Anyone tried gaba ?

[Sergiu]

Hey.I'm just 23 years old and i've been taking ssri's since i was 15 years old...so...8 years..yeah...long period. I've decided to quit because i didnt felt good on them in the last 2-3 years...it was my 3rd time trying...and now its been 30 days without paxil .But i still have the brain zaps and crying. I heard good things about gaba and i decided to try it...the problem is that i feel a big improvement in my anxiety and withdrawal symptoms but the dosage i took was too much for my kidneys and they started to hurt(two pills of 750mg per day) and now i stopped taking them and my anxiety is worse now than the moment i started taking them. Two days ago i started taking it again but in low doses...like 350 mg in the morning and 350 when i go to sleep...and now it seems okay for my kidneys. But i dont get it...is gaba making me addicted or why do i feel much worse when i stop taking them than the moment i started taking them ? How long should i take them ? Should i used it like a treatmen? Like taking it daily for a few months or just take them whenever i need it? Could a few months treatment with it cure my anxiety? Im just afraid that when i will stop taking it it will be hell on earth. Sorry for my grammar...im not native in english..i hope you understand what i mean.Thanks

[alankay]

I don't believe GABA supplements will actually cross the blood brain barrier. Even if it did your neurons would down regulate(take up less) of what GABA(calming, inhibitory neurotransmitter) it did make after a long period. I don't think it will hurt you at the doses you are taking now at all. If it helps you at that dose, stay with it. Some folks get benefits from things others don't.
Raising serotonin via an ssri/snri will help better regulate GABA, Noradrenaline and even perhaps Dopamine which will help you feel better(over time). If you don't like ssri's...don't take one(I take fluoxetine which helps). But that is why they(docs) like ssri's(plus safety). Down regulation(tolerance) of serotonin is less that down regulation of GABA when a drug that act directly on gaba(benzo's) is used over time. Even then some keep the benefit from benzos at the same dose, not all though. I have found that taking things that indirectly to help raise GABA keep working(Fish Oil caps and Vitamin D3) seem to help the brain work more normally(mine anyway). When you have anxiety you have too little GABA and too much adrenaline which might be helped by more serotonin(excerise, good diet, ssri's often help that). Adding Fish oil(as much as 10 grams of quality fish oil/day) and say 1000-2000 UI of vitamin D3 may also may help. It did for me but I'm not sure what percentage of anxiety patients it will help. PM me any time. Alankay.