Stress, Fags and sleepless nights!

[Yoda Winfrey]

A friend of mine is having trouble sleeping at the moment due to stress and bronchitis. that is if she gets to sleep at all she wakes up coughing. Also she has decided to give up smoking.

I was wondering if there is any herbal remodies that can help relax her b4 bed and help reduce stress aswell as the tension created from giving up the fags???

cheers

[Torsten]

check out the Zonk pills in the herbal blends section of the shop. They will definitely relax/sedate, and may even help with the cough.

[Benzito]

Valerian Root to help get to sleep, and St. John's Wort to help with the tension and anxiety.

Both are available in plant form, try guruna for Valerian Root, and see if anyone on here grows St. John's Wort, you want the flowers from that plant.

Otherwise, you can get vitamin supplements from the chemist that contain these plants. Alot of vitamin companies also have a 'sleep aid' type pill, that will have a mix of Valerian, Hops, Passionflower, etc. These tend to work quite well.

Just don't take the St. John's wort near bed-time, it might stimulate you slightly for an hour or two.

Hope that helps. I'm sure it will give you a starting point anyway.

BTW: St. John's Wort seems to have a cumulative effect, so you won't be reaping the full benefits until you've been using it for a week or two. But even one pill on it's own can help me calm down when work is stressing me or something.

[Yoda Winfrey]

thanx torsten thanx Benzito

[ 06. July 2005, 06:01: Message edited by: Yoda Winfrey ]

[Rev]

check out EA forums for a member named herbmajick

hes a herbalist and could answer that better than me

also makes a nice Calea tincture

[gusto]

DXM(dextromethorphan) has gotten a bad name for its abuse as a high, but it's a decent cough suppressant, for me at least, at 2 to 3 times the label dosage. I'd prefer codeine though, with a doc's permission.

[Benzito]

For me DXM at 1x the dosage gives a plat3 trip, with projectile vomiting!

So, just bear in mind that it doesn't work for everyone. Some people have allergies(or at least, trouble metabolising it, not sure which), like me.

[reptyle]

remember also though that if its a wet (phlegmy) cough u probably dont want to be supressing it.

[dracos6]

hey benzito youre one of the population who have a CYP2D6 enzyme deficiency, which is the main enzyme in your liver that metabolizes dxm so you get way stronger effects. and cough suppresants dont mean you cant cough stuff up it just means you dont have that continous tickle urge to cough in youre throat

[Benzito]

Yeah, I reckon I've got that enzyme deficiency, I read about it on www.dexroverse.com, but doctor's have argued that with me a few times.

I think they assume I'm some internet hypochondriac though, when I start talking about enzyme deficencies, etc that I read about online.

Either way, half of an Erowid 'low' dose, had me tripping harder than any K could. And for about 2 days!

[ 11. July 2005, 23:59: Message edited by: Benzito ]

[planthelper]

stopp smoking and get some penecilin from the doc, bronchitis is a serious condition.

[faustus]

 

quote:

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I think they assume I'm some internet hypochondriac though, when I start talking about enzyme deficencies, etc that I read about online.

think a layman's way to test for CYP2D6 deficiency would be by taking codeine, if you have next to no analgesia then you have a deficiency cos codiene metabolises to morphine via CYD2D6. but if you're on SSRIs, you'd have greater therapeutic effect but more side effects (someone correct me if i'm wrong, did this stuff ages ago).

actually did a quick search, they use dextromethorphan to test for deficiency in CYP2D6 in phenotyping studies. if it weren't for the horrible side-effects DXM would be an awesome drug.

[Yoda Winfrey]

planthelper:

stopp smoking and get some penecilin from the doc, bronchitis is a serious condition.

i believe that is why she was looking for something to help her sleep as she has given up smoking and has also been to the docter several times with the bronchitis.

[loki]

suppressing the mucus would be the ideal fix if it's a rattly cough, but i can't think of anything offhand which does this without waking you up as well. bronchidilators would help there too.

as for more specifics, often deliberately inducing more mucus results in more complete clearing of the tubes (expectorant), it's possible that she is experiencing something that many smokers get when they stop, the tar buildup ceases, the macrophages are grown back and they start truckin the garbage back up the chute...

I used to have (and still occasionally do) get bronchial asthma. I only just remembered it about 8 months ago when i quit smoking weed and was taking dexamphetamine at the same time... and then i realised: cannabis (preferably smoked in a low tar low humidity modality) is brilliant for opening up the passages which helps a lot for reducing the wake-you-up cough which is doing so due to inadequate amounts of unclogged bronchi.

[Tryptameanie]

 

quote:

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if you're on SSRIs, you'd have greater therapeutic effect but more side effects (someone correct me if i'm wrong, did this stuff ages ago).

---

I think you are wrong. As I recall SSRIs inhibit CYP2D6, so you get less effect from codeine.

DXM produces active metabolites with different pharmacology depending on the route of metabolism. I think CYP2D6 gives the desirable NMDA-antagonist (K-like) compound and another enzyme gives a different metabolite, (a sigma agonist ??)that is unpleasant. So the levels and ratio of the two enzymes determines the effect.

Deficient CYP2D6 activity is actually quite common. I've heard 7% incidence in Caucasian populations. This no doubt is a problem for pain sufferers, as doctors are often unwilling to prescribe anything stronger than codeine and suspicious of people claiming that codeine is inneffective.

Kava is probably the best "herb" for anxiety and sleeplessness. St John's Wort is a monoamine reuptake inhibitor and usually requires at least two weeks to work.

A little scopolamine (datura/brug etc) will dry secretions and may help the cough, as well as being sedating.

Codeine is effective as a cough suppressant and (in higher doses)helps with pain and anxiety and promotes sleep. It is probably the most effective thing, but can cause dependance if overused.

[Yoda Winfrey]

thanx everyone u have helped out heaps :D ....i believe she is coughing the crap up from smoking and her sleeping pattern is a little better (she recently bought a new mattress) but i think she would gain alot from such herbs as she is still not feeling 100%....

cheers :cool: