I AM indeed taking all of this and everyone's replies VERY seriously. Of course this isn't about what I want. It's about US. It's about HIM. I desire nothing more than to see him not struggle. He is constantly desiring to be released of the torturous dreams he has, no matter what the means, and quite frankly, I'd really rather have him here in this world than not. He is not doing this against his will.

I think herbals ARE a big deal, but I also believe they can be way better than prescriptions. My opinion.

I'm sorry your experience was not a good one. That does not mean everyone else will have the same experience as you. Everyone is different.

I am going to heed the advice of @Ayesha and look into seeing an herbalist for advice. They will know way more about this.

BTW, I "assume" nothing in life. I just choose to think positively, use my noggin and trust that most of what we are trying will help him and not hurt him. Again, so far, so good. He's either improving or staying the same. In some ways I am impressed because before we tried herbals, the smallest stressor would put him over the top, emotionally. Right now he is going through some tremendously stressful situations (that even the best of us would struggle with) and he is doing really well!

Our main goal right now is to keep him from having to go back into the Trauma Unit. He has been four times. Even though it is necessary, just the thought of going back stresses him out.

 

[kahlan]

I'd take manic over the crap he's going through now any day. (Quotes don't work on my phone well)

This causes concern. Have you ever dealt with mania? It can be scary, for real!

I think what can be frustrating about this thread is that some of the advise, from people who have been dealing with PTSD for a very long time, isn't being taken with much weight because it isn't what you necessarily want to hear. I'm all about finding new things to help N. amd myself, but just jumping in and adding supplements without the proper research on interactions seems reckless honestly. Melatonin aside, I take it myself and have seen it mentioned more than a few times here, mixing mood boosters with antidepressants and adding other supplements without knowing how it will react with any of his meds can in the long run cause more harm than good.

I'm speaking out of concern here honestly, because while I can understand your need to think outside the box, the proven facts are that therapy combined with certain combinations of meds for support is the most effective route to healing when it comes to ptsd. There's no quick fix for it. If there was we wouldn't be on this forum. A lot of work on the sufferers part paired with a good support net can speed up the process, and everyone deals differently so some may heal faster than others. Be careful.

 

[bell]

@Jen L, what about aromatherapy? That way your dude isn't ingesting anything new. (I agree with other peeps that that could possibly cause more problems than less.)

Aromatherapy can do wonders. (Out of curiosity, I Googled aromatherapy and PTSD together, and a wealth of info came up!)

Also, I applaud you for wanting to take care of your dude. That's so great! However, I've seriously found that working with a psychiatrist has been the best thing for me on what to take. She can tweak it as she sees fit (and give me advice on herbal things) and, unfortunately, my brain seriously does not work without the right meds. It's not about finding an herbal solution, it's about finding the right combo of meds to keep me healthy.

but I also believe they can be way better than prescriptions

This is your belief about you. And your experience. The same may not hold for him. Again, my brain *will not work correctly* without meds. I went off something too early earlier this year and very literally it almost killed me thanks to some very unhelpful thoughts. If your dude has PTSD chances are that going off all meds entirely is literally not an option. It's just not, no matter what he believes or you think. However, that doesn't mean that he has to stay on them forever! I'm down 2 meds than where I was, so taking something doesn't mean it's a forever thing.

And, as others have said, if his health is your main goal, then there are loads of things you can try with him that may help outside of herbal medicine! Yoga, meditation, reiki, massage, various hobbies, etc etc. The bonus here: hands-on things are way more fun that popping any sort of meds. ;)

 

[kahlan]

Speaking of aromatherapy...isn't there a thread about it? Ill have to go look. Forgot about that :)

 

[DMerish]

Jen L - I just wanted to add another of my $0.02 . . .

I agree with others that have posted their concerns about mixing prescription meds with herbs and other alternative/complementary things, and want to suggest trying to find a physician that specializes in integrative medicine.

As opposed to an herbalist whose expertise is herbs, a naturopath whose focus is natural remedies, or a regular physician or psychiatrist that has specific knowledge about allopathic prescriptions, a physicians that specialize in integrative medicine has knowledge of "both worlds" - in general, they lean towards more the natural remedies, yet with their knowledge of allopathic prescriptives they're often better able to guide an individual to what's best of both worlds.

Your guy is lucky to have someone like you wanting to help him through his struggles.

Take care,
Drew

 

[Lady of Longbourn]

@kahlan https://www.myptsd.com/threads/aromatherapy-that-may-help-relieve-some-ptsd-symptoms.13571/

 

[bell]

Hi again @Jen L, I just wanted to respond to this again and say that I know that getting answers that go against what you may want to hear stinks.

But, even after reading this earlier today, some things in this thread still bother me, and I just figured out why. It's because with disorders like PTSD, the meds target very specific parts of our brains. And tiny tweaks in them can wreak havoc, herbal things can cause tiny tweaks. In your posts, I see that you care for your dude very much, so to me, wanting to go the herbal route seems like the opposite of that.

I don't want to sound like I'm attacking you, but PTSD is actually quite serious in many ways, and the media doesn't always respect that; therefore, I think people, including me, bristle at the thought that something like herbal supplements can get "rid" of it. While they may help in some ways, until the pathways in our brain are corrected, they will not fix it.

 

[stephanie44]

Well, I have a holistic doctor, a psychiatrist, and an endochronologist. They are all top in their field. I run everything by my psychiatrist(even the holistic medication) because he is also a psychopharmacologist. I am on some pretty serious medication and need to be careful. I even started the Paleo Diet for thyroid issues and ran that past each doctor. Good luck! The one question I guess I have is this: Is your husband taking charge of his own medical condition? The most empowering thing I ever did was to take charge of my mood disorder, Complex PTSD, Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, Osteoporosis, Seasonal Affective Disorder, and Attachment Trauma. I have not had to do it alone, which is good. It is nice that you are such a big part of your husband's support system!

 

[Jen L]

I LOVE that all of you care so much! I wish I had the time to respond to each of the new postings, but unfortunately I don't.

So, here's a blanket reply and I'll try to address everything that was said:

First, thanks to whoever suggested finding someone who can assist in both the MD and Naturopath worlds. I think this is ideal and will try and get him to go that route.

Second, he is VERY MUCH a part of this process. I am not doing this against his will (aka crushing pills in his milk!). He knows what he's taking and why. He is very much on board with trying something new.

Third, aromatherapy is a part of it as well. Doesn't seem to do much, but it's not hurting. So we do it. Raindrop therapy too (for those of you aromatherapists who know what that is!). :-)

Fourth, and most important: The supplements are for this reason ---- to aid his body in becoming healthy and for healing itself. I firmly believe that God created us to be self-healing. Sometimes we have things happen that gets us in a rut and we need help out of it. This is my goal here. My goal is not (for those who have misunderstood) to take him off of anything (other than that terrible sleep aid, Ambien). None of his meds are scheduled for deletion any time soon.

Let me be clear. He is under TREMENDOUS stress right now. He was deposed for a case (which is not his case) from back when he was the Chief of Police. This alone was terribly stressful...and would be for anyone, let alone someone with PTSD, which I am sure you all can appreciate. Yesterday he filed his own case, which is so huge the local papers for sure will be covering it, if not national news in the coming weeks. Very stressful as you can well imagine.....not to mention that there were some incidents of triggers that happened during this meeting with his attorneys during the filing. He missed his Sam-e dose yesterday, which has been helping (and not causing mania) and unfortunately he had a terrible dream this morning that caused him to yell out, which I have not heard him do before. He is at the therapist's right now (he has NOT discontinued going to therapy), which he is feeling crappy toward cuz she was on vacation a couple weeks ago and he understood she would not be back for two weeks. The third week he showed up and she informs him that because he was not there the second week, she scheduled someone in his place. She said she does not hunt down her patients, but oh.....are you okay? Gah! That made him feel really cared for (extreme sarcasm). He once again scheduled his appointment which is where he is now.

All that to say that despite the stress, he is doing AMAZINGLY well. Not manic. Not extreme anything. His only worry is that "the other shoe is going to drop". He keeps waiting for it.....but it usually happens by now and it hasn't. That's a really good sign.

Also, his doctors screw with his medications all of the time and it causes a lot of issues for him. What we are doing is slow and methodical and isn't abrupt like what they do. I can't imagine that is any better. In fact, it causes a lot more stress for him.

I SO appreciate the concern, the advice and my favorite part, the supportive things you all have said! :-)

This is so hard. Not just for him, but for everyone around him. I have never loved someone (other than the child from my womb!) like I love him. It's a true soul connection I didn't even know was possible. I want nothing but a healthy, whole man. When the Ambien isn't making him angry, he is the sweetest, manliest-man I know. He's exactly what I need and want in a mate. My goal isn't "to fix him"....but to help him feel whole again....so he's not obsessed with leaving this world because the torturous nightmares are too much to bear.

I think I addressed everything. Forgive me if I missed something. I'll go back over it later, when I get the chance....

 

[DMerish]

Was wondering what herbals worked for you, if any and what your experience has been with them.

The original poster (OP) began the post ^ to invite discussion about what's worked and what hasn't.

This thread has turned into folks providing warnings to the OP about the dangers of mixing prescriptive medicines with alternative things, and the OP in turn has adamentaly defended their position that its okay what they (the OP and the Sufferer) are doing.

I'm not sure many of us has given the OP what they wanted. I doubt that I have, so I'm bowing out of the discussion.

Drew

 

[Jen L]

I'm not sure many of us has given the OP what they wanted. I doubt that I have, so I'm bowing out of the discussion.

Drew, I appreciate your sentiment, though all was not lost as I gained valuable information all the same. I'm all about gaining information and being open-minded enough to hear all of it, whether or not I agree in the end (or whether or not we change what we're doing).

When I came to all of you with this topic, I had already started a regimen for him and we were already seeing either no obvious results or good results. Not bad ones. That is another reason I am "adamantly" defending our course of action. I guess what I'm asking for is MORE information on other things we can do/use or ideas on how to use what we're using more effectively or even something I'm not thinking of. :)

In my humble opinion, it's all been good stuff. I have learned long ago that I don't need everyone to agree with what I do (I'm so weird, I would have given up back then if it mattered that much to me!). I just like information and I like to learn. That's what I'm doing. Again - all good. :) Besides, I'd go to the ends of the earth for my guy and if taking a little bit of heat is what is necessary, then whatever. Still all good.....