My daughter is on 5htp (50mgs at night with food) she is 5ft tall & weighs about 83lbs(we're in metric so I have to try & convert from 38kgs) so you may need to adjust your dosage if you're alot bigger?? It also comes in 100mgs. I don't know the details re this.

Her dr also (he's apsychiatrist but tries natural therapies first whenever possible) has her take a gentle 30 to 60 minute walk at sunrise - at this time there's something in the suns rays (even if it's overcast) that works on the brains chemicals to reduce stress.

He also recommends yoga & or pilates or similar for stress reduction & to help you learn to control stressful situations on the spot.

Lastly omega 3 oils, viatmin b6 & you might also want to look into the supplement dhea which he also recommends (it just isn't appropraite for my daughter due to her being very underweight due to stress).

Good luck.

Tyler...I am currently on effexor xr and my doc just upped my dose to 150mg...Reading your posting kind of scared me. What other problems did you have coming off of it and how long were you on it and what dosage?

~sara~

If you are still interested tyler, I am on tang kuei - got off my pharmacuticals and on all natural products. They worked so well for me that I bought into the franchise!

Hi

have you tried using natural remedies such as rescue remedy (bach remedy), it helps to reduce stress and has no side effects. I use it with my patients with great effect.

There are 38 bach remedies and you can find a specific one to use for your situation. Any 'good' health store will have them. You can stay on your meds while taking these and as you feel better and easier, then reduce your meds. Make sure you reduce your meds under medical supervision.

Take care
dr graeme teague

Wow- this thread is old but i wanted to share my input anyway. While I've never tried Effexor i have had success with one natural herbal remedy. It is called Panicyl and is a combination of several herbs and vitamins that work great for anxiety and panic. It has 5-HTP in it (one of the ingredients you mentioned).

Everyone is different but this is what worked for me.

What about Niacinamide for anxiety? not Niacin.
I am taking one tablet of 500 mg twice a day. I have started yesterday and I have noticed much calmer mood, not a miracle but a little more confident and calmer.