Rhodiola update

[Guest guest]

Hi Gar,

It sounds like you are trying to suppress a symptom of

an imbalance of the body. You are using western

medical diagnosis and then herbal ideas to try and fix

it. Not always a bad idea, but it doesn't seem to be

working. You may want to try and find TCM doctor (or

local school with a clinic) to get a balance

formula/treatment strategy that is made for your body.

Let me know where you are in florida and I may be able

to recommend a person or school. (i'm in st. pete)

bob

--- gar_fla_62 <tampagar wrote:

> I posted on Monday that I tried an herb called

> Rhodiola, which is supposed to be useful for fatigue

> and depression. As I said, I felt better than ever

> shortly after starting the herb, but the fatigue and

> depressed feelings returned on Tuesday. I don't know

> what happened. Maybe it was a " placebo effect " . I

> didn't think it was worth mentioning but for three

> weeks, I was taking an herb called Maca. It's

> supposed to be an energy booster. It did seem to

> help slightly after a couple of weeks use, but I

> stopped the Maca upon discovery of the Rhodiola.

> Have decided to resume the Maca and also try

> somethng else, DHEA. It's interesting that DHEA was

> one thing I wasn't tested for. I'm 40 and have been

> under extreme stress and anxiety, something that is

> said to deplete the body of the DHEA hormone.

> Haven't been able to find out though how long it

> takes to notice any results.

> ............. " gar_fla_62 " <tampagar@w...> wrote:

> > I've been away from this forum for a few weeks and

> have been dealing with increasing depression and

> fatigue. Had hundreds of dollars worth of blood work

> done and nothing was found abnormal, yet I keep

> dealing with spells of fatigue. I'm a big fan of

> herbal/alternative medicine and would never even

> think of taking any prescription meds. For

> depression, I started out with St. John's Wort. I

> noticed a slight improvement after about a month,

> but soon developed some side effects. Since then,

> I've tried Gotu Kola, Siberian Ginseng, Lavender,

> Lemon Balm, Phenylalanine, and Tyrosine. None of

> these produced any true results and I was ready to

> give up. Someone at the health food store mentioned

> Rhodiola. I had never even heard of it before, but

> decided to do a web search and found alot of info on

> this herb, including numerous studies confirming

> it's many claims. I decided to try some yesterday

> (it's hard to find). I was not expecting any

> results, at least not soon anyway. I can't believe

> how much better I feel! I've taken 100 mg of

> standardized extract (1%) twice daily. There's a

> more than obvious feeling of energy, along with well

> being. This is the first day in a long time where I

> have not had to struggle to keep going, much less

> keep awake. The feelings of sadness have been

> reduced like I never imagined. My ability to

> concentrate has also increased. This seems almost

> too good to be true. Here is some info on

> Rhodiola..........

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> > http://smart-drugs.net/Rhodiola-rosea.htm

>

>

 

 

 

 

Health - Feel better, live better

http://health.

[Guest guest]

TCM is traditional chinese medicine. It is what has

been practiced in china for over 5000 years. TCM

includes acupuncture, massage, herbs, diet, tai chi,

and a few other aspects. There are three schools with

student clinics in the area, and a number of excellent

licened practioners (we are primary care doctors in

florida) The closest student clinic (cheaper and I

think wider range of care often times) is Florida

institute of TCM in St Pete. 727-544-0987 on 54th Ave

N and 66th st. This is were I go to school so I am

most familiar with it. I am a treating intern there

(my final year of a 3 yr program and treat in the

evenings. If you prefer a woman I would recommend

either Mellisa or Bright (don't know their last names)

Both are very good but will be graduation in about 2

months. There is also a school in Orlando just past

disney, my understanding they have a heavy emphasis on

western medicine. and another school in Sarasota. all

of the schools are on the internet if you want the

other numbers/directions. There are some excellent

acupuncturists in Tampa that I can get the numbers for

given a few days. But those in practice can be pricey

about $120 for the first treatment and about $55-80

for each treatment after that, plus usually about $10

for herbs. Student clinics tend to have first

treatment free and about $25-$35 a treatment after

that (ours is $30 I think). Feel free to ask for me if

you like. At Sarasota school Melanie may be treating

by now and would also do a great job. Let me know if

you have any other questions

Bob Linde

--- gar_fla_62 <tampagar wrote:

> Bob, I'm in Tampa. What's TCM?

>

>

 

 

 

 

Health - Feel better, live better

http://health.

[Guest guest]

gar_fla_62 wrote:

 

> I was taking an herb called Maca. It's supposed to be an energy booster. It

did seem to help slightly after a couple of weeks use, but I stopped the Maca

upon discovery of the Rhodiola.

 

You need to find a dose of maca that works for you. If you haven't read this,

take a look at http://www.wholeworldbotanicals.com/royalmaca.html and also read

their newsletters. BTW, maca is not just for energy. It rebalances the whole

endocrine system, so it helps with PMS, menopause problems, etc.

 

> Have decided to resume the Maca and also try somethng else, DHEA. It's

interesting that DHEA was one thing I wasn't tested for. I'm 40 and have been

under extreme stress and anxiety, something that is said to deplete the body of

the DHEA hormone. Haven't been able to find out though how long it takes to

notice any results. .............

 

I wouldn't experiment with hormones without knowing the status of your hormone

system. Best way to test for adrenal hormones is saliva tests. For more info,

visit http://www.sabresciences.com/endo.html

 

Are you practicing any relaxation technique, regularly?

 

There's a technique that combines yoga like exercises with breathing. And I

think it has a meditative component too. It's said to be very effective by those

who've tried it (I've read a report about it on native-nutrition list). You can

read about it in a book called " Ancient Secret of the Fountain of Youth " by

Peter Kelder.

 

Roman

[Guest guest]

I understand the skeptic part, I was as well. Ginseng

is a tough one and its use depends on a proper

diagnosis. There are times and patients where long

term use is ok or at times large one time dosages are

used. I will do my best to explain the terms from my

Chinese Materia Medica. Korean is the hottest ginseng

and is used for folks who generally show the following

symptoms: Cold limbs, short of breath, profuse

sweating/spontaous sweating, lack of appetite, chronic

diarrhea, blood and qi deficiency. This type of

ginseng should not be used unless you have loose

stools, loss of appetite and cold limbs. You should

not use this herb if you have any signs of heat ie

night sweats, heat in the hands or feet, high blood

pressure, insomnia, high thirst. This is not a

commonly use herb in chinese medicine except for

severe cases of blood loss or other extremes. It is

often used improperly as a stimulatant (though it

works for this) Its use as this can be very damaging

to folks in the long run.

American Ginseng is cold in nature and is used after a

chronic fever or for some other types of heat signs

(Yin deficiency)It can be good for a weak chronic

cough with blood streaked sputum. it should not be

used if a weak stomach or lack of appetite. This is

the readers digest condensed version and really may

not be much use. In chinese herbalism it is only used

in isolation if a person is about to die from shock or

extreme bloodloss. in every other situation it is used

in combination with other herbs.

I would recommend some herbs but chinese medicine is a

wholistic approach that looks at all of them symptoms

that a person shows and comes up with a diagnosis in

terms of Yin and Yang and organ function. With this

you can then treat the root problem that is causing

the symptoms. To take an herb for a headache with out

knowing why the headache exisits is the same as

western medicine. Masking symptoms with herbs or

taking stimulating herbs in isolation serves little

function and can cause serious harm with out proper

knowledge. Herbs are very powerful often times on par

with any prescription drug. Most herbal practioners

western, chinese and ayuvedic use herbs in combination

after a lenghty question and answer session with a

patient that involves, tongue, pulse diagnosis and

symptom ananlisis and other aspects depending on their

area of specialization.

 

Hope this helps some

Bob

 

--- gar_fla_62 <tampagar wrote:

> Thanks for the offer, Bob. I'll have to pass though.

> I am some what of a skeptic when it comes to such

> things as tai chi, acupuncture, and massage, at

> least when it comes to my situation. As far as

> herbal medicine goes, I'm open to suggestion. BTW,

> maybe you could answer a question I have about

> Ginseng. I've done countless hours of web research

> on the different Ginsengs and I keep hearing they

> should only be taken for short periods followed by

> breaks. What I can't find is the reason why this is

> the case. I had been taking 500 mg of 4%

> standardized Korean wvery day for about the past

> four years. Being a " type A " person, I only recently

> learned how it could only make me more tense. I've

> been taking the American Ginseng instead for the

> last two months and am not as hyper as before. I've

> learned how the stimulation from the Korean Ginseng

> can deplete me of energy. I understand the American

> is better for long term use?

>

>

 

 

 

 

Health - Feel better, live better

http://health.