# Seredyn and Anxietol



## GreyFox08 (Dec 22, 2007)

My mom just did some research online and bought some Seredyn and Anxietol. She claims as her best source some reviews on the Better Business Bureau website. After she spent I believe $46 on Anxietol and then something on the Seredyn (I'm not sure how much it cost), I did some googling, and then some Searching on these forums.

I found some good stuff about them, but mostly quotes from websites selling or advertising them. I think I've seen more good stuff about Seredyn.... I found topics on here where a handful of repliers said stuff about how you cannot be entirely sure of what the ingredients in stuff like Seredyn and Anxietol will do for you exactly, and how you can apparently just buy the ingredients cheaper separately.

I had a big, screaming argument about some of the posts I've seen on here and elsewhere (mostly on here I guess). She just wasted a bunch of paper printing out all the ingredients in Anxietol, and does not even care about ANYTHING that ANYBODY says against either of the things that she just spent money on, she is adament that she 'knows' that it's perfectly safe. It seems like they should be safe since they're natural, but when there are people who say things against the drug, including doubting their effectiveness, I just sort of want to pay attention to them. Not just ignore them like my mom does. I'm not buying an MP3 player or an HDTV, this stuff's going into my body and my mom doesn't seem to understand why I'm worried. She says it's being too paranoid and how that's a problem that needs to be fixed, by something like this. She also gave the very good, childish retort that 'do you like having social anxiety', and I got extremely angry at that...

I did a lot more research than she did and just because she just wasted money on this stuff, she doesn't even want to look at any 'doubters'. I kept saying how this stuff could just be a scam like a weight loss pill, which of course went over really well. She started saying that these people on these message boards who say bad things about it are the scammers (what the heck?) and they're 'buying into my negativity'.

Please tell me I'm not crazy to be worried about the safety or effectiveness of something that I'm going to ingest...

I still don't like the idea of taking anything to help my SA in the first place, but recently my anxiety and (mostly) depression has gotten really bad at times...and I can't think of any other way that it could be fixed, unless I went to some group therapy or something, or a therepist or whatever. I might end up trying the Seredyn, since I haven't seen as much bad stuff about that...maybe if I actually manage to do the stuff I'm anxious about during the day, I won't feel so depressed when I get home from school every day...


----------



## alanh (Jan 2, 2008)

It's completely understandable for you to be concerned. Some herbal supplements have been found to have potentially harmful, even fatal effects (mainly ephedrine). This type of effect, however, is uncommon. In most cases, these supplements will have a minimal effect or no effect at all. It's always best to do extensive research on any substance you put in your body. I think your mother should try to be more supportive & understanding, rather than pushing something when you're only concerned with your own health. Also, you should try to compromise a little and understand things from your mothers perspective. She's only trying to help you and spend a fair amount of time & money trying to do so. Arguing over it isn't going to help. You should try having a calm rational discussion or debate about the matter instead, if possible. Now, lets get to the heart of the matter. Let's take a look at exactly what's in these herbal supplements..

Seredyn contains l-theanine, passion flower extract, valerian, niacinamide, & magnesium taurinate. None of these ingrediants are going to kill or harm you. L-theanine is an amino acid found in green or black tea clinically proven to increase transmission of serotonin, dopamine & GABA, which all help to ease anxiety. L-theanine also has other health benefits, having neuroprotective and tumor inhibiting properties. Whether Seredyn has enough L-theanine to be effective, and if l-theanine itself will be effective for you as an individual is another matter. Passion Flower contains alkaloids that function as MAOI's. Prescription MAOI's are one of the worst anti-depressants you can take, in terms of side effects. However, the type of & potency of the natural MAOI's found in Passion Flower are different. They may or may not be effective, and will most likely not cause any adverse side effects. I've taken passion flower and found it's effects to be barely noticeable. Valerian is an herb that contains chemicals shown to increase GABAergic transmission. Increased GABAergic transmission from prescription medications (i.e. benzodiazepines) is generally the most effective form of treatment for severe anxiety. However, the efficacy of Valerian for treating anxiety disorders has been disputed. The results of clinical trials involving Valerian have been mixed and are inconclusive. The last two ingredients are a vitamin and mineral. None of these ingredients are going to do you any harm whatsoever. They MIGHT relieve your anxiety, or might not. It all depends on the dosage, the quality of these extracts, and how they effect your physiology. It's all highly subjective to say the least, but worth trying since your mother already paid for it.

Anxietol contains a few vitamins & various herbal extracts. These vitamins contribute to the production of certain neurotransmitters that help ease anxiety. Whether having more of these vitamins is going to be enough to help your anxiety is unknown and unlikely, but it certainly can't hurt. As for the herbal extracts, it contains Griffonia simplicifolia & 'bean' extract, which both in turn contain 5-HTP, a precursor to serotonin. I took a supplement containing solely 5-HTP when I was younger, and found it lessened my depression somewhat, but didn't do much for my anxiety. It may however effect you differently. It also contains GABA, which is pretty much useless as GABA can't pass the blood-brain barrier when taken directly/orally. It needs to be produced in your body and indirectly increased by another drug or substance to have any affect on your anxiety. L-theanine is also present in this extract, which I elaborated on earlier. 'Serotain' is a trademarked herbal blend containing more 5-HTP from Griffonia simplicifolia, Juglans regia (walnut), & Musa paradisiacal (banana). 'Sensoril' is there name for an extract of the Ashwagandha plant. Ashwagandha contains various compounds, most of which are inert, some of which may or may not function as an 'adaptogen' similar to ginseng, helping your body cope with physiological stress. None of the compounds in Ashwagandha are known to be toxic and probably won't do much for your anxiety either. Panax ginseng is a common herbal supplement shown to be safe and also functions as an 'adaptogen'. L-tyrosine is a natural non-essential amino acid found in various forms and is a precursor (component) of the neurotransmitters dopamine and norepinephrine, both of which help counteract depression and may help ease anxiety. No studies have been able to confirm this effect in direct correlation with L-tyrosine supplementation. However, some studies have shown it may be effective as an adaptogen and nootropic (increase memory and/or cognition). Vinpoecetine is another commonly used herbal extract and nootropic. It's efficacy has yet to be confirmed, but preliminary evidence (of it's efficacy as a nootropic, not anxiolytic), is promising. 

Basically, it's extremely unlikely anything in these supplements will harm you in any way, unless you happen to have some sort of rare allergy to one of the ingredients. There is a fair chance it will help with your anxiety. They'll most likely be at least slightly effective or not effective at all. You won't know until you try them. If you're still concerned about the safety of these supplements, start with low doses (i.e. half of what is indicated on it's label).


----------



## GreyFox08 (Dec 22, 2007)

Thanks a lot for your reply. I was more worried about the effectiveness thing, I guess, and did think they were probably safe...but it just really annoyed me when my mom didn't seem to even trust anyone posting something against the products and stuff...

I hope they end up being effective for me...


----------



## alanh (Jan 2, 2008)

Me too. Good luck.


----------



## alanh (Jan 2, 2008)

BTW if this doesn't work, don't be afraid to consider therapy and/or a prescription anti-depressant. I was apprehensive about it at first, but in the end I found it was a simple, easy, painless process and I was relieved after doing so. Most HMO's cover psychiatry so it shouldn't cost you much (as long as you have insurance). You'll typically need to see a 'screener' first, which is basically a therapist who you talk to for 5-10 minutes describing what's bothering you, who then refers you to a Psychiatrist who specializes in that field. At least, that was the routine with Kaiser. It might be a slightly different process with other HMO's.


----------



## GreyFox08 (Dec 22, 2007)

A long time ago I used to take Prozac (and I think maybe Paxil, too, though I can't remember for certain)... That began after my brother and I went to a psychiatrist, and they diagnosed us as having 'selective mutism'. That was maybe 2nd or 3rd grade...I can't remember any specific side effects, but I always hear bad things about Paxil especially now (tho I haven't specifically looked up what they are, I've just heard that there are recent findings or whatever). So I'm a little worried about doing a prescription thing, but I can definitely see where maybe these natural things could not be as effective (the fact that the prescription drugs are more likely to have side effects is because they're stronger, I would guess).

Actually, my mom's been taking Prozac for the past few years or so...she used to have bad anxiety, I guess...never as bad as I do, and not for the same reasons, but just general anxiety-causing things that many people would have, like work-related stress and stuff. I guess she's doing pretty good right now, though I never noticed it being that bad before, but whatever


----------



## X33 (Feb 13, 2005)

Alanh wrote an excellent post covering everything in good detail. I learned quite a bit myself. In response to the pm, I tend to be overly skeptical of these products because their websites appear (to me) to be sleazy. However, the ingredients have been shown to have some effectiveness in treating anxiety & depression although the evidence is far from rock solid. Also, the ingredients are pretty safe so there's no harm in trying these products.


----------



## Prettyinside (Nov 2, 2006)

Tell me how they worked for you. Ive taken Anxietol & Clarocet - none have worked for me. There was like a day it did and that was like a placebo effect!


----------



## GreyFox08 (Dec 22, 2007)

We got the Anxietol in the mail the other day (Seredyn has not shown up yet for some reason), and today was the first day I took it. I only took one pill, because I was a little reluctant to take two (they're kinda big  ).

I noticed a difference about 30-60 minutes after taking it, I think. The main thing I thought throughout the day was that I was feeling the effects of some kind of muscle-relaxant part of the supplement. It wasn't like this all the time, only occasionally that I noticed it I guess...but all day I could feel something slightly different than how I usually felt, and sometimes even felt a brief tingling or cold feeling in various muscles, as well as a very very very slight numb feeling in my body and head. I actually did feel like I didn't care as much about how I looked most of the time...and I noticed the lack of tenseness in some of my muscles that usually happens fairly constantly during the day.

I might've also been a little tired today anyway (I probably got about 6 hours of sleep last night, when I usually get 7.5 to 8 on average), but like I said, something felt a little different, and better for me somehow, at least for most of the day. I didn't really make many attempts at talking or whatever, which is sort of something I wanted to do more I guess...but I didn't really feel like it was that big of a deal...

I did notice that about 6 to 7 hours into the day, the Anxietol may have been wearing off. At first I felt like it was my fault or something, and I became a little more tense and nervous. I did some talking to a teacher and felt a little nervous after that, but still had a fairly relaxed feeling the rest of the day. Although in my last class of the day, I felt pretty much the same as I usually have before...which kind of stunk...although it might've just been because of this person who was getting on my nerves 

After school, and up until right now, I still seem kind of tired somehow and maybe still kind of relaxed. All day, including right now, I have a strange feeling when I talk, as if I'm coming out of the effects of novacaine (although it's not strong at all, really...but it just seems almost funny how relaxed my jaw still feels). During the day I think I might have been able to maintain a smile for some periods of time pretty well, although I can never really be sure if I was smiling or just felt like it..although I'm pretty glad I was able to maintain a smile like that, because people will hopefully have a more positive idea of what I'm like if I can do that..

The only thing that I kind of don't like is that I have the knowledge that I've been sort of 'drugged', and it makes me a little nervous...but since it should be safe and stuff, I guess that's OK. Also, it was kind of strange going around at school, me feeling almost like a new or different person, and nobody else knowing obviously...a positive side to that was that I sort of realized slightly more how nobody else really cares that much, or at least I didn't care too much about how I looked...

Tomorrow I'm not sure if I should take two, because I'm almost afraid I'll feel like drifting off to sleep or something, heh...well, I guess it wasn't really strong today, but I did notice the effects, and I'm sure I'll notice them a LOT more if I double the dosage tomorrow..


----------



## rickthegreat (Dec 22, 2008)

Any updates on Anxietol? How's it been working? Any bad side effects that you did not mention? I am especially worried about any sexual side effects--the BAD kind!  Any info would be appreciated.


----------



## jjohnson70 (Feb 18, 2010)

GreyFox08 - You mentioned in your last post that you were going to try Seredyn. How'd it go? 
I've been taking Seredyn for a while now and love it! Hopefully you found the same results.


----------

