# Kanna - A Natural SSRI for anxiety and panic attacks.



## Rob

I've used it before and had an EXCELLENT response to it.
It was the strongest legal herb Ive ever done. Ever since, I've noticed a lot of vendors sell trash that may not even be the real thing.
But the few times I got real Kanna it was even stronger than my high dose of Paxil (that i use to take) but it only lasts a few hours. Affects are complete suppression of anxiety, slight euphoria, elevated mood, and some weird affect with your skin where it kinda tightens up and gets a weird glow to it (youll see it you get your hands on some good stuff)

This is for people who have never heard of it before. If you get trash Kanna youll talk crap about it and never wanna take it again. If you get good Kanna you'll be motivated to grow your own plants (which is eventually what ill wind up doin)

But if anyone knows a good supplier or has had a good experience with it let us know. Just be aware that theres a lot of fake herb going around, its also completely legal btw. I can mention suppliers where I had luck but only at request (cuz im not sure what these boards consider spamming lol)

And this is nothing like St. Johns Wort btw, I NEVER EVER had any luck with that herb.


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## Kenny

The dark is my sanctuary! I don't wanna glow and stand out to everyone :afr lol
Actually it sounds like a great spot treatment. Is it over-the-counter or prescription? Any side-effects?

*EDIT*
Nevermind.
Did my own research:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sceletium_tortuosum
This looks promising to say the least.


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## Panic Prone

sounds like good stuff. where can i get my hands on this?


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## pjmc

http://www.iamshaman.com

I've used their kanna in the past and had great success, they have many different types and forms.

Good luck


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## Panic Prone

the cost of capsules are ridiculous compared to bulk powder. Do you guys just mix it with juice or water? how is the taste and what dosages are recommended to start off with?


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## triscuit80

How is this a natural selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor? You make this claim without any supporting facts. How does this inhibit serotonin? A slight euphoria, elevated mood, this is no SSRI that I have ever heard of, but maybe more of a dopamine agonist? Anyway, this does sound interesting, by what people are describing, but the title of this thread could be misleading.


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## triscuit80

Vitex is a herb with d2 binding, as well as mild serotonin uptake inhibition.


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## Kenny

Well I ordered a bottle of the capsules so when I get them I'll find out if they're really worth it. I just hope they don't get confiscated at the border.


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## triscuit80

You should not have to worry about DIA, this is a non-regulated herb. You should learn the effects that this can have when taken in combination with SSRI. It does act as a SSRI I have learned, so this could be deadly. I read so on the internet so it must be true. :stu


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## BeNice

I took it in the past before certain situations that I was going to be nervous. I can't really recall exactly how it made me feel. Euphoric? Something like that. Whatever it did, it was a little bit too much certain times. I did snort it, yes. Only thing I have ever snorted. It was the most efficient way I knew of. Tea? Not sure how that works. Smoking? Yes, that too, but can't remember what it was compared to snorting, which by the way left nasty taste in my nose. Apparently it wasn't fine enough. BTW, I am in no way suggesting usage of Sceletium tortuosum, let alone putting it up your nose. I'd also be very wary of using it with any kind of anti-anxiety/anti-depressant drug. 

I still have the bag from years ago, as in maybe four. Not sure if it's any good now. I did take it about a year ago and it made me feel weird. Just not something I think about anymore.. not until this thread.


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## afboy143

This stuff looks really promising. After 5-htp gave out on me (just gives me vivid dreams) im willing to try this. I just ordered 30 caps from IAMSHAMAN so we will see how it goes. I shall post a log. Question to current users:


What is tolerance like?
What are the side effects?
Does it make you sleep like XANAX?
How long does the effects last?


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## afboy143

Quoted off Wikipedia

"The alkaloids contained in Sceletium tortuosum believed to possess psychoactivity include: mesembrine, mesembrenone, mesembrenol and tortuosamine. Mesembrine is a major alkaloid present in Sceletium tortuosum, and due to the antidepressant effects of kanna many have been lead to believe that mesembrine is a potent SSRI, however there is a lack of research to prove this, and a study [1] has shown that mesembrine is more likely to be a Phosphodiesterase4-selective inhibitor, similar to rolipram, rather than an SSRI. Despite this, kanna should not be combined with other SSRIs, MAOIs, cardiac or psychiatric medications. The results of taking sceletium on top of other SSRI's are unpredictable, and it is known that alcohol can also cause side effects combined with many SSRI's. Headaches in conjunction with alcohol have been noted with sceletium use."

Quoted from IAMSHAMAN when I bought it

WARNING! Kanna is believed to act as a Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI). In combination with common psychiatric medications including other SSRIs (such as Prozac) and MAO Inhibitors, it may cause injury if ingested.


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## Eimaj

BeNice: 

Why did you stop taking Kanna? Do you have any warnings/reservations about not taking it?
As far as I can tell it looks promising and I am anxious to try some. You said it made you feel wierd. Was it good/bad?

Thanks, 

Eimaj


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## afboy143

Any replies on this?


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## pikindaguy

My order just came in the mail, 60 tablets at 350mg each. I just swalllowed my first one and we'll see how it goes


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## Rob

A few quick things I had to find out about Kanna the hard way.
DO NOT eat any food within an hour or 2 before taking it. For some reason it destroys its activity.
Also MANY place are selling backyard/greenhouse grown Kanna and they are picking the leaves before it matures. It takes up to a year before its good to pick. 
Needless to say people are buying it and getting no affect from it at all than saying it doesnt do crap.
I only bought Kanna from iamshaman once and it was *ok. Nothing spectacular. I've bought other herbs from them however that were completely inactive (kratom)
They are suppose to be "reputable" but when I emailed them about selling inactive Kratom they never responded. I since never ordered from them again.

The once place I ALWAYS had good experience was is psychoactiveherbs.com
Thier stuff is grown in a local farm in indonesia, picked fresh and shipped right out. iamshaman i have no idea where they get there stuff from but i think they're a middle man (i could be wrong though)
thus thier products arent as fresh or potent even when they're good.
ALWAYS order a tiny amount from a few different suppliers and compare. This stuff isnt regulated by the fda and you cant always be sure of what your getting.
With these facts in mind, I know the large majority of people who try quality Kanna love it. But they usually get turned away the second they get a bad batch and think it stopped working. And DO NOT use this to self medicate. I suggest only taking it in situations of extreme anxiety, otherwise youll get a habit you cant afford.
L-theanine is great for anxiety too, Kratom tea varies with users, Kava Kava is suppose to be good but I never thought it was anything spectacular.
I have about 6 new herbs coming in the mail this week. Ones called Damiana and Im dying to see how it works because Ive heard some interesting things about it and its stress reducing prpperties. If you've never tried l-theanine go to your local health shop and buy a bottle, I ALWAYS have some lying around.
Im not sure if its just me but that stuff has never failed me.
Im currently tying to concoct a powerful herbal anxiety reducer. 
And dont be fooled by the world "herb", some of these things can knock you on your *** (ie: first time Kratom users)
I see a lot of herbal anxiety pills and I cant help but question some of the useless ingredients they put in.
I think they purposely make them weak so you come back for more and they can avoid lawsuits but what Im working on is no joke and Ill keep you guys posted.


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## pikindaguy

Yeah I got mine from shaman, and feel nothing at all. Took up to 1g with no effect whasoever..

Where on psychoactiveherbs can I find kanna? It doesn' seem to be listed.


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## BeNice

*Re: re: Kanna - A Natural SSRI for anxiety and panic attacks*



Eimaj said:


> BeNice:
> 
> Why did you stop taking Kanna? Do you have any warnings/reservations about not taking it?
> As far as I can tell it looks promising and I am anxious to try some. You said it made you feel wierd. Was it good/bad?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Eimaj


I don't have anything particular against it. I guess I just didn't like the ingestion method I was using, and maybe that was a little much, too extreme a delivery?. I tried making tea out of what I had from back when. I don't like the taste, but it's the same feeling as back then, just less. I know the original people to take it actually chewed it, right? I can't really test it, though. I don't really have many people to hang out with.

From Wiki:



> e earliest written records of the use of the plant date back to 1662. The traditionally prepared dried sceletium was often chewed as a quid, and the saliva swallowed, but it has also been made into gel caps, teas and tinctures. Less commonly, it has been reported that Sceletium used to be inhaled as a snuff, or smoked, usually with the addition of other herbs.


Ahh. I would prefer gel caps or tinctures. I take gel caps of Flax Oil and Fish Oil every morning. Wonder if that form would work.


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## Caedmon

So, what the hell is a "phosphodiesterase4-selective inhibitor"?


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## rdubya

The stuff didn't work for me


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## Kenny

I got a bottle from iamshaman.com but so far I don't notice any benefits. Maybe I'll try taking 2 pills after not having anything to eat for a few hours.


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## ju_pa

Has anyone taken this lately ? Some say Sceletium Tortuosum (Kanna) is effective for social phobia and is even better than drug Paxil. I couldn't find any research done on this.


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## livingnsilence

I tried it about 8 months ago and it did nothing, but I guess it is possible I could have gotten some bad stuff from the site I ordered it from.


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## Nostalgikeren

Holy smokes this stuff is powerfull.
I bought a 25X extract on ebay, and it blew me away.
The sideeffects I've noticed are: Difficulty sleeping, and slight anxiety when the drug wears off. I used 25 mg of 25X extract.

If you take to much of this you end up manic. The anti-anxiety effect is probably potent similarly to phenibut, but the moodlifting qualities are way more powerfull. It basically took away 60% of my depression, and probably 40% of the stress. Im gonna take less than 25mg next time, it was allmost too potent.


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## Nostalgikeren

Sorry I ment 250 mg.


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## FaithForToday

Can you please advise when you purchased it from? Thanks in advance!


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## FaithForToday

Nostalgikeren said:


> Holy smokes this stuff is powerfull.
> I bought a 25X extract on ebay, and it blew me away.
> The sideeffects I've noticed are: Difficulty sleeping, and slight anxiety when the drug wears off. I used 25 mg of 25X extract.


Can you please advise from what seller on ebay you purchased it from? Thanks in advance!


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## Beggiatoa

I tried an expensive crap from Iherb but it didn't work. All the effects seem, in part because it acts as a PDE4 inhibitor.


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## NaturalLivingArizona

*Get it here*

You can get it from me, I just joined this site so It won't let me to post a link but I am on facebook. Look Up for: Kanna Zembrin Sceletium tortuosumextract (type all on the search bar) thanks.


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## McLeaf

I would just like to give my experience with Kanna and other plants from the Aizoaceae family (Sceletium tortuosum, Sceletium varians, Delosperma cooperi, Delosperma bosseranum & a few other Mesembryanthemum species.
For stopping anxiety without causing drowsiness nothing comes close to Kanna for me. I first tried Herbalistics Australia & Shaman Australis Kanna with excellent results, only requiring 500mg of powdered Kanna once a day for relief demotivating anxiety.
I ended up buying seeds of a few different Sceletium species & managed to get 4 seedlings. Fastforward 5 years & I now have 30+ Sceletium plants growing strong. 1 or 2 year old plants do not have much effect but once they are 3 years + the alkaloid content increases & they become potent. The fresher the Kanna the better it works also. 
My dried powdered Kanna after 6 month is about half strength. The Delosperma species I mentioned have a similar effect except they are not as energising & become quite sedating at around 2g oral dose.
A plant I bought from Bunnings labelled Mesembryanthemum species. White Flower I have found to be about twice the strength of my Sceletium species & is very energizing.
So if you suffer from anxiety & don't want to risk the negative side effects of many from the pharmacutical drugs I highly recommend growing your own Kanna. It is a great feeling being able to help yourself in such a way.:grin2:


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## McLeaf

Also I have tried many different Kanna extacts that are for sale on the internet & ebay etc & I didn't find one that comes close to the strength on just plain recently fermented kanna or even just eating the fresh of the plant.


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## McLeaf

Sorry for the triple post but I just remembered one of the Kanna Extracts I ordered off Ebay tasted like & felt like Tianeptine mixed with some kind of fermented succulent (just about all the Mesemb species smell & taste salty like Kanna are fermenting). Be careful who you get something off that you are going to put into your body.
*
*


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## Anxiolytic

Rob said:


> A few quick things I had to find out about Kanna the hard way.
> DO NOT eat any food within an hour or 2 before taking it. For some reason it destroys its activity.
> Also MANY place are selling backyard/greenhouse grown Kanna and they are picking the leaves before it matures. It takes up to a year before its good to pick.
> Needless to say people are buying it and getting no affect from it at all than saying it doesnt do crap.
> I only bought Kanna from iamshaman once and it was *ok. Nothing spectacular. I've bought other herbs from them however that were completely inactive (kratom)
> They are suppose to be "reputable" but when I emailed them about selling inactive Kratom they never responded. I since never ordered from them again.
> 
> The once place I ALWAYS had good experience was is psychoactiveherbs.com
> Thier stuff is grown in a local farm in indonesia, picked fresh and shipped right out. iamshaman i have no idea where they get there stuff from but i think they're a middle man (i could be wrong though)
> thus thier products arent as fresh or potent even when they're good.
> ALWAYS order a tiny amount from a few different suppliers and compare. This stuff isnt regulated by the fda and you cant always be sure of what your getting.
> With these facts in mind, I know the large majority of people who try quality Kanna love it. But they usually get turned away the second they get a bad batch and think it stopped working. And DO NOT use this to self medicate. I suggest only taking it in situations of extreme anxiety, otherwise youll get a habit you cant afford.
> L-theanine is great for anxiety too, Kratom tea varies with users, Kava Kava is suppose to be good but I never thought it was anything spectacular.
> I have about 6 new herbs coming in the mail this week. Ones called Damiana and Im dying to see how it works because Ive heard some interesting things about it and its stress reducing prpperties. If you've never tried l-theanine go to your local health shop and buy a bottle, I ALWAYS have some lying around.
> Im not sure if its just me but that stuff has never failed me.
> Im currently tying to concoct a powerful herbal anxiety reducer.
> And dont be fooled by the world "herb", some of these things can knock you on your *** (ie: first time Kratom users)
> I see a lot of herbal anxiety pills and I cant help but question some of the useless ingredients they put in.
> I think they purposely make them weak so you come back for more and they can avoid lawsuits but what Im working on is no joke and Ill keep you guys posted.


Great information! Are you still active on this website? I just ordered some Kanna from tranceplants.org and am awaiting its arrival. I used to love L-Theanine, but I over used it and created a tolerance that completely ruined its effects on me; even in higher doses, it's literally inactive for me now. Hope all is well almost 10 years later hahaha.


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## Anxiolytic

McLeaf said:


> I would just like to give my experience with Kanna and other plants from the Aizoaceae family (Sceletium tortuosum, Sceletium varians, Delosperma cooperi, Delosperma bosseranum & a few other Mesembryanthemum species.
> For stopping anxiety without causing drowsiness nothing comes close to Kanna for me. I first tried Herbalistics Australia & Shaman Australis Kanna with excellent results, only requiring 500mg of powdered Kanna once a day for relief demotivating anxiety.
> I ended up buying seeds of a few different Sceletium species & managed to get 4 seedlings. Fastforward 5 years & I now have 30+ Sceletium plants growing strong. 1 or 2 year old plants do not have much effect but once they are 3 years + the alkaloid content increases & they become potent. The fresher the Kanna the better it works also.
> My dried powdered Kanna after 6 month is about half strength. The Delosperma species I mentioned have a similar effect except they are not as energising & become quite sedating at around 2g oral dose.
> A plant I bought from Bunnings labelled Mesembryanthemum species. White Flower I have found to be about twice the strength of my Sceletium species & is very energizing.
> So if you suffer from anxiety & don't want to risk the negative side effects of many from the pharmacutical drugs I highly recommend growing your own Kanna. It is a great feeling being able to help yourself in such a way.:grin2:


I'm very optimistic about this particular herb and glad it works so well for you!


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## Drcbd

I just got some from medico herbs in South africa
Tried it and got slow head haha 
Fuzzy but nice ... Not considering going out 
So dont know yet what it does for SA
Just wanted to reviv this nice thread about Kanna


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## Anonimo

Tried it. All it gave me was urinary retention (I literally couldn't pass any urine while the stuff was in my system) and feeling nauseous on a higher dose. And I normally don't get any side effects from medicines.


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## Drcbd

Wowww!
Thanks for that reply 
Where did yours come from?
Sounds like a really weird issue to have ... I'm going to test that soon  
I was hoping I can used to for my mums who is always negative thinking 

But where is my strange glow? 
I want to get that! 
That sounded fun for camping trips lol


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## Anonimo

Drcbd said:


> Wowww!
> Thanks for that reply
> Where did yours come from?
> Sounds like a really weird issue to have ... I'm going to test that soon
> I was hoping I can used to for my mums who is always negative thinking
> 
> But where is my strange glow?
> I want to get that!
> That sounded fun for camping trips lol


From a UK-based vendor (don't want to mention the name). Maybe I'm just susceptible to that certain side effect, but in any case, it's not a very unusual one for SSRIs. I guess for the first time it's better to take it not too long before going to bed, so that in case you get that side effect you could just fall asleep and empty your bladder when the substance has worn off.


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## GoobieGillis

Sceletium is very cheap and can be used daily successfully with little to no side effects. People who are depressed or trying to get off alcohol or pills should try Kanna aka Sceletium as it potentiates other substances. Do not use it with a MAO inhibitor though. Also, it extremely affordable and highly positive for mood, anxiety, sociability, sex, diet and the list goes on. I love it and am growing it. But purchase from different vendors. Non fermented is more UP and Fermented is more of a mellow relaxed vibe.
It's not a drug and has been documented as being used for hundreds of years. Don't fear it it is beautiful.


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## MoonlitMadness

Can this be shipped to the UK? There is a ban here on psychoactive substances, does this mean they won't ship here?


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## joost78

Guys i posted bout Sceletium (Kanna) in another post and now found this. I think what u would need is a standarized Kanna product for it to work. Zembrin, which is also used in medical research (see link in my other post), is such. also there is a new one which i didnt try yet called Tristill. There are more i guess but this is what i know and worked for me. I am at 125mg Zembrin a day with like 90% reduction in SA for 2 weeks now.


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