Ashwagandha: Herbal Remedy with Dangerous Repercussions
Ashwagandha is a powerful herb. In this week’s post, I share the hidden dangers of this adaptogenic herb.
What is Ashwagandha?
Ashwagandha, also known as winter cherry, is a powerful herb in Ayurvedic medicine. The herb grows in India, the Middle East, and northern Africa, and like tomatoes and peppers, is a nightshade. Nightshades can cause joint issues or flare up autoimmune symptoms in some individuals. Due to its increasing popularity in the west, it is now being grown in North America.
Ashwagandha proponents claim this herb can be used to alleviate stress, fatigue, low energy, improve problems with learning and concentration, reduce anxiety, stabilize brain-cell degeneration, lower cholesterol, and reduce inflammation. This popular herb is also being touted as a fantastic immune booster and superfood.
Many people, however, experience negative reactions to ashwagandha. Like all herbs, ashwagandha cannot be recommended without a thorough understanding of how it will react in unique individuals with specific conditions and in specific circumstances.
Listen to the podcast of this article here:
Links:
- Liver Dangers of Herbal Products: A Case Report of Ashwagandha-Induced Liver Injury
- Cry Me a Liver: Ashwagandha-Induced Liver Toxicity
Side Effects of Ashwagandha
Ashwagandha is often called “Indian ginseng” because it can be energizing, but botanically speaking, ginseng and Ashwagandha are completely unrelated. I urge you to be careful about buying into any “one size fits all” marketing claims and please be careful with proprietary formulations that don’t list the actual dose of each ingredient. These formulations are often sold with the words brain, mood focus, calm, and nootropic on their packaging. You will also often see the words adrenal support and adrenal manager.
Over the years I’ve noticed ashwagandha can do a lot of damage to people with abnormal methylation issues, heavy metal overloads (such as copper toxicity), and gut infections. The overall long-term safety of ashwagandha is also unknown but there are studies linking it to liver problems.
In an October 2022 paper by The American Journal of Gastroenterology titled Cry Me a Liver: Ashwagandha-Induced Liver Toxicity, doctors shared the case of a 20-year-old healthy college student presented to their ER with complaints of yellowish discoloration of skin and worsening abdominal pain for three days.
The discoloration was initially noted in his eyes, associated with excessive itching of skin but no stool changes. He also had right upper quadrant abdominal pain, 6/10 in intensity, without any associated aggravating or relieving factors. He denied recent travel, alcohol or drug consumption.
Initial labs showed AST of 659 and ALT of 415 and direct bilirubinemia of 8.6. Side note: AST and ALT are liver enzymes and the functional range is 15-26. Bilirubin is a yellowish pigment involved in the breakdown of hemoglobin from red blood cells. The functional range is 0.2 to 1.2. High levels indicate liver and gallbladder inflammation.
On further questioning he endorsed consuming over-the-counter (OTC) Ashwagandha 450mg every day for the past 30 days to “calm his nerves.” Over the course of his hospitalization, he symptomatically improved with down trending liver enzymes and bilirubin. He was advised to avoid ashwagandha-containing supplements in the future. Post-discharge 3-week follow-up showed a normal hepatic function test.
Here are six common negative reactions to ashwagandha that I have observed in my clinic over the years including some of the comments people have left from the almost 800 comments at the end of this article.
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1. Gastrointestinal Issues
Common gastrointestinal side effects of ashwagandha are diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting. Excessive ashwagandha intake can irritate the gastrointestinal tract and exacerbate a pre-existing gut infection that you may or may not be aware of.
On June 24th under the comments section of this post DLH wrote “I took it twice (500mg) and ended up throwing up and with severe diarrhea. The first time I had no idea it was because of the ashwagandha. Today I knew for sure. I will never take it again.”
On June 3rd Steve G shared “I had a really bad experience today. I took half of one gummy for the first time ever. And 5 to 10 min later I’m projectile vomiting, extreme vertigo, heart racing, my sugar bottomed out and I’m not a diabetic. That was around 7pm. It’s now almost 1am and it has only lightened up a bit. Be careful what you take. Everyone is different and supplements work differently with everyone but man I will never take that again.”
2. Increased Fatigue
Ashwagandha is touted as a wonderful remedy for adrenal fatigue (or more accurately put, hypothalamic-adrenal-pituitary axis dysfunction (HPA-D)). In my clinic, though, I’ve noticed that adrenal fatigue is actually a result of certain imbalances such as copper toxicity, undermethylation, pyrrole disorder, zinc deficiency, and systemic oxidative stress. In other words, adrenal fatigue is not its own problem, but a symptom of an imbalance. By not addressing the underlying imbalance first, ashwagandha can actually intensify pre-existing symptoms of fatigue.
With this in mind, I want you to ask yourself “what’s causing my adrenal fatigue to begin with?“ The answer might be related to a gut infection such as SIBO or yeast overgrowth, or any of the imbalances I mention above.
Elevated levels of copper, elevated kryptopyrroles, and undermethylation are classic underlying causes of chronic fatigue and oxidative stress. Copper is especially insidious because it causes an increase in norepinephrine while lowering dopamine, which puts stress on the adrenal glands, thus impairing hormone activity (especially cortisol) and increasing fatigue.
3. Depression
Part of the hype around ashwagandha involves its supposed mood-elevating properties, yet ashwagandha may actually contribute to depression. Its Ayurvedic properties include building, stabilizing, and the lowering of “qi” so anyone who already experiences low energy, lack of motivation, brain fog, or occasional depressive states should be wary.
Ashwagandha can also cause blood sugar levels to drop rapidly. Low blood sugar results in physical weakness, mental dullness, and confusion, which are all symptoms known to increase the likelihood of depression.
On June 8th, Tara wrote “I have tried on a couple of occasions to take Ashwagandha. I have read that it would be good for anxiety and mood. Unfortunately, its misery in a bottle for me. It’s anger, depression, anxiousness and more in a pill. I felt like I was coming out of my skin. It was miserable. I am typically a rather easy-going person. I felt like I had an incredibly short fuse when I took ashwagandha. It was unpleasant to say the least. I will never take it again. I am very careful when I take any supplements for mood to make sure there is no ashwagandha in the ingredients.”
On May 30th, Mike shared “Although I had been taking ashwagandha for years to positive effect, in the last year I believe it turned on me, leading to bouts of depression, fatigue, body aches, anxiety, and insomnia. It made my manageable obsessive symptoms (Pure-OCD) exponentially worse and torched my sleeping habits. It’s been a few weeks since I stopped taking it, and there are some lingering effects, but overall I am feeling better. Looking forward to getting this fully out of my system and getting back to my old self again!”
4. Insomnia
Because it’s been known to elevate heart rate, ashwagandha can increase insomniac tendencies. Additional side effects of ashwagandha are headaches and as I shared, gastrointestinal distress, which can also prevent restful sleep.
On April 17th, Daniel wrote “I bought the 2100mg supplement off Amazon (big mistake) thinking I was going to casually enjoy being relaxed and calmer after hearing so many people swear by this plant as a general supplement. Within 2 days of my first dose I was experiencing crippling anxiety, panic attacks, insomnia, IBS flare-ups, fatigue, loss of appetite, adrenal fatigue, and depression. I didn’t pin my symptoms down to the ashwagandha for a week in which I had been using it on and off including one night I actually took 2800mg hoping it would help with my sudden bout of insomnia. That was my last dose 3 days ago. As of today I am still experiencing all of my symptoms and have slept about 15 total hours in a week and a half. I’ve read people who already have hyperthyroidism or are borderline can be pushed into thyrotoxicosis. I am hoping now that I have stopped taking the supplement my symptoms will subside soon and I can return to a normal life without permanent damage. This supplement is extremely dangerous without knowing the conditions of your body and should not be taken without the proper research and help of a physician.”
5. Anxiety
The Ayurvedic energy of ashwagandha is “heating”, meaning it tends to increase inflammation as well as “hot” emotions such as irritation and frustration — both of which can contribute to anxiety.
As I mentioned previously, ashwagandha can cause a rapid drop in blood sugar levels, and low blood sugar symptoms can both mirror and increase the intensity of anxiety. An increased heart rate, racing mind, shakiness, irritability, and panic are all symptoms that can intensify due to low blood sugar.
On June 27th Annette commented ”I took Ashwagandha twice a day for 5 days and stopped 11 days ago. I’m still having palpitations although not as strong. In the few days that I took it I had severe anxiety, panic attacks and suicidal thoughts. I don’t think it should be taken by anyone unsupervised. I wish I’d done more research as I feel I’m still paying the price for taking it.”
6. Disruption of Hormones
Proponents of ashwagandha don’t understand the connection between copper overload, methylation cycles, and adrenal fatigue, and ashwagandha’s role in hormonal disruption.
Hormone production requires a feedback mechanism, which is why I look at the methylation cycle in addition to hormone levels. If the methylation cycle is imbalanced, resulting disorders can disrupt the hormones, neurotransmitters, and feedback mechanisms that drive hormone production — especially those produced by the adrenal glands.
Hormone therapy, glandulars, and/or herbal remedies may be problematic for you and may create adverse symptoms that can impair your progress and increase adrenal issues, especially if you have a methylation disorder, copper toxicity, and/or a gut infection.
This is because most adrenal supplements contain copper-carrying and stimulatory ingredients (such as organs and glands, and adaptogenic herbs) that can be detrimental and lead to adverse reactions. This is why I always test copper and methylation along with hormone testing that includes cortisol patterns and sex hormone cycling.
On June 11th Dons wrote “I tried Ash for a week and it threw my hormones into chaos. Also threw me into hyperthyroid. Also gave me blood sugar symptoms. I suffered weak shaky arms and legs sore eyes, indigestion and bad anxiety. Stopped it after six days and won’t take it again!”
Have You Had a Bad Reaction to Ashwagandha?
If you’ve had a negative experience with ashwagandha, I’d love to hear your story in the comments below. If taking this herb made you feel worse instead of better, please know that you are not alone. To date, no studies have been done to verify the adverse events associated with ashwagandha in individuals with copper toxicity, methylation imbalances, and gut infections, but as I shared, there are studies linking it to liver problems. This article is the result of my own clinical observations with this powerful adaptogenic herb.
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My name is Raylee
ever since I have been taking this vitamin ( I take a lot ) but specifically this one stands out to me.
One day I had not 1 urge or desire to rearrange my room and let me say it was the type that usually leads to bed rotting. But I sat there for 4 hours rearranging my room, hating it, but doing it.
Next day I didn’t want to go to the gym because I was training but (it kills), but I did. I didn’t want to complete all 5 of my exercises, i didnt wanna complete my 4 sets, my however many reps, but I did.
School came along. I’m content with the anxiety of my new classes, it’s there, but I’m okay with it.(I’ve suffered from crippling anxiety)
Someone tells me I have a soild more 50 minutes of class left, which would pain me, but I felt patient, content to do the work in front of me, actually eager to listen and apply.
I want things done, fast but pristine, sometimes when people talk to slow, or don’t figure something out that’s obvious it irritates me. I know that sounds like a bitchy thing I hate that I feel that way, but I guess some things are just common sense.
I feel emotions, but it’s a different way of feeling them if that makes sense. Can’t quite explain that one.
Everything I explain may sound for the most part pretty good, I have drive, ambition, high work ethic, etc. but I get moments. Moments where I feel like I’m not even enough, and so much so I get really scary thoughts, and it causes me to have mood swings, something similar to panic attacks, and other sorts of things.. now that is why I highly recommend if your someone like me I can handle it but only for a month and a half, before I feel almost to much pressure of just the stress of staying focused on everything little thing, and making everything perfect.
That is my experience with it:) hope this helps
This needs to be known – I took about 3/4 teaspoon of Ashwandha every morning in a mixed concoction for about 6months , well my Appendix blew up and i am sitting at home 2days out of hospital = pain is 10 plus
So be careful when taking this herb I also think my sleep was bothered by constant waking up
God Looked over me
I took Bioglan Magnesium & Ashwagandha twice, & each time had a horrible severe reaction.
Within 2 hours of taking the tablet at night I was woken feeling nauseous and having to go to the toilet.
Within 20 mins I couldn’t come off the toilet, I had a bowl to vomit into while and at the same time diarrhea. This went on for nearly 3 hours, it was horrendous. I will never, ever take Ashwagandha again.
Had been using a blend of Ashwagsnda & Maca root powder in morning protein smoothie w/ mixed fruit with the expected positive effects. That blend was not available so I purchased a package of straight ashwagana powder. Added it to the regular smoothie in dosage equal to what was in previous product. Within 45 minutes started experience severe dry mouth, dehydration symptoms, frequent painful ruination, menta confusion, impaired gross motor coordination. Symptoms subsided 6-7 hour later.
Tried 1/4 of the original dosage the next morning. Dry mouth, slight numbness in lips and slight mental fog presented in about 45 minutes. Symptoms abated w/in 4 hours
Day 5 of taking 500mg of ksm-66.
sorted out my life….
I have crippling anxiety from the moment I wake up stemming from a break in my mental a few years back and at some point down the line that god awful HHC started getting puffed in the evenings daily to combat it. although HHC works the brain fog and motivation took a dump so switched it out to give ashwagandha a go. 50 minutes after taking my first dose and I felt normal while being essentially sober for the first time in over a year. I take one dose and I feel comfortable in any setting social or not for 6-8 hours. I highly recommend anyone who is comfortable with the possible bad reaction to at least try it as they clear up in a day or two. the only side affect I’m dealing with for lack of a better word “wet farts” but no pain and taking it one day at a time. its really down to the person I guess.
Ashwaganda not for me. An “improved” version of the theanine supplement I was taking added ashwaganda to the plain theanine, claiming it adds to the calming effect. Today is only day 4 of taking it, 300 mg per capsule. Rarely nauseous, have been nauseous after taking the past 4 days. Unable to get to sleep when going to bed or after waking to make a bathroom trip the past 3 nights. Extremely rare for me.
My resting pulse is normally 56 – 58. Was 72 – 76 yesterday. This morning, I also have facial flushing, like I experienced on high dose niacin. Woke up with a headache today, just like the prior 2 days which the headache lasted most of the day.
Loud tinnitus (ringing in the ears) today, started 2nd day taking ashwaganda and has been getting gradually worse. This morning, my mouth is extremely dry despite five 10 ounce glasses of water over the past 4 hours.
The only thing different in my morning routine is the addition if ashwaganda. It’s not worth it. Seems all but the flushing have been experienced others, some on much lower doses than I’ve taken. Too late for today, but no more for me.
I took ashwaghanda two days in a row. I read that it could decrease stress and anxiety, and since it was a natural supplement, I thought I would give it a try. Worst mistake of my life. The first day I took it, I noticed I was bit more tired than usual, and one of my lymph nodes on my neck was sore. I shrugged it off as nothing, because I had recently been sick. The next day I took it, it felt like someone drugged me. I could not function at all. I read that it could make you drowsy, so I thought maybe I would take it at night then. However as the day progressed, I started having cramps, and diarrhea. Then the nausea set it. By the time night time hit, I had throw up multiple times, despite antiemetic’s, and had uncontrollable diarrhea. I also passed out while on the toilet, thankfully with my husband present to catch me. Safe to say I will NEVER take this supplement again. I looked and there were no serious side effects listed for ashwaghanda. There really needs to be more studies on this.
I got PSSD /PFS from a single pill of Ashwagandha, earlier in April this year (2024).
I am chimically castrated and lobotomized, have been 10 days in a psychiatric historical hopsital in May. Have lost 15 kg since then.
“Anhedonia”, a severe form of depression, makes me want to jumping off my Windows day in, day out.
I do not work anymore, can’t socialize, can’t read, can have sex, can eat anything but bread and dairy, can’t have sex.
My genitals are completely numb, have severe muscle wastage and loss. I’m a 45 year old man with no previous history in psychiatry and used to weight 90kg + (when not more).
I’ll prosecute the brand (solgar). Anyone suffering from any symptoms from ashwagandha PLEASE do report to your local pharmacovigilence agency. SO IT. Anyone suffering from PSSD / PFS from it please contact me. Report your case to RxISK . org
Hundreds are complaining of it on the web, noone reports it.
Sorry. I forgot to add to my previous post that despite I was taking only 150mg per day I also noticed a change in my hormones. I had all the symptoms of periods but it felt as something was holding them back this time, and they are usually very reliably on time. This is the main reason why I stopped taking Ashwagandha, but I then read all these posts and realized also how my mind was getting fast and scattered and how the intestinal infection may be resumed because of it.!
I have taken Ashwagandha for a few days a year ago and my dreams were so vivid and weird that I was waking up more depressed and disrupted tnen ever, so I stopped. It was a 600mg pill a day.
Convinced by so many praises of this wonder herb for perimenpausal symptoms, I tried again. This time I took half a pill (300gr) each morning. I had the same result as the time before, so after 2 days I went down to a quarter of the pill (150gr) each morning for 8 days. My dreams got more acceptable, but I started to develop stomach cramps and, an intestinal infection that I was fighting and was on remission went suddently and brutally worse. So I decided to stop. Also my mood had become more unstable so it seems like this herbs it has not only no use to me but it gets me worse. Actually it feels my system really rejects it.
Thanks for clarifying all this to me.
Much love
Laura
First time I took ashwaganda I immediately felt the depression creep in after two I knew it was because of it. I stopped and by the next day I mood got better. That and Maca root and even a couple of others have the same negative effect on me. Why exactly? Wish I knew.
Taking ashwagandha has been positive for me, however I have experienced 1 negative (maybe 2). I sleep 100x better on this, it gives me a deeper sleep to the point I’m dreaming EVERY night and can remember them clearly. (Would never dream before maybe once a month) It’s helped my sex drive noticeably.
The negatives are when I wake up I feel drained, I would before taking it but now it’s worse, only for an hour or two, like you’ve been woken from a deep sleep type feeling I feel foggy.
I get anxiety and maybe it’s made it a tad bit worse I can’t tell yet it might not have though.
Overall the positives out weigh the negatives for me
It gave me really bad headaches so I avoid it at all costs.
I’ve not read the comments here, so there is a possibility someone else has mentioned this: that according to Ayurveda certain herbal tonics, (whch ashwa is) must not be consumed if you have a buildup of what we now call toxicity.
Today, I would opine that most people are in that category.
Maybe about 15 years ago I felt I needed something like Ashwagandha, according to what I’d read about it. This was postmenopause. I bought a tincture and it was wonderful. I had no side effects and my mood and overall health was improved, though I did not have anything seriously wrong with me. Just saying.
And I have not eaten meat (and not much dairy) since a young age, also avoiding junk food most of the time. Ayurveda is an ancient system, developed for a certain population at a certain time in history. We are not the same now. Thanks for reading.
Love this “Ayurveda is an ancient system, developed for a certain population at a certain time in history. We are not the same now.”
Hi, Sami G. On August 5/24 you responded to my comment by saying that you liked it. I could not get anywhere by clicking on “Reply”, so here I am, trying another way, to acknowledge your response to me. Thanks; it is nice of you to say that you agreed with what I had to say.
I did appreciate your introductory remarks, wherein you implied that your article was not necessarily a complete condemnation of ashwagandha, but rather a warning that there were many people who could not tolerate it. Judging by the hundreds of comments, you are certainly correct!
I took ash for a week and had horrible heart palpitations. It really scared me! As soon as I stopped they went away.
Hello! I too had a negative reaction to ashwaganda. I suffer from general anxiety and had hoped that it would help regulate my sleep as well as help with depression. I was taking it for almost 4 weeks and during that time was having heart palpitations, increased heart rate and worse anxiety. I could not figure out what it was from and ended up on medication from my doctor for anxiety. I came to realize it was in fact the ashwaganda as that was the only variable I had changed during that time. I tried to find information online to no prevail but discontinued taking it . The palpation’s and increased heart rate stopped with in a day. My anxiety also lessened and I did not need prescription anxiety medication anymore. When I spoke with my doctor they did not confirm with me it was the ashwaganda and charted it as anxiety which was very frustrating because I know the difference of how it was making my body feel. I feel very disappointed that there is not more information on the negative effects of how this herbal supplement can react to individuals.
I have been trying ashwaganda and L-theanine together now for symptoms of anxiety close to my cycle for about 5 weeks now. Not everyday but on days I feel I need the anxiety relief. I just connected the dots today after acting so out of character it shocked me to my core. The rage and sadness that literally result in tears and yelling I’ve felt on and off since taking this is insane. After reading this article I realized maybe my copper iud has something to do with the way it’s affecting me and my hormones, because I feel crazy.
I want to drink healthier coffee and so bought “Joe 2.0” from The Vitamin Shoppe on the advice of the shop attendant. I drank one cup the following morning and felt very weak and fatigued the whole day. Thinking it was due to my perhaps not eating enough that day, I drank a second cup the very next morning (so only 1 cup a day, 2 days in a row), by 7pm that night I could barely stand and felt I might pass out while driving home from work. I called 911 and the paramedics told me my blood sugar was 58. Apparently that is very low. Well since I had eaten plenty that day, I researched ashwaganda and found your article. It has been 2 days since and I’m still suffering with low blood sugar but not nearly as bad as the days I had the coffee with ashwaganda in it. Hopefully this will pass soon. I’m very surprised this coffee comes with zero warnings or any information.
I have been miserable on this! I was wondering why I keep having temperature regulation issues, and now I know! Thank you for explaining it so well above. I think I’m more sensitive to it since I’ve been through 6 months of chemo about five years ago.
I took it for first time last night. Awoke this morning feeling nauseous and lethargic. I was not aware of the side effects before taking.
I took a lot of supplements , my blood pressure is around 130/65 , Memorial Day I was at a party , I don’t drink , however my legs felt really heavy , no depth perception, I couldn’t string 2 sentences together , my mouth was extremely dry yet water didn’t quench it , later that night I completely lost my mind , I was taken to ER where my bp read 230/133 I spent 3 days in icu every test until . Took a couple a days for my mind to be clear again
Godmother has been taking and bought Ashwagandha for me – helped her lose weight and manage anxiety. It’s been 3 weeks and i think I’ve been less stressed but I’m also sliding into a bad depression for the first time in a few years. (Autoimmune issues, postmenopausal and history of panic attacks) I’ve been wondering what’s happening… I’m going to stop the tabs and see if I get relief.
The first time I took Ashwagandha was in the Air Force in 2007, it made me tachycardic with my heart rate over 100bpm and profuse vomiting and shaking, it wasn’t until recently I started seeing it show up in so many sleep aids and stress aids that I thought these people must be insane. I swore it off after giving it a second go and had the same experience. I now have to watch what I buy in fear of it not being touted on the front and having to look at the ingredient list..
Ashwagandha seemed to help me sleep if I only take it occasionally but it consistently produced tenderness in lymph nodes in the day or two after taking.
Hi. I took ashwaganda one time(unsure of the dosage) but 1 capsule and within an hour I proceeded to throw up and continued for 12 hours on the hour. It was awful. I’ve never tried again. The only other medication I was taking at the time was synthroid.
I’d love your thoughts on this as I might try it again, but am a bit nervous to try. Thanks so much.
Corrina
Ashwagandha gave me diarrhea. My GI tract is VERY sensitive, thus can’t take lots of supplements. Turmeric does same. Wish there’s some way to desensitize it.
I am very perimenopausal and I find ashwagandha successfully lowers my cortisol and helps with the morning panic feelings. However I usually seem to get some other unwanted symptoms with it, often stomach related. This time I’ve managed to take it for second several months and felt good, returned libido etc, but now I’m struggling with feeling physically exhausted, achy and unwell u going for about 6 weeks. Tummy is a bit dodgy again but not too bad. Really don’t know what’s best here. Thanks
Yes i had bad effects from Ashwagandha. My anxiety has gone worst after taking it for for 30+ days. Zero Libido and sex drive.
I don’t know how to fix this now and any help is appreciated.
I took KSM66 Ashwagandha twice a day for 5 days and stopped 11 days ago. I’m still having palpitations although not as strong. In the few days that I took it I had severe anxiety, panic attacks and suicidal thoughts. I don’t KSM66 should be taken by anyone unsupervised. I wish I’d done more research as I feel I’m still paying the price for taking it.
I took it twice (500mg) and ended up throwing up and with severe diarrhea. The first time I had no idea it was because of the Aswaganda. Today I knew for sure. I will never take it again.
Glad I found this article. I started growing ashwaganda and every morning i would go into my garden and pic a few leaves and chew them up then swallow them, it gave me a boost of happiness through the day and made me feel positive about life. Once the plant had started to die off I dug up the roots, dried them and made into powdered capsules. Started taking one capsule a day and almost immediately I was incredibly emotional, cried constantly and my mind was on over drive, I stopped sleeping and was constantly waking in the night. Other side effects I experienced were feeling high, brain fog, sore eyes. Can tolerate the leaves but the root seems to be extremely potent. I’m wondering if the herb will
I am having the worst Anxiety and sleep problems with Nature’s Bounty Ashwagandha. I should have read up on it before buying it and using it.
Hi!
I know this article is about ashwaghanda. I am sad to hear it is bad for us. I just ordered some.
Hi! This is Sue again. I left a comment on another website. I have lots of gallstones. Do you think that hinders my body receiving nutrients?
Wow. I’m glad I found this article and the comments as they explain so much!
I have trouble getting to sleep and usually take lavender pills, but I thought I’d try out Natures Own Ashwagandha with Chamomile and Magnesium for Anxiety, since Chamomile tea also helps me sleep.
So a few weeks ago I started taking one of these at bedtime and I fell asleep reasonably quickly.
But then I noticed my heart was racing all the time and feels like its thumping in my chest. It’s especially bad when I’m trying to sleep and my insomnia is worse. As I write this it’s 2.30am and I can’t get to sleep. I have an anxiety disorder which is controlled by medication, but the last few days I’ve felt like I do when I’m off my meds. I feel exhausted in the daytime with nausea and headaches here and there. My period should be due but who knows where that is.
A few days ago I started wondering if it might be the pills making me feel horrible, so I stopped taking them. I’m so glad I did now and hope that these awful side effects go away soon.
Hey there,
I was taking Ashwaganda (High Potency 8000+) for a month or two as I was trying to come off anti-depressants and thought that Ashwaganda was helpful in regulating my anxiety. About 6 weeks ago I started having chronic diahorrea with associated stomach cramps and nausea. I kept taking the ashwaganda and the diahorrea kept going. My GP did some tests and gave me antibiotics to try and help. Last week I got covid and my anxiety was so bad (with covid and GI trouble) that I started back on my SSRI reuptake inhibitor. I stopped taking Ashwaganda at this time and also soon after finished the antibiotics. The diahorrea seems to have resolved! Reading this, I’m wondering if it was the Ashwaganda all along?
I tried Ash for a week and it threw my hormones into chaos…..also threw me into hyperthyroid..also gave me blood sugar .symptoms ……I suffered weak shaky arms and legs sore eyes indigestion and bad anxiety…..stopped it after six days …and won’t take again!
I have tried on a couple of occasions to take Ashwaganda. I have read that it would be good for anxiety and mood. Unfortunately, its misery in a bottle for me. It’s anger, depression, anxiousness and more in a pill. I felt like I was coming out of my skin. It was miserable.
I am typically a rather easy going person. I felt like I had an incredibly short fuse when I took ashwaganda.
It was unpleasant to say the least.
I will never take it again. I am very careful when I take any supplements for mood to make sure there is no nashwaganda in the ingredients.
Thank you! Like so many others, this herb has been terrible for me. I hope everyone feels better soon!
I had a really bad experience today. I took half of one gummy for the first time ever. And 5 to 10 min later I’m projectile vomiting, extreme vertigo, heart racing, my sugar bottomed out and I’m not a diabetic. That was around 7pm. It’s now almost 1am and it has only lightened up a bit. Be careful what you take. Everyone is different and medications work differently with everyone but man I will never take that again.
Although I had been taking ashwagandha for years to positive effect, in the last year I believe it turned on me…leading to bouts of depression, fatigue, body aches, anxiety, and insomnia. It made my manageable obsessive symptoms (Pure-O OCD) exponentially worse and torched my sleeping habits.
It’s been a few weeks since I stopped taking it, and there are some lingering effects, but overall I am feeling better. Looking forward to getting this fully out of my system and getting back to my old self again!
I am confused and can’t find not a drop of information on this. Every time I take ashwagandha I get severe swelling in my hands and feet and really bad joint pain. I usually can’t walk for a few days. I tried to cut everything else out and stopped taking the ashwagandha and seemed to get better then took ONLY the ashwagandha to see if that’s what was causing it and sure enough it happened again. Except this time WORSE. I couldn’t walk and it won’t get better. I also have conjunctivitis that is not contagious and I get that EVERY time I take ashwagandha. It made me feel so good mentally but I’m literally bed bound now with no answers and no where to turn cause the docs I have seen don’t understand what’s wrong just yet. I just don’t know why I’m the only one that is talking about this. Could I be a rare case? Or is this normal and if so why can’t I find any info about it. Thanks for listening!!
I am on day three of trying to take this drug. Originally my holistic doctor wanted me to take 2 pills 2xs a day – DAY ONE I thought I was out of my mind! The next day we lowered it to one pill – I noticed extreme brain fog for about 4-5 hours min and was miserable. On DAY 3, today (and I think my final day) I took less than 1/3 the pill and still have EXTREME brain fog. I AM DONE! No more.
I (37F) took Rheal Balance Tonic for just over 3 weeks, and had such a negative reaction that I needed to share my experience – if only to help one other person. In short, something in this product (I think it was the ashwagandha, going by the other comments here) made me suicidal. I felt like I was on a knife-edge. It also gave me intense anxiety, heart palpitations and brain fog, the latter of which meant I didn’t put two-and-two together for 3 weeks. I had indigestion for the first 2 days, but that subsided on the evening of the second day. It also caused physical pain and swelling in my armpits as well as muscle and joint pain. I had ‘bad knees’ and back pain for the first time in my life, and my eyes felt hot and tired. The ingredients in Balance Tonic are KSM-Ashwagandha, Maca Root, Baobab, Hibiscus and Blueberry.
I originally started drinking Balance Tonic because I had what I thought was a ‘hormonal belly’ which I wanted to fix. I’m normally fit and active, and was tossing up between Balance Tonic and Gut Feel to try and address the bloating. (Side note: I’ve since started drinking Gut Feel – also by Rheal – and that one is much better. My bloating hasn’t completely gone, but it has notably decreased and I’m not getting any nasty side-effects.) I’ve struggled with depression and anxiety my whole life, so Balance Tonic sounded like a miracle. In hindsight – it was definitely too good to be true. I desperately wanted it to work, to lower my cortisol levels, but everything it claimed to do – did the exact opposite.
But back to the side effects of Balance Tonic. After 2 drinks (around 24 hours) my mood plummeted. I was irritable and crying over the smallest things. I started catastrophising and getting worked up over scenarios that hadn’t happened. Fast forward a week of drinking 1 drink a day, and I was crying every couple of hours, every day. At work I was on autopilot. I love my job, but I had lost all interest and couldn’t see the point. I didn’t see the point in looking after my elderly parents, or even my sick cat. (The cat’s fine now, thankfully).
The one good thing that it did do for me, was give me great sleep. Ashwagandha makes you drowsy, so I was drinking it in the evening. And boy did I sleep. I fell asleep quickly and stayed asleep.
But during the day, my anxiety went through the roof. Things that I could usually deal with, suddenly were causing me huge amounts of stress and I became irritable. In between the severe depression, I was angry and unstable. It was as though the drink had triggered severe PMDD symptoms that lasted for the entire time I was taking it. I was confused and couldn’t think straight. I didn’t recognise myself, and remember thinking ‘what’s happening to me’. I thought I was perhaps hitting perimenopause (or even menopause), but the symptoms were so severe I wanted to die. My long-term plans suddenly became unobtainable. I genuinely believed I wouldn’t live long enough to see them through.
Fast forward to 2 weeks of drinking 1 drink a day. My armpits began to become very painful. So painful that I was waking up from the blissful slumber this stuff put me in. I couldn’t stretch out my arms in front of me, or even lie on my side, because the compression increased the pain. I was struggling to lift things because of the pain. Then I noticed my lymph nodes were swollen. Just one in the centre of each armpit, but they felt like hard little peas. I have fatty tissue in one armpit, which looks like a soft lump. When I had it checked out a couple of years ago, the hospital said it was likely caused by hormones, or there was a slight possibility it was from the COVID jab. But because she had said ‘hormones’ – this was another reason for wanting to try Balance Tonic. I thought maybe the lump would go down. But it didn’t. It became so painful it felt like the worst graze you’ve ever had, a deep wound that just wouldn’t stop hurting. Then add to that, the swollen lymph nodes – and the anxiety and depression – I had convinced myself I was going to die. I felt heavy.
I don’t remember what it was that made me research the ingredients. The brain fog was so bad that I have almost no memory of those 3 weeks. Luckily, however, I keep personal video journals (and have done since 2009) – and it was only by looking back through the footage that I was able to piece things together. I made a day-by-day symptoms list – which helped my write this account.
Once I finally realised the terrible side-effects I was having from Balance Tonic, I stopped drinking it immediately. After 2 days I started to feel better, and after 4 days I felt almost normal. My armpits took around a week to stop hurting. The lymph nodes went down, but I noticed that on my next cycle – a week before my period – they came back again (although not nearly as painful). I’ve never had this issue before, so I’m hoping that I’ve not triggered a new cyclical condition by drinking this stuff.
It seems that ashwagandha commonly causes depression and anxiety, but if anyone has any experience with it triggering armpit pain, breast pain, problems with lymph nodes, problems with excess fatty/breast tissue – I’d love to know. My theory is that it caused a severe inflammation response in my body – but why, I don’t know. (I don’t have any underlying conditions that I know of.)
One of the worst things about this whole experience was how utterly alone I felt. I am just so glad I found this page – and everyone in the comments section – because there is very little about this on the web. I don’t understand why ashwagandha isn’t regulated, and I think it’s awful that companies can use it without disclosing dosage – or even stating that you need to take breaks from using it.
That said – I don’t blame Rheal, it’s the system.
I want to thank you and the others for sharing your experiences with this herb. My experience has been very similar to yours. I’m glad that you were able to figure it out and feel better. I’m feeling better myself. Take care!
I am taking 10mgs of Lexapro. I’m 74 years old is it safe to take Ashwagandha KSM-66?
THANK YOU,
Patty pmdoyle1950@gmail.com
When is the best time to take this morning or night?
Please remove my last name and email address.
I am taking 10mgs of Lexapro. I’m 74 years old is it safe to take Ashwagandha KSM-66?
THANK YOU,
Patty pmdoyle1950@gmail.com
When is the best time to take this morning or night?
I believe the ashwagandha in ag1 made me feel dizzy after taking it for several months. So dizzy that in the middle of the night when getting out of bed I couldn’t stand straight. I didn’t know that ag1 was what was causing the problem until I had been taking it for over a year. That’s another interesting story of how I figured it out.
I’ve been taking liquid ashwagandha for a couple of weeks because I’ve been trying to help my stress-induced anxiety and sleep issues. Last evening I had some nausea. Last night I slept for one hour, woke up and dealt with a rapid heartbeat for awhile. Finally went to sleep, woke up groggy and listless. At first I thought I was taking too much ashwagandha, but after reading the article and reviewing my recent symptoms, I think it wise if I try another route to resolve my issues.
I believe I have high cortisol levels due to chronic and acute stress. I’ve been reading about bringing them down. Ashwaganda is recommended, so I bought some and have been taking it. I’m so relieved to read your information. A day has not gone by that I’m not teary, very low energy, and have stomach issues. I will not take it again.
I took Ashwagandha (Thomson stress + focus) and felt it’s calming properties. So after finishing the bottle I bought KSM66 which was supposed to be a pure form of Ashwagandha root. But once I started taking these I felt highly anxious and my hands started shaking though I had no reason to feel anxious. I stopped taking it and the symptoms persist even after a week. I don’t know if it’s related to the KSM66 or not.
Hi
I’ve been taking Ashwagandha (Thomson stress + focus) and felt calming properties. So I then bought KSM66 which was supposed to be a pure form of Ashwagandha root. But once I started taking these I felt highly anxious and shaking
my hands while there is no reason to feel anxious. I stopped taking it and the Stanton’s persist even after a week. I don’t know if it’s related to the KSM66 or not
I took 20 capsules of Ashwagandha (Sensoril), after one pill I felt its calming effects and after the second pill I felt completely relaxed, my palpitations disappeared, mental focus increased, but I didn’t have enough energy in the gym which I think is due to Cortisol was low. my OCD got crazy worse. I think it is from that, maybe it is not related to that, I don’t know. Because my OCD was already intense in early spring, but this spring was very very crazy.
I tried Ashwaghanda to help me sleep. Good for that but feeling itchy and weird PMS water retention feeling or muscle PMS . I’m 67 years old
I started taing ashawanga before going yo the gym. The firts day around one tsp dissolved in water. My reaction was afte 2 hrs of taking it
1- migraine headache like
2- sleepy
3- sweaty
4- dizzy.
Next day i took half tsp of ashawanda powder
1- not as dizzy as the day before
2- sweaty
3- headache but not as bad
N3xt day i took 1/4 of a tsp
1- headache
2- sweaty
3- stight dizziness
I took one and it made me rage out on my wife and feel empty the next day. Fuck ashwagandha.
Had 1Tsp of ashwaganda powder in water in evening.
Next morning I felt drugged, zonked out, and felt lack of sleep.
Also balance issues.
Won’t be taking it again.
I do have pyroluria with elevated kryptopherols
I’ve tried two products containing Ashwagandha twice now, and I’ve had the same reaction- Goli Ashwagandha- woke with heart palpitations, feeling that I couldn’t get a deep breath, restlessness. With second product, I didn’t realize it contained Ashwagandha- I took during the day, by afternoon I felt extreme agitation, restlessness, anxiety, and frustration- felt “jumpy” all over. Upon checking the ingredients I found it contained Ashwagandha-KSM66. Now avoid any product containing Ashwagandha.
I’m unsure if it’s the Ashwagandha. Underlying infection etc have all been ruled out. Since starting the herb, 10 days ago, I’ve experienced 2 massive temperature spikes. One led to hospitalisation as my temp was 41 degrees. No cause could be found.
Ashwagandha made me feel worse, I
Possible TW
I have a scar on my arm from a self-inflicted injury after taking ashwaghanda. I’m asked all the time “are you sure it was the ashwaghanda?” I am 100% sure that ashwaghanda results in me having rage outburts. I’m normally fairly chill though excitable. I have a history of depression, anxiety, self-harm (which has not normally been an issue for me in adulthood). I have ADHD and PMDD. I’d been doing GREAT. I wanted to try something for my ADHD and was told ashwaghanda could help. A few days taking it I was going into rage fits when having simple arguments with my husband. I nearly kicked the coffee table over. Well – this was NOT ME. Ashwaghanda was the only thing new, so I cut it out. Then months later I bought a mood support probiotic, unknowing that ashwaghanda was in it. A few days later, another shoving of the coffee table, and a tiny stab wound in my arm – I checked the ingredients of the probiotoc and there it was, ashwaghanda. I notice quickly when I accidentally take it because of how quick and intense my anger will get. I check ingredients meticulously now to avoid it. I don’t experience that rage unless I accidentally take ashwaghanda even when it’s just a small ingredient inside another product.
when I took Ashwagandha it had a reverse effect. It made me very tired.
When I took one capsule of ashwagandha I had a terrifying experience. Within minutes I felt lightheaded and anxious wihh rapid heartbeat and started to sweat profusely, felt darkness come over my eyes and felt I was going to pass out. Now scared to take any herbal suppliment.
Had a horrible reaction with Ashwaganda. I got super flushed, heart racing and fluttering. Never had a panic attack, but sure felt like it. Happened within 5 minutes of taking it. Heart rate kept shooting up every couple of minutes. Trying to fall asleep, but scared to fall asleep in case I have an allergic reaction to it. Never ever will I take it again.
Yes same experience. I just experienced all those symptoms now. Trying to stay calm, but heart rate keeps going up. Scary feeling!
I had an intense negative reaction to it, the opposite of what I expected. Fortunately I figured out what it was and stopped taking it!
Dizzy, tired, really sweaty (I don’t sweat much usually now it’s really bad), nauseous, stomach issues in general, brain fog, anxiety, depression, neck rash, sneezing, demotivation, vomiting.
Burning and itchy skin on my face
Thank you for this website. I bought end of January from a local store ashwagandha with magnesium for a sleep aid. I was not paying attention to the label regarding ashwagandha. I take magnesium all the time with no problems. I took this combination off and on for 8 weeks for sleep, 32 tablets total. I noticed I was getting more energy. However things started to change drastically about 6 weeks in. I was getting very dizzy when getting up or bending down, I felt distant, not caring about anything. I also was getting asthma symptoms hard to get air and a cough and dry mouth. Also chest pains tightness. Then the panic attacks were coming, very fearful. Each time I get an attack, I stop and try to relax. I did not think about this ashwagandha/magnesium sleep aid , cause I did not take it every night. By 8 weeks, I was getting panic attacks all the time and very dizzy like going to pass out. Also this certain type of non gmo cereal which I have eaten for years, I was getting a red rash. Then it finally dawn on me, it has to be this sleep aid. I stopped taking this sleep aid April 2. It is now 3 weeks not taking this. The coughing simmered down, and the dry mouth.
The dizziness still there, and the anxiety panic attacks. This ashwagandha is poison to my body. I blame my self. I should have researched this ashwagandha.
I started taking a supplement that contained ashwagandha that was meant to help with anxiety. Within a week, my feet become inflamed and painful. They have been so painful, that I’ve mostly had to lie in bed. I do have a type of inflammatory arthritis, and I think the ashwaganda has caused a flare. My feet have never swollen up like this before.
I started ashwagandha a few days ago. Took maybe 5×300 mg yesterday. Result: BP went up to 160 yesterday and I felt really uncomfortable. (On top of this I had started a slightly wrong type of beta blocker around the same time. But I got my regular one today which is more long lasting. The drug was the same tho.) Today bp was fine. But I felt so hot I had to strip myself to very little clothing. It took me a couple of hours to cool down. I feel too much of the ashwagandha put my system in overdrive, like hyperthyroid. Maybe cortisol was high, too. My mind was working at a crazy speed like the birds in Gyro Gearloose’s thinking cap. Like in a bit of a manic state.
I don’t know whom ashwagandha benefits. I was told it could help you go back to sleep if you wake up during the night. So I took one or two around 4 am. But they didn’t help me sleep. I was awake till getting up.
I feel my system is calming down now. I’d better not take another pill before I’m back to normal.
When taking just one a day I didn’t feel much difference. But will try again taking one after a few days. I do think it helped with anxiety at first. Maybe.
I bought the 2100mg supplement off Amazon (big mistake) thinking I was going to casually enjoy being relaxed and calmer after hearing so many people swear by this plant as a general supplement. Within 2 days of my first dose I was experiencing crippling anxiety, panic attacks, insomnia, IBS flare ups, fatigue, loss of appetite, adrenal fatigue, and depression. I didn’t pin my symptoms down to the ashwagandha for a week in which I had been using it on and off including one night I actually took 2800mg hoping it would help with my sudden bout of insomnia. That was my last dose 3 days ago. As of today I am still experiencing all of my symptoms and have slept about 15 total hours in a week and 1/2. I’ve read people who already have hyperthyroidism or are borderline can be pushed into thyrotoxicosis. I am hoping now that I have stopped taking the supplement my symptoms will subside soon and I can return to a normal life without permanent damage. This supplement is extremely dangerous without knowing the conditions of your body and should not be taken without the proper research and help of a physician. I have been a bit of a cowboy over the years when it comes to supplements and trying herbal remedies but I will never again take such a large dose of anything without proper research and trials.
I just used ashwagandha for my first time last night and it kicked in hard. I’ve been fatigue today, and my mind is a little bit foggy. I have a bipolar disorder so my reason for use was to lessen my issues. Now I’m in fear that it will not help in the right ways. I don’t want to be numb, I just want something to balance my emotions out without medicine. Is there any other supplements that you would recommend for me? (or others who have similar issues)
Took Ashwagandha 1500mg!! Everyday for 2 weeks because for some reason I thought it would be WAY better than taking Anti-depressants medication for my Anxiety. I was having diarrhoea every single morning and didn’t think it was the medication. Thought it was my anxiety/nervousness of going to my new job. No! After 2 weeks of taking it. I had a really intense headache and sweating/feeling hot (no fever) I thought I was having a Hypo (I’m diabetic) but no my blood sugar came bk normal. Waited hours in A&E and ended up going home because I was in there for 8 hours not seen by GP. Now today I’m having stomach pain and still have a bad headache. I’m think it’s something related to the Ashwagandha supplements. I’m in bed panicking what should I do. It’s truly awful.
I have been taking 1000mg of ashwaganda for only 6 days. I started taking the gummie with other supplements (multivitamin and thermogenic).
Usually I take after eating, but today I took the vitamin regiment on an empty stomach…an hour later I came down with what seemed like a full blown panic attack (which I am still not ruling out). As I type this comment, which is almost two hours
(liquid iv, milk and a protein bar) later, I am still resting with a somewhat elevated heart rate.
Since taking, I have also noticed blood in my stool. I don’t know if the dosage is too high but those gummies are going in the trash.
Hi there!!
Yes finally there is some light on the Herb , I have a severe reaction violent, vomiting, Diarrhea foaming through my nose up ALL night long anytime I touch any amount of the stuff I become ill, I’ve been to the E.R twice once the herb caused me to pass out and I split my face open and went to the ER the only thing that I felt before the pass out were severe cramps and then horrendous diarrhea. There’s something in there that just Does Not mix with my body chemistry , my latest episode that landed me in the ER was my strongest physical reaction yet( it was in some natural nighttime sleep aid) two days later I still can’t eat and I have no energy and still have low blood pressure.
I know I have methylation issus but didn’t know they were contraindicated for ashwagandha. 5 days on this herb and my brain fog is back, I haven’t had it for 5 years. Also, mood wise I feel like I normally feel one day before my period – irritable and sad for no reason. The fatigue is worst I’ve had in 10 years too. I’m glad I found your article, I though the side effects were all in my head.
Hi, thanks for the support you are giving here regarding this herb.
I only took it for a week as it said it’d help with my menopause.
Within 3 days I developed cysts on my hair, under the hair, some quite big, and began my ear.
Nowhere else.
My breast were very swollen and hurt, and I began to develop a dull period pain on one side.
I had 1 small cyst on my scalp which developed when I was in my 30’s.
My grandmother had them too.
I’m 56 now, and this is the first time in my life that I’ve had them all develop in a matter of days.
I know it’s the herb. It was in a capsule form. Quite a high dose.
I’m going to the pharmacy tomorrow, get some advice, and see if it’s worth seeing a doctor.
1 is the size of a walnut.
Beware ladies please!
Where is the proof of your assertions, please?
I clearly stated at the end of the article “To date, no studies have been done to verify the adverse events associated with ashwagandha, especially in individuals with copper toxicity, methylation imbalances, and gut infections. This article is the result of clinical study and application with this powerful adaptogenic herb.”
Furthermore, the “proof” is in the over 700 comments to this article from people all over the world that have had a negative reaction to ashwagandha. Additionally, there are studies showing negative impacts to the liver.
I took 2 of the Blackmores ashwagandha+ today as my friend suggested it to me for my anxiety and depression and 2 hours later my arms have been very itchy and red is this one of the side affect
Can anyone please tell me How long does it take to leave the body completely?
I wish there was a one-size-fits-all answer but since everyone’s chemistry and gut microbiome are different, that is difficult to answer.
I take the gummies 300 mg.
I have had no bad reaction I take for anxiety and sleep.
I began a nighttime supplement with my son and daughter that was included in a product bundle called Tru Height. I started with half the dose recommended to see what the effects would be. The supplement , when taking 2, is made of 1mg of melatonin and 75mg of ashwagandha. So they were taking 1/2 of that. Within 3 nights my son was experiencing waking dreams with hallucinations, upset stomach, and symptoms of a cold, a fever. We took him off of the supplement immediately. He also has adhd and is on a low dose stimulant everyday. I’m not sure the contraindications of taking this supplement with a stimulant, however our experience was not good.
felt dizziness as I go for a walk
I started taking ashwagandha 6 months ago due to the anxiety induced from dealing with several serious life issues simultaneously. I’d bought the 1300 MG capsule version, and have been taking 2 capsules a day since. Instead of my anxiety easing, it got markedly worse, elevating into severe panic attacks that have been almost continuous. I also developed nausea and daily diarrhea, along with insomnia (many nights with 1 to 2 hrs sleep), uncomfortable constant sweating, very low energy, confusion and brain fog.
After just learning about the potential negative effects of ashwagandha, I discontinued use of this supplement. Within just a few days, almost all the symptoms resolved to a large extent. While this may be a beneficial supplement for many people, I feel it is critical that people thinking about trying ashwagandha to be fully educated beforehand.
Hi there
I’ve been taking ashwaghanda 30 or so days and been experiencing headaches and feeling sick last few days I do get anxious so experience dizziness sometimes ( but I have a left hearing issue as loss due to virus in my inner ear) with this in mind, I seem to be waking up more? Hot sweating too I was wondering if I should drop from 500 mg to 250 mg see how I feel?
March 8,2023- fasted for 20 hours. Wanted to drink a tea called “Yogi elderberry lemon balm Immune system + stress with ashwagandgha.” After an hour my back started to itch. I thought I had a bug bit me, then noticed my arms started having red dots. After 2-5 hours. My whole body is breaking out in hives. I was ruling out what it could be in the ingredient of the tea and then found this website, I did not consume any capsules or powder. All I did was drink tea with that had that ingredient and here I am with rush all over my body. I even feel so tired, made me feel like my mind is just foggy. I had to make sure I write my story before I don’t. Be careful with this ingredient!
Interesting, I’ve been taking the Forest Super Foods Ashwagandha Root with no other ingredients 2gm BD for GAD, insomnia, stress. I’ve been getting progressively worse. The frustration and anxiety at work unbelievable. The increase in fatigue, falling asleep midsentance and nodding off behind the wheel noted. Gastric upset, nausea and diarrhoea and headaches really becoming impactful on my daily life. I’ve had increasing neuropathy of feet and lower limb odema. Only getting 2 if lucky 3hrs sleep. Only other supplements taken Reishi and Lions Mane. I became so distressed insisted on getting my bloods taken because my whole body feels very wrong and I feel ‘quite sick’. All bloods WNL but only just except WCC and FBC. What came back as astounding was my B6 level was 1300nmol/L (should be less than 160). I’ve been referred to a Professor Practioner for followup. To say I feel bad is an understatement. I’ve stopped immediately taking Ashwagandha and hope the healing might start. I wasn’t well before, hence taking this herb. But I’m seriously unwell now. Be wary of this herb.
Yes I had a horrible reaction . I was so depressed I didn’t want to get out of bed . I was having suicidal thoughts. I had extreme anxiety and insomnia . It was awful!! I had nightmares. I tried it for a couple weeks and stopped then decided to try it again 2 months later and the same thing happened. I was nauseous. I didn’t notice anything positive from it.
Thanks for sharing your experience with us, Karen. Herbs are powerful and must be taken with caution.
I’ve just taken a supplement for 3 days and I couldn’t sit still even though my skin and stomach felt on fire and my stress levels were ridiculously high.
Today I’ve not taken any and I am slowly calming down, though still feel unwell, hot, burning stomach, tingly hands and sore muscles. I thought I may have a virus but the anxiety made me really worried. Now I’ve read all the comments I am sure it’s the supplement.
Had bad experience with ashwagandha first time I used it.I got the liquid form,it said put 8 drops in 4 Oz. Of water.Shook bottle and only done 5 drops mixed up and sipped it.about 3 fourths of the way through, my face be came really warm,and felt like something crawing in side my blood vessels. Got dizzy and confused for about 10 min.Had to keep my head layed down for a little while.Feeling went away all at once.l was left feeling weak,and started having panic attacts.This went away in3 or so days.I feel back to my old self now.I thought l had educated my self on ashwagandha before l took it,must not have dug far enough for information, please people research extremely well any natural thing you take,be cause it can hurt you!
Bought a bottle of the herb took it everyday until it was empty. I also smoked marijuana every day while taking herb Shortly after stopping the conception of the herb, I fell into a deep depression, which lasted about two months couldn’t figure out why I was so depressed. I’m not usually a depressed person but after doing some research and reading this article, I understand. I also know that if I’m going to be smoking, I shouldn’t be taking that specific herb the two put together just brings me way too low.
Thanks for sharing your story with us, Desirea. Cannabis also comes with a lot of side-effects. Click here to learn more.
Hi I often took Ashwaghanda gummies when feeling anxious and they calmed me but recently when I took 1 brand of a gummy with 5htp mixed plus two more of another brand- it made me super sleepy – I went to sleep and woke up with intense itchy joints/fingers on my hands. This alerted me to potential liver damages- so I got up and took activated charcoal and drank a lot of water to cleanse the toxins. The itching eventually went away the more water I drank and now I respect the dosage – you are not supposed to overdo ashwaghanda. I’m gonna take care of my body more and drink more water and les caffeine and I’m healing myself right now and will make a tumeric ginger tea shortly. Tumeric is supposed to be good for the liver 🙂
Took Nootropics Ashwagandha 300mg once a day (at night) for about 3 weeks total, for anxiety/stress on advice from a naturopath doc I was referred to. Only other thing I take is a multivitamin and Vit D supp. Otherwise very healthy by all metrics (except anxiety lol).
Intestinal cramping first day, got a little better by 3rd day but bloating feeling never left (gas). Headaches. Eye pain.
Started feeling anxious in a different way than what I had felt, almost like paranoia. By end of first week extremities felt freezing cold, big dark bags under eyes, rapid heart rate with extreme palpitations, breathless just walking around block.
Then the massive mood swings kicked in. Holy moly. Scary. Called doc, she said ride it out, it’s “normal”. Lol
Everything got worse. Vomiting. Worse headaches. Fragmented thoughts. Self harm thoughts. People said I changed. Spooky.
Couldn’t stand it anymore and stopped, within 3 days I was completely fine.
Called my GP, he said he’s had about a dozen cases of this in past year and asked for the bottle to send to a lab for testing.
Heart pain and itching and rash. Was taking it for around a year, seems to slowly got worse n worse.
I am 67 years old with heart disease. I saw that ashwsganda was in relaxium so I bought it and took with melatonin not realizing I was taking 4.8 times more than the amount in relaxium. Terrible night. Woke up flushed with heart racing, nausea.
Finally was able to go back to sleep which is what I wanted anyway.
I’ve been taking ashwagandha for around 3-4 weeks now. I started taking it to assist with a high stress job that increased my cortisol and over worked my adrenal glands on a daily basis.
Today I woke up feeling extremely dizzy and light headed in the morning. When I immediately woke up the room was spinning from the moment I opened my eyes. It may be a symptom from taking ashwagandha. I have noticed that I have felt slightly more flat and less energetic than normal since taking the supplement. I have no issues sleeping and tend to over sleep majority of the time before taking the supplement. Due to excessive sleep, I do believe ashwagandha might not be the best choice for myself
Great post. I’ve heard Ashwagandha can cause cortisol drop. I’m on it and lately I’ve been feeling a bit blunt – like I don’t care too much. Still, is better than the anxiety I used to feel. I sleep better as well, maybe too good. I find it difficult to get out of bed sometimes. After reading the comments, I supose is not for everyone.
I took one capsule and I felt really weird and not like myself. The next morning I felt really weak dizzy and nauseous like I had low blood sugar. Felt like I had a yucky mental hangover for two days.
I took lowest dosa of ashwagandha for 3 weeks. I felt good in terms of energy and stamina. I was able to exercise well. But it didn’t suit my stomach and I felt really cold in my extremities at night. It took me a while to understand that cold hand and feet could be the side effects of ashwagandha may be due to lowering BP effect.
Still I continued taking it since I was feeling good in general. Then I had to stop it gradually due to these side effects.
Now I don’t take it but it had made the nerves of my lower limbs weak. My foot muscles ache all the time and have developed weird tingling and pain in my foot and lower limbs. Feels like my nerves are damaged.
It’s already six months but my symptoms have not improved . Saw a doctor who gave me neproxin painkiller.
I feel helpless. It has affected my daily routine. Can’t walk much and I feel nerve pain in the limbs.
I just started taking the powder form, I think I was taking more than the recommended 1tsp (6 gram) dose and this caused stomach pain and diarrhea typically within 30 min to 1 hour of taking it. I lowered the dose quite significantly and still I have diarrhea right after taking. I think I should just stop taking it all together.
I started taking ashwagand about 3 weeks ago I was thinking maybe it would help me level out I thought I might have been pilot bipolar you know having energy one minute and being really tired the next and all it did was make me really mean to people eating all day long could not sleep at all very agitated couldn’t figure out what was wrong with me I really really was feeling bad about myself really bad about myself thinking why am I so mean what is wrong with me why can’t I control this I sat here and prayed for a minute and it dawned on me so I looked up ashwagandha to see if it could have a backfiring result I take a lot of supplements I’m 69 I’m only on one medication that’s prevent Grandma seizures I don’t take any other medicines the rest of it’s all for my brain vitamin C vitamin D vitamin B12 a lot of fish oil just anything that’ll that’ll calcium of course for my bones but I don’t take anything else and I took it to lay down and it helped me sleep the first few times then I noticed I was tossing and turning I couldn’t get comfortable and worst of all it was making me act really mean to people and get really irritated for no reason I was really coming down hard on myself when I was praying and it dawned on me what was I doing different I went flushed it down the toilet
Ashwagandha causes sexual dysfunction too. Been suffering for a 1 year now.
I have IBS and would like to know if this will make my symptoms worse
I am so thankful that I found this article, and I will now longer be taking my current supplement to help with my menopause.
I have been in and out of the doctors for the last 2 months, and have now just clicked this may be the answer I only hope so. With the nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, lack of appetite, tired, bloated, and now my concentration has gone to hell with nausea and visit to the toilet ruling my life.
No more………. I surprised more by the fact that so called health companies don’t have bigger warnings or regulations around drugs that can potential damage your organs and land you in hospital.
I have sent all information to my doctor and can only hope my symptoms improve morning forward. As I’m booked in for a Colonoscopy and Gastroscopy first week in March.
I’ve tried it twice now (added the powder to my smoothie), and gotten violently sick. Like coming out of both ends within two to three hours of taking it. I’ve done the same smoothie for years now, and saw the powder at my local health store. I decided to try it and added about a fourth of a tsp. I’m shocked at how sick I’ve been.
I started taking Ashwagandha for anxiety and thought it was helping but noticed that I was getting an upset tummy so stopped taking it. One day when my anxiety was really bad I took it before bed and it literally kept me glued to the bathroom for hours. Then a few weeks later I took one after being constipated for a few days and it was an awful experience I couldn’t do anything all day and left me very weak and dehydrated. Nausea and diarrhoea like you wouldn’t believe. Never again these things are going in the bin!
So I’ve been taking this now for about a week and at first I thought it was just menopause but I quit taking it two days in a row and the symptoms went away which were my face is all like prickly tingly my throat where my Adam’s apple is at feels like I have a hand around it like somebody’s choking me and my inside of my head feels all tingly so I’m like I googled the symptoms about that and this popped up so my well maybe this has to do with the supplement I don’t know just putting it out there
I purchased Neuriva Sleep Support Ashwagandha and took 1 pill nightly for 30 days without any issue. I purchased a second bottle and each pill made me deathly ill (nausea, vomiting and diarrhea). It took me a few weeks to figure out what was causing the problem since I stopped taking all supplements each time and initially thought I had food poisoning. I reintroduced foods, medications and supplements one at a time and determined it was definitely the ashwagandha.
I am going through a terrible ashwaghanda withdrawal. I was taking it not knowing what it did and it was being touted as a testosterone booster/weight loss product that I bought at Costco called Weider Prime Testosterone support. I took it for one month and stopped taking it and have had the worst reaction. Extreme anxiety, insomnia, rapid heart beat, depression, no motivation. It’s been almost a month of not taking it and I still can’t sleep. I can’t believe they can sell this product with no worrying label saying there’s a dependency issue with taking it. I advice everyone to stay far away from it it’s made life miserable.
I bought Ashwagandha for a holistic approach for anxiety and stress less, but I recently felt an increase of anxiety to the point it was not normal and I couldn’t figure it out until I started to research Ashwagandha. My heart increased and I felt uneasy, like jittery. I was easily overwhelmed, angry, loud noises were too much, and at work I asked my colleague to announce themselves before she approached me as I didn’t want to be surprised while I was in the middle of a task. I told her something is wrong and new, I don’t normally feel so uneasy. I watched a movie and kept crying so I was more emotional which was uncommon esp. the movie wasn’t sad. I’ve not taken it for a day and hoping my symptoms will disappear.
I may be the one that Ashwagandha causes negative effects.
I took the herb and it led to me crying for no reason everyday, the final straw i had a panic attack in my kitchen and i couldn’t breathe and i was shaking uncontrollably. Ive never had a panic attack before and it came again out of nowhere. I know it was this herb because i wasn’t taking anything else at the time. It made me so depressed.
How about L-theanine? It helps me but seems I should take less than my doc says to
36M. I started using Ash a little bit more than one month ago, and took it for 4 weeks. At first it was great, and felt much relaxed, taking KSM66 600mg or 300mg a day, then I started to lose weights, more anxiety, more panic attacks, more health anxiety, waking up a night, messed memory… So started to take more one day up to 1200mg… After understanding that Ash was causing me these problems I stopped and had very bad withdrawal symptoms for two weeks–insomnia-not sleeping at all, panic attacks the worst ones I have ever had, reflux, gastritis, extreme blood pressure, diarrhea, dizziness, heart palpitations going to 130 just moving, erectile dysfuntion, anhedonia, aphantasia, neck pain, ear pressure… After 6 weeks, most symptoms are gone or better but I still have night sweats and anxiety.
I took Ashwagandha in Cortisol Manager for about 10 days. The first couple nights, I slept like a rock! And then came severe insomnia, waking me up between 12-2a. Some mornings I just got up. I’ve been dealing with this for awhile due to perimenopause, but this felt different. So I decided this supplement had to be the issue. I talked to some friends who said it can have a stimulant effect on some people, especially combined with L Theanine, so I decided to take it in the mornings instead. It still kept me up! And the gas and bloating are something I just read in these comments and realize also affected me. These are going in the trash. Not for me. I wish there was even more research on it. Fascinating how it works so well for some people and can mess up the rest of us!
34F. I started taking Ash about 6 weeks ago. My bf has been taking it for years and would occasionally give me one of his tablets. For the first 4 weeks, I felt great. My brain felt more focussed, I was sleeping better. My anxiety levels went down. I was taking 600mg twice a day. About 2 weeks ago, I started noticing that I was experiencing cold tingling down my arms, was more irritable, and crying a lot. 1 week ago, I’ve started feeling severely depressed, not sleeping, irritable. 4 days ago, the nausea, rapid heart beat, and shortness of breath started. As of last night, I burst into tears, feel paranoid, depressed, and anxious.
I never put it together until last night.
Have taken Ashwaganda for ca 1 month. Felt it helped somewhat with irritation/anger from menopause. In short time i had stomach pains like the whole gut was inflamed. It passed after one day. A few weeks later i got really sick and ended up in hospital which diagnosed appendicitis. After operation and one week recovery still some stomach pain/inflammation which seems weird for a straightforward appendicitis. Very tired with liquid diarrhea. Not going near Ashwaganda again!
I took ashwangda for 2 months I felt slight nausea and had slight diarrhoea, but I did not connect it to ashwangda. Thought it was stress.
I took two week break as advised! and then continued that’s when it was hell.
I took one tablet! Within 2 hrs I was so violently ill for 12 hours being sick and incontinent with diarrhoea I had the shakes and was frezzing I thought I was going to die as I could not stop being sick it was so bad for days my ribs hurt .
I still however, did not connect it to the tablet.Thinking it was food poisoning! I went to the doctors they did blood test. It showed that I had low liver function low kidney function, and my thyroid was slightly high, whereas I’ve never had problems before.
I did not inform them that I was taking this as I still had not connected this drug to it all.. it was only when I took it again a week later that I became violently ill again the same as before! 14 hours this time and ended in pain for days.
I did not take a high dose as I have looked it up online, but this could be the reason. I am now having a CT coloscopy scan as still in pain. I no longer take this and I have not had another reaction since stopping it. I cannot find anything on the Internet that would describe the amount of pain and sickness and diarrhoea other than taking a high dose which I did not. I will not be taking this anymore. I’m not sure of the damage is done I need more blood to be taken in a months time. I thought this drug would help me, or should I call it a herb for my general anxiety disorder.
I have never had a reaction like this in my life to herb. people need to understand what they are taking and what are the risks are for this because I did not. It’s all over social media saying how amazing it is But there is an awful side to it for some of us.
I have read some comments below and feel NOW not alone in this. How can a herb that is suppose to help be poison for some of us?. I hope my comments help someone.
This article helped me confirm that the ashwagandha in an herbal supplement called Hormone Balance was the root of incredible rage and bouts of hopeless crying. I am NOT a violent or angry person—not emotionally unstable. I did, however, suffer from PMDD—PMS symptoms times one hundred. I started going through “the change” about three months ago. The first dose of this supplement made me feel wonderful, which fooled me into thinking it wasn’t this supplement causing my rage. A few days later I began to get irritable and then BOOOOOOOOM—one day, there it was and it didn’t go away—massive wicked rage that bubbled up. On top of that, the chasteberry caused bloating and gas that could kill a rhino! I just thought I was doomed and that all of my symptoms were part of the perimenopause. I work out regularly and eat organically. I’m against HRT. I have healthy habits. So, realizing there was no way I could live like this, I researched the supplement’s ingredients. Ashwahanda is always promoted as almost a super-herb. I decided to stop taking the supplement to see if it was the cause of my rage. It was. The next day I was fine, and have been. I researched all the ingredients and the ashwagandha is the herb that has reports of anxiety, depression, rage, etc. I’m sticking with maengda kratom in the a.m. and Bali gold kratom in the p.m., red clover, soy isos, evening primrose, black cohosh, and adaptogens with green tea. This combo has been helping me so much in this phase of my life. When I had PMDD, I tried St. John’s Wort and Dong Quai, and those made me crazier. I should have learned not to believe the hype. I hope this helps any women out there starting “the change”. Don’t rely on AZO or ESTROVEN brands either, as they contain titanium dioxide—which is banned in over 45 countries—labeled as a toxic carcinogen, it will do astronomical damage to your body. It’s in TONS of stuff we consume and use in the USA. Read your labels and try to do the best you can to avoid all the poisons in our foods and hygiene products. MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!
I have been taking Rheal balance toner for about 3 weeks now as I suffer with very bad period pain. One of the main ingredients is Aswanda. I wish I did more research into it as my migraines are back and I feel so sick.
Hi. So I’m not sure about my experience with ashwagandha …. I started taking it for a week and I had this “ I don’t care feeling “ I don’t know how to explain it but more calm too … However . I got a bad skin rash on my arms, neck body and thighs …and I stopped taking it afterwards …. Now the rash is gone but where the rash was … it’s so dry and wrinkly ☹️I really don’t know ….
I took it yesterday and threw up severely for 4 hours. Then I started getting diraria then hot sweats then cold sweats. I threw up so much I was throwing up bile. Then it turned bloody. I was so dizzy and sick . I only took it one time in my life. Just one pill. Never again. I’m weak todat. Trying to rehydrate
Hi, I read and listened to about the plant well enough before trying it to help me sleep longer/better and after 2,5 weeks I have developed complete insomnia! It’s the 4th night in a row that I cannot fall asleep at all and I never had trouble doing so before, unless I was worried about sth, which is not the case now.
Dangerous stuff! Don’t know if it is the specific brand or generally the plant…
I am also noticing that my skin feels itchy for no reason.
Hi I started ashwaganda w vitamin B complex and notice it doesn’t make me calm
It makes me fatigued, nauseous and possibly lowering my blood sugar . I was surprised to read about these side effects and will stop taking it . Thanks for the article
I started off liking Ashwaghanda and it helped to reverse my borderline type 2 diabetes. However, the longer I’ve been on it the worse my depression has become and I’m now intensely irritable as well. I’m going to have to stop taking it. It’s a shame because I don’t get any other side effects.
I took a supplement containing Ashwaganda for the first time and woke up to vomiting and a very bad case of diarrhea. Horrible experience.
Thank you for having this page!
I am scared and baffled about the hype over Ash (let me shorten it this way) I see online, also among many functional health gurus – totally uncritical, as if it was a miracle cure-all for everyone, no “side effects” to be expected! I find this really unresponsible, seeing, here and elsewhere, that I am really not the only one for whom the effects (not side, they *are* its effects!) of Ash are disastrous.
First time I tried it ca 3 years ago, I got an extremely violent poisoning, spent a night and a day on bathroom floor, vomiting my guts out, everything including bile, and with watery diarrhoea. It was so bad I thought I would die. I am a generally healthy adult, I do not ever get nauseous (except for travel sickness), I take no drugs prescribed or other. And it was not “excessive amounts” of Ash, it was ONE 500 mg capsule by a well respected big supplement company, I never had any problems with their other supplements. I wasn’t initially sure what caused the poisoning; instinctively I avoided taking Ash again, and when I tried it again several months later, the same happened, albeit a bit less severely — nausea, heavy vomiting, diarrhoea a few hours after taking it. So I threw out the rest of the bottle. My body clearly rejects Ash as a toxic substance. NO other substance ever caused me such reaction, it was even much worse than salmonella that I’ve had once in my life. And there is no warning about the possibility among all the hype!
Yesterday I had lunch at a local well reputed fancy restaurant. A few hours later I got nauseous and threw up all the lunch. As nothing but Ash has ever caused me this reaction (and I have no food allergies, lactose or such), I wonder if they also use it in food! Initial search says that indeed Ash powder gets mixed or sprinkled on food; sauces, spices etc.! That’s a really scary prospective, if restaurants have started using it with no warning (they do warn about lactose, gluten, meat, fish etc that I have no problem with!) — meaning I can’t ever eat at a restaurant again! I really think promoting Ash as a cool trendy stuff helping you with stress, improving sleep etc, and downplaying or ignoring the averse reactions that many of us have, is really dangerous and downright criminal. There is an acute need to tame the hype and to make people aware that for some of us, this substance is sheer poison!
Hi , so let me start off by saying I’ve been struggling with getting healthy amount of hours of sleep for sometime. So I ordered Ashwagandha with L-theanine capsules. Tried it for the first time last night. As I took it with my magnesium supplement as well. The experience started off good at first making me really sleepy and relaxed. But after 2 hours taking the capsule I woke up and popped out of bed with an extreme anxiety attack. Which had me questioning if I could take my lorazepam with the herbal medicine. Which I did not take out. The rest of the night consisted of waking up every few hours with sore arms and legs from clenching the pillow and laying in bed feeling tense. Even this morning my anxiety is still high. So in conclusion taking ashwagandha I think did not mix well with me I think.
I’m so glad I found this article and all the comments. I’ve been dealing with a lot of stress and anxiety for the past couple of months due to a series of unfortunate events that I had no control over. The anxiety was becoming debilitating so out of desperation I googled “supplement for stress” and found ashwaghanda. Normally I overthink everything (part of my stress!) but I was so desperate for relief that I ordered a bottle on Amazon and started taking it the day it arrived. The dosage was 2 capsules (500mg) but I only took one a day. The first dose was taken in the evening and within an hour I had a major hot flash. I’m 63 so I’m no stranger to hot flashes but they’re usually not bad. For the next 4-5 days my body temperature felt warmer and I continued to have pretty bad hot flashes. I also had insomnia for a few nights so I switched to taking the supplement with breakfast. Then the headaches started. One morning I woke up feeling like my head was in a vice and it didn’t let up all day. Every day after that I woke up feeling foggy and ended up with a headache by mid morning. I work part time from home so in the afternoon after work I would crash and take a nap just to get some relief. I suspected it was the supplement but since my anxiety was pretty much gone, I wanted to try to let my body adjust. That was until yesterday when the headache turned into a full blown migraine and completely ruined my day. Yesterday was day 14 and the last time I took the supplement. I had some relief from the headache today, although it still came and went in waves. After reading all these comments I also realized I’ve had some occasional minor nausea that I had attributed to the migraine. Yesterday my eyes started feeling itchy and dry. I realize now it’s all related to this stupid supplement. Fortunately I haven’t had any vomiting or diarrhea, knock on wood. I started drinking more water yesterday because I felt dehydrated and at this point I want to flush this stuff out of my system. Never again.
Since taking ashwaganda I have felt uti problems, pain in left testicle and groin and the obvious stress associated. Having seen a doctor and had groin scan which showed no problem I have stopped taking ashwaganda. I had been taking it for 6 weeks, my problems started around same time. I just don’t know if it us coincidence or causing my problems. If so there should be more research and warnings about this. I will see what happens when it is out of my system.
I took a 600mg ash pill I bought from Amazon, within 30 min I felt like I had smoked marijuana (which makes me paranoid) and my body was almost buzzing. I was so scared and this severe panic feeling lasted till the next day. I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t think, I cried and was so scared. I experienced diarrhea and I had slight effects for a while after that for a few days. I read the reviews it was a 4.5 star product. I figured this many people did well with it let me try it. NEVER again! I was so scared and still am to try a new supplement. The crippling anxiety I felt couldn’t be explained.
Started taking ashwaghanda 4 days ago. Each day noticing increased acid reflux and not able to sleep at all. Last night was night 4 and had the worst burning stomach with reflux, I had to sleep upright, and then couldn’t sleep because of the insomnia. I never had problems sleeping, always out like a light! So no doubt it was the aswaghanda. I have coeliac disease (autoimmune) so I would think again about trying this is you have autoimmune / digestive issues
This was a very interesting article to read. I started with Hum Raw Beauty Green Superfood Powder not too long ago. One day I didn’t feel so bad, but then for two other days I felt really off. I felt like I was going to throw up, irritated (possibly from feeling sick to my stomach), stomach cramping, lethargic, less energy and brain fog. I just felt out of it. Like it backfired and I was not myself. It’s like all the things it claimed it would help me with were the things it actually made worse.
I’m an over thinker, and I have trouble sleeping. I was told to take magnesium which would relax me and help me sleep, so I purchased magnesium with Ashwaganha
I have to say my sleeping habits did not change, and now I’m experiencing tiredness all day and no energy.
I feel very irritable and just want to sleep
And I think I’ve developed some sort of anxiety I’m not sure if it’s from that but I know since I started taking it I haven’t been feeling well .
I’ve taken ashwagandha yesterday and today and i’ve not been feeling well: i experienced a state of panic with high heart rate, feeling ill, dizzy, sleepy. I’m a little better but I won’t take it anymore, it might work for others but it’s not for me.
I was hoping to read some comments about people that had used ashwagandha topically. I used in my hair and eyebrows and left it in for about 36 hours. I assume I am allergic to it because near my temple I have several fairly large hard welts that are bright red. Also one hard welt on my forehead near by eyebrow but it is skin colored. I have good skin and I have never had problems with allergies to topical creams and oils. I would like to hear from someone that has this type or similar reaction. I did read that using ashwagandha can cause acne.
Terrible experience with Ashwagandha. From few months ago I have been taking NOW Thyroid Energy, which contains ashwagandha, but without any obvious adverse effects. I have a KSM-66 Ashwagandha bottle, since I’m a little anxious and have some insomnia. The serving size is 2 capsules (1g), and a few days ago I took just 1 capsule before bed to test its effect. I found it very strange that I had a hard time sleeping more than usual that night. I attributed it to my stress and/or anxiety. Then, 2 days ago, after dinner, I took the suggested 2 capsules. In less than 5 minutes I felt a very noticeable strong burning in my stomach. I assumed it was too much for me and didn’t give it any importance. The next day, my urine was dark yellow but I didn’t think anything of it since I take other vitamins and supplements (Omega3, vitamin D, etc). The next morning (today), my urine was pink and my stools had a light red jelly all over them. My scare (is) was impressive, but clearly taking ashwagandha has affected my mood, my blood pressure and has aggressively hurt all my digestive system. While I take an appointment with a doctor, I have canceled taking any type of supplement, and I’m drinking plenty of water, which in principle has improved the appearance of my urine (no more blood on it). Now that I read the comments here, I know that ashwagandha won’t leave my system quickly. Now Thyroid Energy and Ashwagandha KSM-66 are in the trash. I hope to recover my health soon and I hope that my experience serves as a warning to other people who read this.
I don’t know for definite if it was the ashwaganda but I had severe anxiety/bloating/pelvic pain after taking this with menopace for aprox 12 months. (Didn’t realise you shouldn’t take for long periods).
After 5 days of stopping it bloating and pelvic pain gone. The anxiety is still there but have had this for years.
I experienced a very high high for about 3 hours, and then a super crash followed by a prolonged low. After sleeping all night, I slept another 9 hours after the crash. Review: Woke up, took Ashwaghanda, had a super productive 3 hours, then was back in bed for 9 hours! When I woke up, I didn’t know what day it was. I was OUT of it. This is clearly not for me!
I was ok on ashwaganda for about a month. Felt on top of the world. Then it was as if my body started to reject it. Sickness and bad diarrhea for 24 hours after taking usual capsule. Couldn’t keep nothing in. Don’t know if it’s just me, I was quite disappointed because I loved the effects of ash.
The vet thought my senior dog had Cushing and we were in the early stages of testing for it. Her alp was over 1000 and an isoenzyme test revealed it was almost entirely corticosteroids. In an attempt to be proactive, I have my dog a supplement containing ashwaganda and holy basil . It was advertised as adrenal support and sold on a pet website. Her stool changed the next day . They were soft and color changed to an orange red tint , day 2 she barely ate any of her food and day 3 we’re mostly mucus and blood and I stopped them immediately. It’s been two weeks and her stools have not recovered.
So I don’t think it should be legal for supplement companies to put one mineral or herb label on the front of the bottle without also listing the others or just calling it something else like “calming tonic” or something that would force the customer to read the ingredients. I recently got a bottle of Chasteberry by Nutridyn and it just says Chasteberry on the front. I paid $20 to be extremely unwell for the last 6 days and now that I’m coming off of it I’m having joint pain. I sent my Dr several messages very frustrated about the Chasteberry making me sick when really this supplement included Ashwagandha and Black Cohosh as well. It must be potent Ashwagandha because I’ve never felt This bad on Ashwagandha but I have known for a couple of years that it causes anxiety for me. This was a particularly bad experience with it and I hope my body can get rid of it fast. I can’t believe they’re able to paste one label on a bottle making you think there’s nothing else in it. I know that might sound dumb but especially if you’re in a hurry you might not stop to look at the ingredients if the bottle says Chasteberry in huge letters on the front. I’ve had horrible psychological and physical symptoms from this supplement.
My (AFAB) son has been taking NOW “Thyroid Energy” with this ingredient and it’s made him terribly anxious and a little shaky. He started taking it after his endo suggested it. He has very high cortisol and is scheduled for an adrenal CT scan, but our insurance wouldn’t pay because it’s not “medically necessary” so while we save up several thousand dollars she suggested natural help like this and diet. I had hope because for the first week his energy levels were through the roof and he was very positive but then it was almost like mania and he started having sleep issues and at the end of three weeks he told me he was getting waves of anxiety and face flushing and could barely sleep so I stopped this supplement and he was back to his regular anxious sluggishness but feeling less inclined to climb the walls.
I have been taking Rheal superfoods ‘balance tonic’ which contains Ashwagandha. I have been getting a really sore and bloated stomach after taking it. I have an underactive thyroid. Im thinking maybe this isnt suitable for me.
I finally feel better. It took 10 days!! And i didn’t take it long term. Still have have some morning anxiety but it will pass. I can finally eat again…Be careful with ashwaganda people ❤️
Began taking ashwaganda two weeks ago
I’m 75 and trying to get back in shape and also am treated for high blood pressure. Ashwagandas supposed properties to increase testosterone while lowering blood pressure seemed ideal.
Went to the dentist 5 days ago and my BP WAS 210/105
Immediately left and went to my GP, he confirmed the BP and doubled my blood pressure medicine. 5 days later my BP is approaching normal.
I appreciate this info. Yes, there’s a lot of hype touting ashwagandha, but when I tried it blood vessels in my arms would break, causing those wine red blotches, and that can’t be good. So I quit. Now I see it could have been a factor in other difficulties. I’m taking enough “anti-aging supplements, and will not be trying ashwaganda again.
For me , is not only ashwagandha, but all adaptogens that cause me extreme problems. Every I have come into contact with an adaptogen, I severe panic attacks. I took ashwagandha hoping to avoid anti-anxiety meds, but ended up having the worst panic attack of my life.
4 day off the ashwagandha and still not feeling good It comes in waves. I only took it for 5 days. 3000mg the first day then 1500mg for 4 more days. Hope I feel better soon. Anxiety, no appetite and No energy. A little head pressure
Makes me confused and anxious, and I cannot sleep after taking it because my anxiety is up and heart keeps bounding.
I have tried twice to use ashwaganda as a daily supplement. First time I would vomit after about 2 hours and eventually suspected the supplement. I then stopped for a year with no further vomit issues. I decided to change brands and try once more. Again within 2 hours I had to vomit the entire contents of my gut and felt very ill and low mood for over 24 hours.
I will avoid in future as it s clearly not for me!
I was confused by the 2 day I took it.I took 2 on a Thursday afternoon and Friday morning I took 1 and by 2:00 pm I was feeling very tired and a bit confused. I slept from 3:00 pm to 4:00 in the morning. 13 hours and I woke up very tired and confused. I take prescriptions for depression and anxiety 1 at night. But I was getting a lot of anxiety during the day so I bought ash to try and I haven’t had it since Friday
Was taking for 4 weeks then had a sudden anxiety attack and depression, been off for four weeks but still not back to normal, any advice how to flush it out faster?
did you ever feel better? Was on ash for about two months during some events when I was anxious. Now that I look at it- the anxiety I had before than was nothing compared to how I am now. Stopped taking it approximately two weeks ago and gradually gained panic attacks and anxiety. Also made me super foggy. Irritable. Can’t sleep throughout the whole night. Desperate to know how I can get better. I took too much, almost feels like an Ash withdrawal. I just hope I snap back to normal cause this feeling is unbearable.
My pcp recommended Ash – I took it daily for 2 weeks and had the worst dry mouth, chapped and cracked lips. I stopped it and within 2 weeks my saliva started returning. I tried Ash again and within 7-10 day’s experienced anxiety, shakiness and depression, not knowing why. The dry mouth got worse. I lashed out at 2 people I love, in an anxiety filled episode. About 6 hours later I realized my actions were unjustified and ridiculous. I read your article and immediately stopped Ashwaganda- I threw the bottles away!!!im feeling better again
The Ash that I got was 1500mg /pill. They suggested 2! Ugh. I took two the first night. Slept like a log so I was excited .. next day had bad anxiety. So next night took just 1. Still felt lethargic, depressed, felt like I was sedated. Didn’t make it 5 days. Way too depressed and super thirsty. Not good for me. Hope I feel better
My mouth got extremely dry when I took 250mg of ash for 4 days. I had to run to the bathroom every single hour and doesn’t matter how much water I drink I still feel thirsty. Approaching 72 hours since my last dose and I’m still feeling thirsty, but bathroom trips have gone down.
I tried the 1000 mg. 1 pill a day.
For 11 days. Dont know if it really calm me but it made me short tempered so I stopped it.
Also felted anxious when I go out.
I’ll just add that Ashwaganda really helped me and I have had none of these reactions. My sleep was better, lower anxiety, greater equanimity (going with the flow without stressing.) I don’t dispute anyone’s story here, and I’m sure it really is not for some people. But the comments were so uniformly negative, I just wanted to add that it was helpful to me to provide a little balance.
I started taking 450mg of ashwagandha a week ago. I am sleeping really well. This morning I feel extremely anxious and irritated by everything. This is not me. Even my sweet kitty was making me mad this morning.
My morning cortisol levels are high and we were looking for a natural way to lower that. I am stopping the ashwagandha, hopefully it won’t take too long to get out of my system. I don’t live ke me right now.
Been on a magnesium/ashwagandha supplement for a couple of months now. It didn’t dawn on me until today that it’s mostly likely the root cause of my recent night sweats and nausea and the massive drops in blood sugar, sweating, nausea I have for about 15 minutes nearly every day. I’ve also developed a severe eye twitch in my right eye that sometimes affects my entire cheek and an overall bad mood in which I become easily triggered. I’m generally a very calm, quiet introvert. Stopped taking it immediately as of today.
I am currently experiencing the effects of copper overload and disruption in methylation cycle. I was taking Ashwagandha when I had low zinc levels and I believe this to be responsible. Do you know how I should go about curing this?
I have taken Ashwaganda a few times. It makes me violently sick and get extreme diarrhea.
It’s almost like my body is poisened by it and has to get it all out of system.
Horrible experience
Hi, thanks for sharing such helpful content. I am facing exactly what you have mentioned here. People says ashwagandha helps them to sleep but I am having the opposite effects of it. When I take this it keeps me awake and next day I get headache and even migraine. What is this? I am not getting any benefits from ashwagandha so why we see so many promotions of this product? Not helped me to sleep at all.
I took an ashwagandha gummy two nights ago. That night I couldn’t fall asleep and felt sad. In the morning I sat up to turn off my alarm and felt the room spinning. My stomach felt nauseous and my head was hurting. During the weekend I had to work on a project and kept feeling more frustrated than I have ever before. During the day I felt off and dizzy, not like myself. Day 2 and I’m still feeling the dizziness when I move too quickly. Will NOT be taking this stuff ever again, wish I had come across these comments before taking it.
Just an update to other Ashwagandha victims .
Day five with none Ashwagandha this poison almost out of my system , I can honestly say day five of taking this I was a total awful person with like I’d suddenly had a big personality change, being really negative , my poor partner suffered with my moods as he was being so caring understanding and patient about what I was going through , these side effects .
Had depression, body aches pains itching and tingling head to toe , palpitations, weakness and fatigue.
But today I feel so alive happy go lucky and enjoying being out and about with my lovely other half .
Back to normal ????
I had been taking Ashwagandha for probably a year or more for mainly as an anti stressor, and boosting testosterone during my workouts. I’d take one pill in the morning, one at night. I did notice it helped me to sleep, but also made me feel tired, and fatigued during the day at work. So I slacked off it taking just one a day. Then the other night when my girlfriend slept over, I took an Ashwagandha pill, and also a maca supplement pill for increasing sexual stamina. After vigorous sex for 30-60 minutes, and when I finally had an orgasm, I got this throbbing headache on my whole right side of my head. I had to take 3 Tylenol’s before I finally fell asleep, then had to take two more the following morning before and during work before I didn’t feel any lingering head pains. Now I’d also had been working a lot of hours at work with not much sleep at nights too. So all these things could’ve contributed to the headache, but I’ve since quit taking the Ashwangandha and have found that I have been getting better sleep and more energy during waking. I don’t need it anymore, just more rest.
I took a magnesium supplement that also has ashwagandha. I took the supplement every night for about 2 weeks. In those 2 weeks my insomnia was somehow worse and I developed horrible body aches/muscle pain. I felt like I had the flu. I finally suspected the ashwagandha and stopped taking it. Within 24 hours my body aches went away and my energy came back.
Does anybody know how long it takes for this nasty plant leave your system ?
Taken it for 3 weeks which was in a tonic
I feel detached and I can’t tolerate the things I could before this, I’ve definitely stopped the tonic.
It depends, I think, and according to my personal experience (I felt exactly like you), that what you are describing, is called depersonalization and derealization. Check this out https://youtu.be/h7u59TkQTxY?si=yU0uPY5JDExc42po
And don’t worry it won’t last as soon as you understand that it’s only psychological you will feel back to your normal self. This plant doesn’t suit everybody I’ve learned my lesson from now on I will always ask my doctor before taking any supplement…
I started Rheal Balance Tonic on
31/08/23
From week one and up until today I felt weird ,angry , and depressed all of a sudden.
This tonic contains Ashwagandha as a main ingredient,
after reading some side effects to this plant
I’m hesitant to wether I should carry on .
Thank you
Has anyone felt a prickly also tingling feeling
all over after stopping Ashwagandha?
I stoped taking it because it made me feel weird , with muscle aches dry nose and throat , depressed and anxious and also was making me dislike the people around me
Everytime ( took it one by choice and once by accident from Not reading labels properly)I take ashwagunda or something with it in, it’s like my body just rejects it I have constant diarrhea and vomiting for about 12 hours
My skin also reddens and feels almost sunburt.
I took Ashwagandha fairly consistently for a few months. I have never felt so detached from myself. I felt so little emotion. I decided to quit when my partners face no longer envoked any emotion at all. Don’t take Ashwagandha if you have relationships you care about.
I would like to get off of Duloxetine. Can I eventually get off of them if I take Ashwagandha ?
I’ve been taking the herb for three days and I feel nausea, tired and my sleep od worse. Is it because I have to get used to it? I decided to lower the dose and walut a other few days.
Took a couple of Ashwagandha capsules yesterday morning and started feeling a bit odd in my head later, headachey, a bit nauseous all day then last night I started cramping and spent the whole evening running to the toilet with explosive and very watery diarrhea. Managed to finally get to sleep, woke up this morning and straight back onto the toilet for another explosive session of “rusty water” like poop. I remembered feeling off the last time I took this product, but now that I’ve connected the dots, I will not be taking this ever again. It does nothing it claims to do, instead it makes you feel worse.
Ashwaganda almost killed me as well – twice! I took one extra strength capsule of about 1300mg and about 90 minutes later heavy sweats and everything wanting out of my body. Horrible stomach pain. My wife took over driving and rushed me home. I was thinking the ER but we tried home. It took about 18 hours to not feel like I was going to die. A few months later I tried another herbal remedy that included ashwaganda but only 200mg. Thinking the dosage would be small enough not to bother me, I was dead (almost) wrong. Same symptoms and this time I threw up twice as well. Now, I would like to research what it is about my body that rejects Ashwaganda so much. Can it provide clues as to what I might need for better health?
Wanted to give an update, I’m feeling so much better now. It took approximately 1 and a half days after a 400 mg pill to feel better again. The farther away I get from when I took that pill the better it is, but a day a half seemed to be the turning point. I’m so relieved! I got a refund and tossed the rest. Never touching Ashwagandha again!!
I thought I had good results from aswagandha in the past for sleep and anxiety… So after going through a rough time after being a caregiver for years for my mom, her passing away, my own descent into bad health with cancer, etc… and posttraumatic stress disorder from all of that …. I remembered Ashwagandha, so I started to take it so that I could sleep better or feel less anxious… I even read that it is a free radical scavenger and would help cancer so I had great hopes with taking it!
But after a few weeks of taking it, I was awake all night. I had chest pain anxiety, depression, intensified grief, hot body temperature, stomach upset and bloated, craving sweets, gained weight, skin bruising, and realizing it’s probably the Ashwagandha so I stopped taking it yesterday and I slept all night last night and feel less stressed and anxious just from not taking it!
It helped me sleep and I had good dreams that I remembered after waking. But…, during the day my head felt heavy. May be considered brain fog. I was not confused and it was slightly calming, but it was an artificial feeling.
Hi, I had a terrible reaction to ashwaganda. I bought a bottle and I only took half a dose. Within 39 minutes I started feeling strange. Then as the strange feeling in my head progressed it turned into a massive headache and I started vomiting. My head hurt so bad I could do nothing but hold it and scream. This lasted for an hour or so. I vomited so hard I could hardly breathe between heaves. I cannot understand why something that could do this to someone would be sold on the market. And I I know I don’t have a gut infection and I’m not sure about copper poisoning unless amalgam tooth fillings have copper in them. I have several old tooth fillings that may be leaking. Not sure if that plays a part.
This doesn’t seem to be a very common reaction, reading the other posts, but I took it for three weeks and felt it was doing my anxiety good as I felt much more chilled, but after that time realised I’d put on half a stone and had to speak to my GP because all my joints were aching; I stopped taking it, not because of this, but because I was feeling a bit too chilled-out which I didn’t like. But I haven’t been able to lose the extra weight (despite trying everything for the last two months) which is uncharacteristic and the joint pain has got worse since then, to the extent that I’m being referred to a rheumatologist. It’s only today that I’ve put two and two together and realised the weight gain and joint pain all happened while I was taking this supplement. I know that sounds daft, but there’s so much positive hype about that it’s difficult to think it could possibly be doing you harm.
I am DONE trying supplements with ashwaganda.
1st time = gummies: made me breakout and feel almost sick. I Remeber being in bed a few evenings by 5 pm feeling “sick” it was a hard feeling to describe almost anxious but actually scared. Very odd. I linked the two and stopped.
2nd time = Magic mind drink shot: this product actually made my life great but it’s too damn expensive, the only product containing ashwaganda that did anything positive
3rd time: a stress resistance complex
Nasty big acne that differed from usual or regular small ones here and there, tired, emotional, absolutely burnt out. Some Suicidal thoughts. Stopped after 3 days. Today is day 4.
I don’t know if this helps at all. I am done though.
Took ashwagandha that is supposed to help with brain fog and sleep in menopause. Right now I have heart palpitations and feeling like a panic attack is taking over and nausea. Hoping it wears off over night. Will never take this over the counter product again.
Took one 400mg pill yesterday afternoon. Shortly thereafter started getting heart palpitations, numbness in legs and feet. Got some sleep, but still woke up to heart palpitations. It’s been about 21 hours after I took it and I’m still feeling it. It’s wearing off, but crazy how one little pill really did a number on me. So much for relieving anxiety! Really hoping I can feel back to normal soon! Trying to down water and hope these feelings pass!
Can taking ashwagandha with Venlafaxine be dangerous for my liver?
Hello! I am trying to find someone out there who might have had a similar experience with ashwagandha. I was housesitting for a friend and she had some Hiyo drinks, non alcoholic drinks containing ashwagandha, lions mane, cordyceps and a few other things. It was about one hour later I got blurry vision, heart racing, my tongue and eyes got very swollen, numb hands and feet, anxiousness, hallucinations, very panicked I stumbled back home and my roommate sat with me for about 4 1/2 hours until it started to calm down. My heart finally stopped racing and I could feel it all wearing off. I am experienced in psilocybin and this was absolutely the worst “trip” of my life. I am wondering if I have a crazy allergy to ashwagandha (the other ingredients I have had before with no reaction). Just inquiring if this has ever happened to anyone before! It freaked me OUT!!
I got severe anexity from it, like 1-2 hours after i took it i felt bad for hours
Tried it for a couple of days and still same, tried it again after a few monthe and same effect.
I started taking it as a pre-workout supplement and on day two I feel like absolute crap, I noticed an irritability all day and full blown anxiety this evening.
I started taking Ashwagandha to reduce my anxiety, but I feel even more anxious every time I take it. I hate these feelings.
Side effect #5 is exactly what I feel.
I was in the ER last night from taking Ashwagandha.
I experienced this before after trying to take it. This time was much worse.
I couldn’t stop vomiting, and I had diarrhea as well.
By the time my husband got me to the ER my blood pressure was 80/50.
I’ve benefited from ashwaganda in the past. It’s been great to calm anxiety.
However I took a new supplement recently, and increased the dosage I think to higher than I’ve had before.
I’ve felt really exhausted ever since. I already had chronic fatigue and now it’s worse.
I’m wondering if there’s any advice on what to do about this?
Thank you
I have hyperPOTS, mast cell activation syndrome, and joint hypermobility. I took a low dose of ashwagandha yesterday morning; it gave me incredible energy and reduced my facial flushing, but I had a horrible time falling asleep (“lightning bolt” adrenaline surges and palpitations.) I took it again this morning; it has been 7 hours, and I feel like I’m about to jump out of my skin. I took ashwagandha with no trouble in the past, but I’m not sure I could tolerate another day of this.
I recently decided not to drink alcohol anymore. I work in a store with a huge selection of Mocktails. I loved Curious Elixer and Kin was good but then I tried Parch. I got so anxious. I researched and the only ingredient that Parch had that the others didnt was Ashwagandha. I am guessing that was what caused it.
Hi, being indian we have been familiar with ashwagandha as ayurvedic herb for mental health improvement, metabolism strengthening. But I have experienced that it effects different to people; it has natural tendency of increasing body temp. which after elevating once drops causes drowsiness, irritability and fatigue.
Started taking ashwaganda and two weeks later had a non-fasting blood sugar level of 32 mg/dl. Was the worst I’ve ever felt in my life, have only been off it for 2 days and already am able to balance my levels a lot better. Had no prior history of blood sugar issues
Ashwagandha has given me the worst anxiety I think I’ve ever had. I suffer with anxiety and depression normally, but it has skyrocketed since taking this. I’ve tried it twice now and every time it leaves me with tightness in my chest and crying on the floor. I would not recommend this supplement to anyone especially if you already suffer with mental health.
I started taking Ashwagandha for adrenal fatigue: result ocular migraines. Discontinued.
Ashwagandha gave me PSSD-like symptoms
Ashwaganda gave me pancreatitis.
Vivid dreams but I don’t remember the context in the morning. Deep sleep but not restful, wiped out by 2pm every day. The worst is I thought I had limited Rheumatoid Arthritis, but after just a few weeks I felt bone on bone pain in my knees and hips. I started getting headaches with blue flashes (yes, I have a history of migraines). And instead of helping my bladder control I was losing control just standing, also having to get up every 2 hours during the night – or else!
Holy moly, I took half (200mg) of mediherb ashwaganda forte and it got rid of the stress tension I had in my neck. I thought I finally found some help. Day two I took the other half and felt great. By the evening. I had full blown anxiety, racing heart, shakiness and insomina , eyes feel dry and swollen. Worse than I’ve ever felt. I really want to go to the ER. I did drink some orange juice that helped the shaking. I also took activated charcoal to see if there’s any residual toxins to clear. I hoping lorazepam helps to calm me down. Don’t mess with ashwaganda!
I am perimenopausal, with a history of anxiety (never depression). Since taking it, literally one week, I’ve had another period (to be fair they are messed up because of stage in life but usually big gaps, not two so close together), bad depression every day, very bad night sweats (never had one before, only hot flushes during the day), very vivid and unpleasant dreams. Stopping these.
I have taken Ashwagadaha twice and both times I experienced a deep sleep with troubling dreams. I woke up very angry, short tempered and swollen all over. I do have a MTFHR mutation. Will not be taking it again.
best view i have ever seen !
My doctor gave me a supplement to take that contains ashwaganda. I told him that I’ve had GI issues with it before but he said try it again. Good thing I was home all day. I took 2 as directed with food. 3 hrs later I was violently ill. I had chills, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain and oddly, nasal congestion. I spent the rest of the day on the couch with no energy and close to a bathroom. This Danish girl cannot handle Indian herbs!
I upped the dosage to 750mg and noticed a change in my dreams. I was diagnosed with C-PTSD about 3 years ago, and I haven’t had nightmares about the past for over a year. Two nights in a row I had the same type of nightmares that I used to have back then, about my past.
I also got flu-like symptoms: nausea, fever, chills and sweating, abdominal pain, loss of appetite and body aches. Weird thing is that I’ve never in my life experienced the flu like this. It usually gets better within 2 days, but it’s been 4 days now and symptoms aren’t getting better. That’s when I started to Google and came over this page. Thank God for that!
Throwing these supplements in the garbage, good riddance.
I took ashvaganda and was fine for 2 days on low dosage. The 3rd day I was tiered after a flight and took it thinking it would help me falling asleep and relax. I woke up at about 2am with increased HR and severe anxiety. This never happened before. It’s been already 3 days since and still I get bouts of anxiety and strange dreams.
Be careful with this drug.
I don’t know how long the effect lasts but I wish for it to be over already.
Got a drink at my gym with this herb in it and not only did it ruin my goals for the day, but as I type this close to 48 hrs after taking it, I still feel horrible. Weak, anxious, insomnia absolutely horrible. The nausea, vomiting and diarrhea have been disruptive. work at night and always walk a fine line of foolishness, but this herb made me feel like I was awake 5 days (of which I’ve had happen and was hospitalized). No amount of water or eating is helping me feel better. I can’t “sleep” it off as well. Sticking to the manic feel of my normal pre workout or raw dogging it.
Yes my experience aswaganda increase fear, anxiery, tiredness, and also increase angry i think it is very dangerous herb
The most horrifying nightmare that I’ve ever had in my entire life,on one capsule!Will never touch this monster out herb,ever again!
Hi, i just took the ashwaganda the other day and my vision is blurry like everyday its gettin worse so i had to stop yesterday. Is it normal? I had my surgery last friday too. So idk if its ashwaganda does anyone here like same side effect like this?
Tried for 6 days. I’m 62, on blood pressure and cholesterol meds. This supplement gave me insomnia, headaches, muscle cramps and nausea. It’s going in the garbage.
Did you start to feel better? Did everything improve after stopping?
Thank you so much for writing this article. This feels like the best drug and worst drug at the same time. The west off makes it the absolute worst drug, though. I have felt every feeling under the sun from this awful herb. Depression, anxiety, increased OCD- , harmful thoughts. they don’t warn you about this hardly anywhere. And you can just buy it anywhere in stores. It ABSOLUTELY should be regulated.
Hello can anyone shed some light new to ashgwanda hoping it will give me more energy less anxiety 4 days in drowsy brain fog feeling more depressed cant get anything done how normal is this does it get better i dont know weather to continue ????
This could be a long story but it will definitely clear your doubt about taking this herb(ashwagandha) or not but you should spare some time and read it fully.
So,I am a short guy and always concern about increasing my height and so I searched on Google and get to know about this fucking herb as I am a 5’6 guy and always want to increase my height and so I bought it and started taking it regularly at night with milk soon I started seeing good results I have actually gained few centimetres I also feel more energetic and have good sleep and day by day my belief on this medicine increases and now it has been a year I’m taking it and finally I stopped it cause I wasn’t getting much results and it had made a difference of some 1 inch or may be not.So,I think I will not eat it and this will be my last packet for it and it was left not much so I started taking it on alternate days but one thing I found was that I was regularly having constipation and gas issues and the day I didn’t use it I get some relief.So,I finally fuck that shit out of my house as I was confirmed that it is the reason for all this.After some days I started feeling very different like I’m not in the best of my mind actually I was feeling it from some months but now the feeling is raced and I am fucked up with this feeling I soon have anxiety and panic attacks and soon feel about giving up my life and commit suicide but somehow I get to know about meditation and many other ways to calm such thoughts and have a win on them but still sometimes these thoughts or black clouds appears but I have enough experience with it so I fucked them when they appeared.So,today I was free and think of finding the cause of such depression feelings without any particular reasons and I found this article and gotta know about the whole story and so I would recommend you better not take this herb for height, increasing testosterone,for some sleep issues,low mood,etc It is not a good herb even for me but the rest is your choice but you are very lucky that you gotta know all this if you are thinking of taking it because I didn’t get such article at my time.
It definitely increased my anxiety. I’m a hillbilly, not too bright, and I failed to make the correlation immediately. In fact, as my anxiety increased, and my being new to taking it, I thought the effect I was striving for would be likely attainable by simply increasing the amount I was taking. I doubled the recommended dose and having done no prior research whatsoever felt it was harmless. Still my anxiety increased so I added another 3 rd, now tripling the dose. I coupled that with the already doubled dose of melatonin I was taking an hour before attempting sleep.
My anxiety ramped up in proportion.
When I did eventually come to the realization that it was indeed increasing the anxiety as well as depression I stopped abruptly.
My symptoms still go untreated but do not have the crescendo peaks as frequently as they had quickly developed. Ashwagandha also increased my insomnia and fatigue in a matter of days to the point of total sleeplessness. I was stuck in a” chicken or the egg” loop , uncertain if it was my own mental state or the increase in severity was due to the ” holistic remedy”.
I took half the recommended dose to see how I reacted as I often react to medication in general. I notices my throat tightening and it was harder to breathe although not too bad as I have asthma so it was a normal reactionfor me. I also noticed my mood worsen and I had no energy. Had to sleep in the day. Then my heart started racing and on the 2nd day with only half dose I stopped taking it.
I have to check all supplement labels carefully because even a small amount of ashwagandha makes me feel terrible. I was looking at some supplements that were sounding great until I saw they had 500mg of ashwagandha! 🙁
I was recommended ashwaganda for anxiety. After a week of taking it, I noticed my head was getting fuzzy. I suffer from migraines. Consequently, I’ve just had the worst migraine attack imaginable. It completely floored me and my head was pounding. Fortunately I have an excellent acupuncturist and Chinese herbalist who said it is a tonic and increases the pain so to stop using.
I’m never going near it again. It’s made me feel worse rather than better. My blood and face feel hot and it made me nauseous. A powerful herb!
I’m experiencing increased heart rate and shortness of breadth after 2-3 hours of taking it.
I’m 65 years old. I was taking ashwaganda for a bout 2 mos I took it to help lower blood sugar which it didn’t seem to be doing. It was however helping me to sleep better. At my endocrinologist visit my a1c was 6.2 dr said that was ok just continue to watch my diet.bi told her I couldn’t get my Blood sugar under 120 and felt it was keeping me from losing some weight (about 10-15 lbs). She suggested metformin at the lowest dose 1x per day. Almost 2 weeks of being on metformin I noticed my sugar was consistently under 110 sometimes even under 100. I was hoping this would result in making weight loss a little easier. Then one night while watching TV my eyes, vision, became what I describe as shakey. I began to feel fatigued when my husband noticed he asked what was going on and I found it very difficult to find words especially adjective and nouns. It felt like I was staring at a white board. I tried to describe what was happening and found my self not being able to remember what words I should use or the words at all. Over the next 4 to 5 weeks this happened exactly the same way 3 more times. 4 episodes all together. I’m now in the process of having an MRI and an EEG. The MRI cam back to day no abnormalities. The EEG is later this week. I believe it’s the metformin possibly interacting with the ashwaganda which I didn’t think was necessary to stop because it had no effect on my blood sugar anyway. I guess it could also be a side effect of the metformin but I can’t find any thing that says it. It wasn’t a hypoglycemia event because one night when it occured my husband called paramedics and my blood sugar was106 which I don’t believe is low enough to be hypoglycemic. Anyway for now I’m off both, its just about 7 days, so I guess we’ll see.
I actually have been doing a lot to improve my health over the years, and I am missing someone to help understand certain things. For example, I bought some ‘brain tea’ like Buddah Tea Pure MInd and Ginkgo Biloaba, but I get a harsh reaction for both and nobody at Buddah Tea has a clue. I’d like to hear more about you and how you work, Lou
Hi, I’ve been taking ashwagandha ksm 66 with black pepper for two days now and have taken them in the morning. Although I do feel less anxious already I also had the worse nights sleep I’ve ever had last night. Will this pass or should I stop taking it? I do have a low tolerance to copper according to a food allergy test I did.
I’m having a terrible reaction to ashwagandha as I write this. I took 2100 mg once a day for 10 days and then it hit like a train. Horrible anxiety, insomnia, ringing in ears, can’t control body temp. I stopped taking it 4 days ago and the symptoms are still ongoing. I really regret having taken this wonder herb. I don’t use caffeine because I like to feel calm and in control, this stuff is like having a coffee i.v. 24 hours a day. I want to get off this ride. Be careful with this stuff
Yes! Adverse reaction to ashwaghanda. Bought it hoping to get relaxation but made me tense, irritable. I had insomnia instead of rest. Intestinal discomfort, not severe but noticable. Felt like I was in speed. Ginsing does the same thing
I have been taking an ashwagsnda magnesium supplement for 30+ days and I have never been so depressed in my life. I have been struggling with insomnia, night sweats, and horrible depression and increased anxiety. I am stopping it immediately and hoping that my symptoms will alleviate very soon. I am 57 years old and have not experienced night sweats in quite a few years, and I take a thyroid medication due to having my thyroid removed.. I do struggle with anxiety, but do not struggle a lot with depression. But the last week or so my depression has been very bad. The only change in my life was adding this supplement to my daily vitamins so I am thinking Ashwagandha is not a good option for me. Thank you for the article that helped point out that ashwaganda may be the problem.
I have experienced skin rash on my face to my neck and multiple hot flashes after taken Ashwagandra.????
I’ve taken them in the past in forms of pills and the duration of it had been up to I’d say 3 months. Though I wouldn’t take it in moderation since I had assumed that if I had taken more then the recommended amount a day that the positive affects would become enhanced, the opposite happened. It was like I was constantly feeling sublime without the beauty of it all, the realisation of nothing matters and how you’re all on Ur own and that in comparison with everything else in the world u are insignificant, I’d felt that way ALL THE TIME and even after stopping my pill intake there was some residue left as id have nothing to fend my mental health from these thoughts after 4 weeks everything went back to normal. It’s temporary, but when u stop you’re as susceptible to all attacks mentally and emotionally as u were before taking the pills. Ashwagandah works wonders, but take them in moderation or you’ll do the your body the opposite of good
Hello. I started taking Ashwagonda on Tuesday and by Tuesday I was having forceful dark liquid diarrhea. I do feel better except for this annoying side effect. It has happened several times throughout the days since I started. It is only Friday now. I don’t want to stop taking it but not sure it is good for me
I started taking the gummies to increase muscle gains. Within the month, I was feeling very uncharacteristically sad. I asked my physician, and he said that it can make you feel that way. Since I’m usually a very happy person, I think it just messed with my brain chemistry. My 20 yr old son was also doing the same and told me he was anxious for the month. We both went off of the gummies and our symptoms cleared up very quickly.
I started recently taking Ashwagandha with myvworkout supplements because I felt a bit moody. A week into taking it, I felt depressed, overly anxious and even developed some obsession issues. I became obsessed with issues that were bothering me at the moment. This is the exact opposite effect I was looking for. Yikes!!
Where do you cite your sources? Trying to find anything confirming gut health and Ashwagandha. Thanks 🙂
Hi Mason,
As I shared in my article “To date, no studies have been done to verify the adverse events associated with ashwagandha, especially in individuals with copper toxicity, methylation imbalances, and gut infections. This article is the result of clinical study and application with this powerful adaptogenic herb.”
If you peruse PubMed you will find tons of studies touting the almost magical-like powers of this herb. Upon further research, you’ll see many of them are conducted by the people that have a vested interest in the companies that make these products.
Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
After taking ashwagandha I started suffering from brain fog, something I haven’t had before. I do not know if this is something more people have experienced or if it’s just me, I stopped taking it and now hope it goes away.
I just want to comment that I tried Ashwagandha by Adrenal Response several years ago when I was going through a deep depression. I took only one half of the tablet due to concerns about side effects. I only took the one dose and the next day I felt 100% better, so much so that I truly could not even remember what the depressive state felt like. I took another half of the tablet and the next day it was the same, I felt better. On the third day I experienced a slight break-through vaginal bleeding/staining, so I stopped taking the Ashwangandha altogether. I felt fine and my depression was gone. I never took anymore of it and I think the breakthrough bleeding was triggered by the ginseng in the formula. However, I understand that that particular product changed their formulation to exclude ginseng. Just thought it might be helpful to hear how I was helped by taking the Ashwagandha.
Hello! This was insightful. Thank you ????
I’ve recently started working with a functional medicine doctor to address the recently discovered gut infections, and high levels of lead, mercury and thallium I have. As well as all hormone things way dysfunctional. I never mentioned ashwaghanda, as it’s not frequently I used it. Occasionally before bed, either with warm milk or as moon milk. Actually when I follow the moon milk recipe, I don’t notice so much. However, a couple times I’ve done my own “simpler” blend with warm almond milk or water…. but I’ve noticed a patten. I’m typically a calm, patient person. But it seems this powder can cause me total fits of rage the following day. Like I want to scream, shout curse words, and am pretty sure I’d almost smash a glass bowl for ghe heck of it. Completely not my personality! Especially for no reason at all. If I’m on my own, I have let some out. It feels “good” but also horrible because this is not me ????????
I’ll just avoid this stuff for now. Maybe down the road when all inside is corrected?
I have the following health issues and always looking into what I can take, plus at the moment I have post traumatic concussion
Sjögren’s syndrome
Food Intolerances:
Salicylates Intolerance
Lactose &Fructose Intolerance
Arthritis – hands/neck/spine/hips
Bowel and Bladder issues
Other than concussion I am normal active and on top of things.
I think we all got here because we googled side effects of ashwagandha. Oh man do I have a story. So I took Ashwagandha for about 2 weeks and everything was fine. I read that you should on- and off-cycle and take it when you’re having a stressful time. So I stopped after the 2 weeks and had a pause of about 6 months. I was going into a hospital internship and thought this is going to be a stressful time – the first morning of the internship I took Ashwagandha and Creatine – this was at 7am. At 11am I started to vomit violently. I had to excuse myself from the hospital and rushed home – I continued to puke until 15pm and then the diarrhea started until 20pm… The puking was so brutal I nearly called the emergency line. Fast forward a couple weeks and I thought that it must have been the Creatine that caused all that because I took Ashwagandha before (the 2 weeks) and had no problems. So I took Ashwagandha again the night before I had an interview. Went to bed at 23pm and woke up at 1.30am with the exact same symptoms I had in the hospital internship. Puked my guts out until 5am and then diarrhea until 11am. I don’t know what has changed in my body that I reacted that way, but I will never ever touch that stuff again. I had some food poisoning in my days, various countries all over the world, but I have never experienced a more horrible puke-situation than with Ashwagandha.
I have been taking ashwaganda (in a adrenal support supplement) for the past 2 months. At first everything was fine. Now I’ve been having very loose stool multiple times per day and my belly sounds like I’m doing a colonoscopy prep. I am going to stop (it’s not a doctor but rather a nutritionist recommendation) taking it to see if my body stops all the gut problems. I don’t have pain or anything.
Thanks for this informative article! I foolishly took 1300 mg daily for 9 months, not realizing it was harming me. I felt good for the first few months, but then after 4-5 months felt an increase in anxiety (thought it was just normal life stressors). I didn’t realize you should cycle off of it regularly. I stopped Ash abruptly after 9 months, and had the most horrific withdrawal symptoms. Even after the withdrawal subsided (adehonia, brain zaps, and insomnia to name a few) I still had some lingering issues. I’m now working with a naturopath who says I’m “over methylated”—which I wasn’t before all this. And it also appears I have adrenal fatigue, SIBO, and a massive histamine intolerance. I am trying to claw my way back to health but it is very slow going. I’ve been in a living hell for almost 10 months. Posting this in case it is helpful for others to read.
Hi i had the same…everytime i take some or.with cbd…my anxiety get worse…or feel very hot at night and heart racing…not sleeping well… honnestly feel like using valerian and passi flower etc are way more relaxing and less side effects
I have experienced intense levels of anxiety after supplementing ashwagandha for 6 months over the past summer. I get random panic attacks now which is something totally new that I’ve never experienced. I started supplementing at a problematic point in my life so I didn’t question the high levels of anxiety at the time but now I realize my body doesn’t feel 100%.
I am writing this as I go through the atrocious pain and discomfort by taking only 1 bag of ashwagandha-tulsi-cbd tea by the Buddha Tea brand.
My symptoms included big rumblings in my stomach, followed by a horrible bout of diarrhea — very similar to colonoscopy prep. Bad cramping and nausea! I’ve ever taken this tea before nor am I a user of Aswagandha. I love to explore new teas from the store and this one seemed interesting for a night tea. Little did I know one bag of tea can do so much damage! I hope I feel better by the morning.
I am now very concern if I have serious IG issues or reproductive issues since I also felt like my fallopian tubes were being pulled out of my pelvis.
This article was the most helpful online source I could find, any advice would be greatly appreciated.
I was unable to bend my arms and legs after taking it. It took a few days to get back to 100%.
I have a blood pressure of 120/60, and was unaware that that was already the border of hypotension. I took the daily recommended dose of ashwaganda in the morning and by midnight I was excessively sweating, shaky, dizzy, and nauseous, basically about to pass out. Ashwaganda causes up to a 15% lower blood pressure, and I had a hypotensive episode. Never taking it again.
Had it in a tea form that included turmeric two nights in a row. On the third night I had an extreme panic attack like I did when I was dealing with my divorce (3 years ago). My daily stressors did NOT warrant that level of a reaction and such a strong physical response. I knew something was off in my body and now that I’ve found this article I have a much better understanding of why it went wrong. So glad I didn’t take a pill or try it outside of a tea. That would have been horrible.
It’s been about 2 months that I’ve been taking ashwaganda. At first I felt an immediate change, I feel more energetic, concentrated, but now I think it was more a placebo/psychological effect than a real one. From some weeks ago I started having weird thoughts, about a dead, and accidents, and bad things happening, started to be very irritable, stressed. It’s been around a weed that I stopped taking it completely, I do feel much better, those thoughts reduced a lot, but I feel like the effect of taking it for 2 months still there, so I hope the effects goes aways completely soon.
I took ashwaganda for the first time last night and insomnia increased. My son started taking it for anxiety during exams and has said he benefited straight away but it definitely hasn’t worked to improve my sleep!
I definitely noticed a bad reaction to taking Ashwaghanda. This is why I am here on the internet looking up adverse reactions. After taking 1 pill at night for just 3 days, I found myself not feeling right yesterday afternoon. I felt very panicky, full of anxiety, almost like i wanted to cry but couldn’t and a little weird, perhaps it was my blood sugar, but I never checked as I was out at a cafe, I just felt like I needed to eat or get fresh air or I would pass out or something. I rarely feel like that. It was enough cause for worry. I have a bottle of Nutri Rise Maximum strength 1300mg. The dosage is 2 but I have been taking 1.
I am just wondering why this supplement is even sold on the market, it’s obviously a very dangerous thing to take. I nearly died from taking just one tablet. And I see tons of other people have had the same response to it as well. I even see that it could even cause liver failure.
I’ve actually really enjoyed ashwaghanda. I recommend it to everyone. It seriously changed my life. I used it as an anti stress anti anxiety supplement and it worked amazing! However I have tried a few different brands and the only one I liked was the natures bounty vitamin style that I found at wallgreens. I’m sad to hear so many people negatively affected by it because I absolutely love it. I only take as recommended, and I usually only take it daily for a couple of weeks at a time, then I don’t take it for long periods of time.
Id taken aswagandha in my 40s and found it helped me to sleep .Fast forward to my mid 50s with years of unabated stress ,different outcome ????
I chose the new version KSM 66 and after a few days of only one capsule i thought i was going to die ! Woke up with pain all over my body and in complete panic ,back of legs were giving way etc etc.This had lowered my already low cortisol to a dangerous level .It was really frightening.No more aswagandha for me,i will go for a less potent adaptogen in future !
My husband has been taking it for a long time and he is so aggressive and impatient it is unreal. We can’t even stand to be around him because he is so mean. He also has restless leg syndrome and it is so bad with this stuff that he twitches every three seconds. It’s horrible and I hate what it has done to him but there is not talking to him about it because it is always our fault he is mean.
A little background, I usually don’t get upset or stressed easily, but I started taking ashwagandha about a year ago and would have times where I took it for months at a time and then run out and not use it. But, I didn’t notice anything too crazy besides a few “off days” where I just felt sad. But about a month ago I bought an extra strength bottle and took 2 pills a day totaling about 1300mg of ashwagandha a day for roughly 2 weeks. I was fine at first. But then whenever any minor inconvenience would happen I would spiral down a hole of hopelessness, wanting to cry, and suicidal thoughts. All of which don’t happen normally. I thought I had a bad mindset or actual depression. But, after a while I did some research on ashwagandha and noticed some people had the same reaction so I stopped taking it and I’m only a day without it and I feel so much better. It would also lower my sex drive and make me not want to eat anything.
Several years ago, both myself and my husband had bad reactions to Ashwagandha. My husband started taking it for Chronic Lyme, then a couple weeks later I took a dose and had a terrible reaction. My body started to feel itchy and wherever I made contact with my hand to my body swelled up (hives). I took two Benadryl and eventually the itching and swelling resolved. My husband on the other hand started to get bald patches(3) on his beard and decided to discontinue Ashwagandha to see if it was the cause. His hair grew back. We had two very different side effects and although his wasn’t serious, it was concerning.
I took Ashwagandha for brain fog for three days even though it gave me horrible headaches. I read that side effects would go away eventually. I began having horrible diarrhea every hour or few hours. It’s now been 4 days since I stopped taking it. Still affected. Hopefully it’s temporary and not long term damage.
Where to begin! I began taking ashwagandha and a CBD combination at night to try and help me sleep. Little did I know the detriment it was causing in my body. Over the course of many many months I developed a condition where my joints were aching, I was irritable, restless and everything it touted itself to be was in fact the exact opposite in my body.
I was taking an antidepressant and an anti-anxiety medication and unknowingly was poisoning myself with this combination (which I took every night for many many months). Thank you for writing this article.
I did not know it was in the nightshade family. Had I known this I would have steered steer clear from it!
Let this be a lesson to people who take antidepressants and anti-anxiety meds to be sure and do research before taking herbal remedies which could wreak toxic havoc in your body.
Hey Crow,
I had/am still having a very similar experience to you. I’ve been taking trazodone and gabapentin for anxiety and sleep, and just about 4 months ago I began taking 600mg of ashwaganda nightly.
I then added cbd because I thought it could be a beneficial add on, but then I developed some horrible symptoms – difficulty breathing, burning sensation in my body, itchiness, and pretty bad brain fog. It took me two months to figure out that it was the ashwaganda, so I discontinued it about 4 days ago, but the symptoms haven’t totally left yet.
Wondering how long it took for you to notice a remission in symptoms?
Best,
Colin
Colin,
It’s been 3 weeks since I stopped the Ashwaganda. Feeling better every day. I had severe allergy to that stuff. If you read about Ashwaganda allergies, those of us highly sensitive to it should see marketable improvement in 4-6 weeks of abstinence. Stay the course, and stay away from all members of the “Solanaceae” or deadly nightshade family. You will feel better, it just takes time and diligence to eliminate “nightshade” vegetables from m your diet,. Good luck
I’ve taken ashwagandha for a year now with a couple month break for a medical procedure. I mainly am using it for anxiety. But before I started taking it, I did a lot of research and still doing personal research which is why I stopped at this website for problems. I should get checked for any over toxicity.
However, I wanted to share some of the research I’ve done. First I found that overdosing and quality are extremely important with this supplement. A government study from the National Institute of health (division of department of health) concluded no more than 300mg once a day is needed for sleep and anxiety and takes about 4 weeks to yield noticeable improvement. For anxiety the recommended dose is 300mg x 2 per day and take 8 weeks for significant improvement.
The next problem I found is that quality is a major issue since many manufacturers cut a lot of fillers into their products. I personally went with goli gummies because goli always ranked within the top 3 best ashwagandha in every list I could find.
That said, I did notice a drop in my stress around the 6 week period. I am not sure if I’m suffering any severe side affects from this supplement because of the bad psychiatry I had last year. (I was wasn’t tampered of a medication that needs tapering and suffered severe withdrawal side affects for over a year as my brain tried to readjust the imbalances caused by it. )
I took ashwaganda on four different occasions with food–two times, two weeks apart one year, when I took it in a supplement called Protandum, and then, two times about a decade later, when I took it as an independent supplement. Each time, about two hours after injesting it, I suddenly felt nauseaus and vomited, primarily in dry heaves.
Obviously, I do not plan to take it again.
I find this blog very valuable!
I’m 74 and started taking ashwagandha about 2 months ago because I was told it works like ginseng or something similar to help prevent forgetfulness. My reaction was: I forgot pretty much everything. The only situation in which I experienced comparable symptoms was after a light narcosis (cataract surgery). Since stopping Ashwagandha, my memory has improved significantly. Of course, I can’t be sure if these “memory fluctuations” are due to my age or the medication or an interaction with my medicine (TNF-alfa-Blocker) against chronic polyarthritis. However, I would be very interested to know if anyone has had a similar experience (increasing forgetfulness) with Ashwagandha. Thank you very much!
I have had great results from ashwagandha, especially for sleep and generally feeling my spirits lifted. However I’ve recently (last 7 months) begun having unexplained leg cramping and stiffness as well as some off-balance sensations (more in lower body than in head, not dizziness). I’ve had blood and neurology tests done that mostly rule out many of the serious things (MS, PD, etc.). While I was having these tests run I took time off ashwagandha; Thinking back on it I believe my symptoms were less during that period. I’d like to learn more about this
Yes, I have felt anxiety, a sense of hopelessness, fatigue even worse than normal. Even suicidal from taking it, I will not take it any longer. Thanks for this great article it means a lot.
I felt hopeless, depressed, sad, didn’t care if I lived another day. Cried and could not control where and when If you knew me I am the sunshine and positive force in everyone I knows life. So, this was a huge and immediate reaction for me. Sorry that I could not take it. Had hoped it would help me settle at night enough to sleep good.
I found this blog after searching up “ashwaganda and increased heart rate” because that’s what’s happened after my very first dose. My sister has had great luck with it (destress and minor weight loss) so I tried the same brand but felt odd within thirty minutes: sleepy yet my heart and mind sped up. Perhaps I took too much (1500 mg, which is half what my sister takes) or perhaps it simply isn’t for me. Thanks for the information and good luck everyone.
I have been taking ashwagandha for over a month now for my stress and anxiety, i was diagnosed with wolf white Parkinson syndrome, a heart condition with a fast heartbeat. It worsen my chest pain and was experiencing severe Short of breath , i feel sometimes lightheaded , dizzy . Brain fog , didn’t feel right at all . Didn’t fell myself. Feeling detached . It was just horrible and scary feeling. I am not 100,% it is the ashwagandha but after reading the comments on this site . I am now suspected. So i stop taking it since yesterday and see if the symptoms go away. ????. I really hope it is the case .
I woke with panic attack 3 times at night. Not good for me
I am going in for a psych evaluation right now because my ppd and ppa have taken a drastic turn for the worst. I have severe panic attacks and feelings of not wanting to live anymore. It all amplified when I started ashwaghanda
Ashwagandha causes me severe headaches. I have attempted this herb on 3 separate occasions and all three times caused terrible headaches. The kind of headaches that keep you in bed because you can not function
I tried adrenal chill from can prev twice,only taking one of the two recommended pills per day. My heart raced, I had terrible night sweats, light headed giving me a feeling of being “high”. Overall, I’d say I was relaxed, however, I did not enjoy this feelings at all. Also took some time to wear off (about 24 hours and started feeling the effects about 2 hours after taking it).
The first time I took ashwagsnda it kept me up till 2 AM. I think I took it at about 11 o’clock. I did sleep well then, but the next day I woke up refreshed and then actually Buzzi like I had had coffee. I can’t drink hardly any caffeine or it keeps me up at night. But this definitely was a caffeinated buzzy feeling.. I was going a mile a minute all morning and afternoon. It, however, did not seem to have a negative impact on my sleep that night.
So then I thought that might be the effect it has on me so the next time I took it in the morning. But I emptied out half of the capsule, so I was only taking half of the amount. I was so exhausted that day I could barely function. And it never changed to the caffeinated buzzy feeling.
I took it because I’m postmenopausal, and I have a hard time sleeping. Generally, I fall asleep and then wake up in the middle of the night unable to go back to sleep.
I’ve been taking Ashwaganda for a little over a week now. I started taking it hoping to increase serotonin as I have terrible insomnia. Today was a horrible day. I’ve been depressed, crying off and on, having food cravings, and a very short temper. I’m post menopausal, so this is very atypical for me. I can only assume it’s the Ashwaganda as it’s the only new supplement I’ve started taking.
Hello, this is 4th time I accidentally got hold of Ashwagandha and have horrible reaction to it. I ordered a new coffee substitute n had no idea it contained Ashwagandha (I must get better about reading ingredients). I learned a few years ago that I cannot even get close to it, I get so violently Ill I think I might die….yes, I couldn’t catch my breath last night n asperated while throwing up, can’t stop long enough to even call for help. This is gross, but it’s so severe it’s as if I have a faucet turned on full power inside my mouth and my rectum! I even break out in sweat so bad, I realize my body is screaming “GET IT OUT!”, and it does in any manner possible! Why do I react so violently to it?
I just had a horrible night of sleep and an awful day of crashed blood sugar and lightheadedness. I’ve been feeling so good lately, I’m like what the heck is going on. Finally, I remembered that I just added Ashwagandha last week on advice of my acupuncturist because though I’ve healed a lot, I’m still struggling with high cortisol. I found this article a few others that totally explained exactly what I’ve experienced – crashed blood glucose, dizziness and shortness of breath, lightheadedness from low blood pressure, anxiety, insomnia, racing heart.
When will I ever learn to research supplements before I just start taking them!? Anyway, thanks for this article, it totally solved the mystery! I’ll be throwing these out and morning the lost $20+
I have been taking Ashwaghanda for 2 months. It’s been good and bad. I felt more energetic when I was first taking it. Now I have been getting severe fatigue during the day. I feel like I can’t keep my eyes open. I have dark urine in the morning and a dry mouth at night. I sleep much better and have not had a migraine in 2 months! I was getting them every 2 weeks… if I don’t eat on time I get the super low blood sugar issue. I am hungry all the time but I have more endurance…. Like I said, good and maybe questionable.
I took this. I had a terrible episode of vertigo, increased heart rate. I got so dizzy I thought I had a stroke and went to the hospital.
Yes I had a bad reaction to Ashwagandha, after an Ayervedic consultation to establish my doshas.
After two days taking the prescribed dose of Ashwagandha, I woke with palpitations boarding on panic attack, the last thing I needed after years of severe panic attacks.
I threw it away.
Scott Koban
I took Ashwaganda for around 2 weeks and I experienced severe abdominal bloating and pain ???? I also had mood swings and weight gain.
I believe I had a bad reaction to Ashwaganda, I felt tired all the time, I couldn’t get going in the morning, since I stopped I am more energetic, back to walking, my muscles feel more useful, and my emotions feel lighter.
Thank you for the great article and for all those who shared in the comments. I am so grateful to have found this site – I legitimately thought I was losing my mind!
My symptoms ranged erratically between dissociation, disorientation, panic at irregular times during the day, muscle tremors, intense negative self-talk, and fatigue. Had two migraines in the three weeks I had taken it and have never, ever had migraines before. As this was the only new supplement (and any dietary change of any kind) added to my regiment, I stopped taking it to see if there are any changes. It’s been four days and I am finally feeling more like myself.
I am having a reaction to it right now – do you have advice for how to flush it out of our system? I took ashwagandra 15 years ago and ended up in hospital on a constant state of panic that wouldn’t subside, but eventually did when they gave me diazepam (which I’d never taken before). This time I took a supplement (just once last night) that I didn’t realise had ashwagandra in it, but I’ve been awake all night with panic, shortness of breath and a feeling of intense restlessness and heat. Dangerous stuff? Please tell us it won’t cause lasting damage?! Thanks.
I started taking Nature Made’s Ashwagandha supplement last week: just 150 mg before bed; in the past I’ve had good experience with Goli’s Ashwagandha (contains Vit D too) helping me sleep, although I only suffer from insomnia occasionally. I’ve had bouts of diarrhea all week and last night I lied awake, with a raising heartbeat, unable to quiet my thoughts, for about 3 hours before I finally fell asleep 🙁 Going to return the supplements to the store right away!
Hi there,
Just researching now about ashwagandha as started a tonic called Rheal for menopause symptons called Balncr Tonic. I have felt like morning sickness nausea for five days with today being worst. I originally felt more energised but last week like my energy levels have plummeted like I’ve never known. I only know three people that have had supplements with ashwaganda and we’ve all had same or similar experiences. Just feel really crappy
And totally unproductive amd I’m a real whiz kid normally getting everything done
Hello, I thought it Was only me, but I see now that many suffers after taking ashwagandha. I had little stress and anxiety so my brother gave me ashwagandha. After taking it for three days my level of anxiety was much worse, close to panic attacks, my heart and chest felt strange (high heartbeat, chest pain) and I had shortness of breath.
This sounds like me, I feel like I’m allergic to many things, medications, really bad reactions. Ashwaganda made me want to literally die. Have you found anything that helps? Other herbs, diet changes etc? I’ve been suffering with severe insomnia, anxiety and depression.
After my partner died last year, someone recommended me ashwagandha. I was taking it few months and I felt better. Sleeping at night, nice vivid dreams with good topics and also through the day I felt better and levelled. Then I stopped using it as I wasn’t sure, if it’s good to take it so many months in row. Everything was ok.
Now, after say two months, I decided to start taking it again, with no reason really, just wanted to fall asleep more simple. And now effects are very weird and not good. I’m on second day and just woke up from very unpleasant and complicated dreams again (same like yesterday) – I was in really weird dimension, looked like completely different reality with own not nice laws and habits. It was so real, I believe it really exist somewhere. I felt scared and sick of it, I was all the time actually fighting for my life. I woke up with nausea and headache. I only took half of tea spoon. Yesterday night horrible dreams as well. I try lower down my dosing and if it’s not going any better I probably stop using it now. Can’t it be like ashwagandha is taking out some traumas out of me while im sleeping? Because as I feel levelled, I know, somewhere deep inside me is probably sleeping trauma from loosing my partner and all that emotions connected with it (I’m scared of future, scared I will stay alone and sometimes feel like I’m “fighting” for my life only going through the day routine) = very similar feelings and emotions which been bring by that dreams.
I took it once. Being sensitive to many medications due to low metabolism (was tested through dna) I become toxic to many chemicals.
After taking the pill, I began sneezing, heart rate increased, and felt lethargic. I’m allergic to many grasses, weeds, and mold/mildew. So, my body did not appreciate this new ingredient in my body. It may land in ine of the families of weeds I’m allergic to.
I took ashwagandha for a little over week and I started to develop a dull chest pain, lightheadedness like floating on a cloud, panic attacks when going to bed, extreme anxiety off and on throughout the day, and just in general do not feel like myself. I am completely healthy and have never had an experience like this before. I stopped taking it about 5 days ago, I still have the chest pain but not as bad and I still have feeling of extreme anxiety throughout the day. I was hoping that these symptoms would go away within a couple of days but they are still present.
I cannot take ashwagandha. I have tried it 3 times over the course of 25 years with the same results each time. I am awake all night. I mean it gives me the exact opposite of what it’s supposed to give me. I cannot wait for it to ware off. I feel jittery and wired.
Wow, now I understand what happened to me earlier. Took one pill of 400, first one from what I thought it could be a treatement for high cortizol. In about 40 minutes to one hour, I felt like fainting, rapid heart beat and feeling extremely weak. I didnt make the corelation. In about two hours again, but much severe, I thought I would faint again and my blood pressure went to 19/11/128. Althoufh I am Young and healthy. Started to shake for almost an hour, with no control. From one single pill. Felt better after I ate sugar. Now I read it can drop sugar levels abruptly, și my guess is this happened to me, yet my blood test are impecable. Take care all!
I’m having a problem with ashwaganda. I think it’s making me mean and a total bitch!! I’m not taking it ever again. I can’t even make myself be nice!! I’m staying in the bedroom alone until it wears off.
Same here I thought it was only me
I am 55. Having had relatively good health all of my life this last year I have had several issues.
Following a couple of years of indigestion (no reflux or acid that i was aware of) i was diagnosed with 1) heliobacter pylori 2) hiatal hernia 3) grade two esophagitis. I was treated with antibiotics for the bacteria and according g to the tests eliminated it
Covid on the heels of the harsh antibiotic
severe sensitivity to the sun right after the antibiotic
breathlessness and a feeling of dampness in the body after the covid
Late summer diagnos in right breast with
DCIS or prevasive intraductal cancer. By the time the were ready to operate both benign vista and the malignant one were not detectable by mamogram but the operated anyway to be sure. I could not brest when i woke up in recovery and they gave me oxygen
Following this i felt the need to go for holistic treatment to try to heal my body naturally. The therapist looked in my mouth and seeing that i had approx 10 metal fillings deemed that my health issues were most likely due to that. He told me to get them removed or i would continue to have issues. I got them removed (in a reputable facility trained to do so). I found the whole diagnosis and process anxiety inducing due to the idea of slowly poisoning myself.
I was given a detox supplement to detox my body of heavy metals and a diet. It was christmas time and i fell of the diet but kept king the supplements. I started to have eye problems. Yellowness of the eye, cloudiness, heavy eyelids, stye in right eye. I told the therapist that i felt the toxins were coming out through my eyes. He had no solution for that and changed my supplement. The new one caused me acidity.
Off late i have what feels like palpitations or high adrenaline in my system. I’ve been checked out. They said my blood pressure was a little high. Beta blockers did not help. Ansiolitic helped me sleep but i only took it twice in extreme situations because i am afraid to take them.
I got amazing relief through epsom salt bath.
I found you due to having what felt like a reaction to ashwagandha as i woke up with red swollen hands. I now see that my chest is also extremely red. I went for a short walk in the spring sun yesterday. I feel the sun sensitivity is still there.
The heart racing feeling is what most concerns me right now
Hi
Wanted to comment as I’ve suffered from sore red eyes ever since I started taking ashwaganda. I didn’t realise that it could be from these tablets but after being diagnosed with allergic conjunctivitis by my opticians and hence given prescription medicinal eyedrops there was no change in my eyes.
It suddenly dawned on me yesterday that my red eyes might be down to ashwagandha tablets that I bought the exact day I started my new job so it makes sense because it was around that time my eyes became sore and I thought it was because my eyes weren’t used to wearing contacts for such a long time in office 5 days a week, after working from home mostly after lockdowns.
And then I thought it might be the office air con but when that was reduced it still don’t improve much. I then noticed in recent days I didn’t take my vitamins and my eyes improved and yesterday I remembered to take my vitamins and supplements and then suddenly in the evening my eyes were extremely sore and sensitive and red. I’ve taken ashwagandha previously with no issues so not sure why this is giving me reactions. There’s not much online about it except one person saying they had similar. There’s definitely been an improvement since I stopped taking them but I think it will day many more days to be fully white as I was taking the tablets for nearly a month.
I’ve been taking Ashwaghanda for 10 months. It took 5 weeks for me to see the effects, and at first they were amazing. I could handle usually stressful situations like a breeze. It felt like my body just adapted to not processing stress in a way that unleashed the cortisol.. this lasted for about four months until I thought it would be okay to just stop taking it.
On the third day of not taking Ashwaghanda I felt like I had been hit by a train. Even though I wasn’t in a stressful situation or even thinking anything that would cause me to stress, it was like all the stress I was guarded from over the prior four months hit me all at once. I was trapped inside a body crippled with stress. Could hardly walk, I saw black spots, my period started three weeks early. Horrifying.
I took up Ashwaghanda again straight away and decided to gradually back off it once I felt ready. But I’ve never felt ready. Since the initial stress overload I’ve had a mostly constant headache, waves of anxiety, and insomnia.
I have tried halving the dosage three times and each time I experience these side effects more strongly. I’m in constant fear that I will have happen to me what happened the first time I stopped all together.
The hardest thing is I’m actually okay in my mind, it’s my body that is struggling with what feels like a chemical imbalance. I work out often, feed myself healthy foods, don’t smoke or do drugs.
I went to a GP today to ask for help and he said he couldn’t. He said he could only refer me to a psychiatrist for something like this. Kept saying withdrawal like I was a drug addict. Dismissed me like I was a crazy drug addict..
And here I am. About to spend the next two hours trying to find a pressure point in my head to try and switch it off before I can eventually get a couple of hours sleep..
How did you get on in the end? Two years ago I took 6grams a day of Ashwagandha in powder form. This was recommended on the pack to treat anxiety. I took for 3 months and then stopped abruptly as I felt fatigued. One month later I developed the following: tremor arms and legs, tremors in face. Twitching allover incl my toungue, burning muscle/nerve pain, depression, increased anxiety, insomnia, drooling at night whilst asleep. 18 months on and I still have the symptoms. Had ct scan, mri scan, blood tests, nerve and muscle tests, endoscopy. All came back normal. Could this be caused by the ashwagandha? I’m stuck I this situation. This has destroyed a 21 year marriage and caused financial distress as I can’t work like before
Regards Malcolm
Best view i have ever seen !
Had 1 dose of 600mg Ashwaganda, hoping for a calming effect after a day of intense work and exercise. It doesn’t help me calm down at all. It makes me moody and feeling empty and annoyed towards my girlfriend. Definite no for me.
After taking one glass of water mixed with ashwagandha powder i ended up in hospital where taken by emergency aid. Incredible violent reaction vomiting and diarrhea . Terrible experience. This is he second time that it happened to me in 4 years. First time i took vitamin cocktail which contained obviously the same ingredient. Both times they where fighting for my life.
I took Ashwagandha capsules from Bulk. I took them for seven days, and on the third I developed a headache. I stopped taking them after four days of headache (7 days in). I’ve now had a headache which ebbs and flows constantly from a dull ache at the base of my skull, to close to a migraine. I’ve had the headache for two weeks, and I’m arranging to speak to my GP.
I have had a 25+ year fight with ANXIETY disorder, PTSD MMD. I am now retired ICU /VA mental health RN. I have weaned from all Rx except Klonpin 1 mg on very rare occasion. I started ashwagandha to help with insomnia and anxiety. Unfortunately severe anxiety insomnia then depression. Also gut problems, no motivation and anorexia developed in 3-4 weeks. I stopped my psychiatrist at his agreement 3 months ago. I really want to stay off pharmaceuticals. I’d appreciate your input. Thank you
I took Ashwagandha for 1 month, in a powdered form that I mixed with yogurt. Last week I ended up in Emergency with a racing heart (130 to 165 bpm continuously). After a myriad of tests, the Dr diagnosed me with Hypertyroidism as my thyroid hormones were completely out of whack. As the doctor was leaving the room, he turned around and said, “You’re not by chance taking any sort of Chinese herbal supplement are you?” I was stunned. ‘“No”, I said, “But I am taking an Indian herbal supplement!”. It never dawned on me to mention this during the intake. He told me to stop immediately, and that they are seeing more and more cases of negative reactions to non-approved supplements.
When I returned home and began reading about the potential negative side effects of Ashwagandha, my symptoms match up exactly with thyrotoxicosis caused by Ashwagandha. Although not overly common, there are medical journal articles on this very thing.
I’m currently on a medication to lower my heart rate as we wait for the Ashwagandha to leave my system. 7 days in, and heart is still a bit high. The Doctor is delaying any further testing for Hyperthyroidism as he thinks it’s related to the herbal supplement and we are giving it a few weeks and will test my thyroid levels again. I’m so disappointed with myself. I researched Ashwagandha quite extensively, but only saw what I wanted to see. Lesson learned.
Good to see that people are waking up to the dangers of Ashwagandha.
In 2019/20, I used the KSM66, Sensoril and Shoden varieties with enthusiasm due to the hype.
At first, Ash really made me feel stronger and more confident. However, I soon came to realise this ‘confidence’ was actually due to me having become more numb – numb to anxiety, fear and over-thinking, but also numb to excitement, pleasure and enjoyment.
I am still on my road to recovery, and thankfully there is a large active community dedicated to reversing the effects.
Many of these effects are shared by sufferers of ‘PSSD’ – post SSRI sexual dysfunction. The hypothesis is that Ash exerts a powerful effect on the body’s serotonergic signalling, which may eventually result in a ‘de-sensitising’ of these pathways.
Also, Ash’s effects on the body’s serotonergic system may also impact on changes to the gut microbiome, which for me has resulted in SIBO related symptoms.
Of course Ash may not have acted alone in this, and many lifestyle factors may contribute, but Ash has certainly played a primary role.
I’ve been taking nature Life Labs 2100 mg ashwagandha twice a day once in the morning and once at night. I’m starting to notice lightheadedness when I move my head certain ways. Is this a reaction to the ashwagandha? Is nature Life Labs a good brand to be using? Is 2100 mg three times a day as stated on the bottle and accurate dosage?
I took this for a week and started having pain while urinating .
Stopped taking it and within three days no more pain while urinating .
Could this also be a bad side effect of taking Force Factor Amazing Ashwa ?
I took it for 3 days only then frst day i feel good, body was quite warm, sexually performing good but next to next it reduced my sleep its my 3rd day being less sleepy, ,i have stopped it ,as it is causeing INSOMNIA to me
I will advices one thing if you are past patient of depression, anxiety never take it, it may reintroduce ur past .
I suffer from p t s t from combat in iraq and afghanistan. My mood at best is stable most times. I suffer from nightmares too. For a while there ashwaganda was actually helping my nightmares go away. But then after long term taking of it my mood started changing, my bowl movements started changing. It has increased my anxiety and my depression. I feel like i’m back to square one when I was just trying to figure out my medications to get my mood stable.
Ashwagandha gives me headaches. I’ve come across other people experiencing the same.
Hello, I have Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and am extremely sensitive to nightshades. I heard the hype about ashwagandha and relaxation so I bought a carbonated water that contained this. I started to have a can a day for about 3-4 days and had brain fog. I was very out of it. I felt floaty and lost all day and thought to myself that the only thing I had was this new water. I stopped drinking it and my symptoms stopped. Little did I know that this was a nightshade. When I first googled it, it comes up as an adaptogen, I had to search harder and finally got lucky and found that it’s a nightshade. My symptoms then made sense. I should have researched more at first but it was getting so much hype without saying nightshade that I didn’t think twice about trying it.
I started taking ashwagandha due to anxiety. Note – I also have bouts of severe IBS. When I first started taking it (daily) I slowly noticed stomach pain, but due to waves of IBS, I assumed it was another flare up. It was just a constant stomachache, and underlying nausea daily. I went on vacation and forgot the ashwagandha……so I hadn’t taken it in about a week when I took one at night in hopes for some anxiety relief. Almost exactly 2 hours later, I became the sickest I have EVER been. Extreme dizziness, violent vomiting and diarrhea, blacking out, it was awful, and went on for hours. I am not a dramatic person, but I was so sick I considered having my husband take me to the ER. I could not stand and could not go longer than 10 minutes without another episode. I was weak for days after this. Unfortunately, I did not link it to the ashwagandha. About a week and a half later I decided to start taking it again, and the EXACT same thing happened again, exactly 2 hours after I took it. It was honestly terrifying. It goes without saying, I have never and will never take it again.
Definitely Insomnia!!
Increased body temperature to 98.8.
Allergic reaction made my eyes swollen and itchy
Cause erection deficiency for sure!
But it boost my energy like crazy I could exercise three times as much as I would normally do
And this is on a single pill of 600 mg per day.
The very first time that I took Ashwagandha, within 2 hours I suddenly felt a strong buzz in the left side of my body from hand to foot, and I couldn’t walk straight.
My left lower leg wanted to turn inward as I was trying to keep my balance to walk.
It took about 5 minutes for the buzz to disappear but felt strange on the left side for about an hour or so. I haven’t taken it since. The
Took Ashwagandha for 3 months, I kept waiting to feel leveled out but it just made me sleepy with a low grade dull headache. I did feel less stress, but I think because I was too tired to feel anything else ???? I stopped taking it 3-4 days ago and I can tell my body is going to take some time to adjust. The only benefit was sleep came so easy, I could sleep any time. I hated it.
My husband takes it before bed, he doesn’t have the same problems I have with it. He loves it for sleep.
I just recently started taking ashwagandha because I’ve had extreme stress that I’ve never before experienced so bad. I was diagnosed with panic disorder about 3-4 years ago, and have overcome it for the most part except for when I’m extremely stressed. I started these supplements to help with this, but it seems like it’s just worse. I have intense brain fog and I’m getting tired so easily. I nearly had a panic attack at an orientation today, which hasn’t happened in a while. I almost feel high like i can’t drive. I’m not sure whether to keep taking it and see if it gets better or stop. I just want the stress to go away.
Hello I’ve been taking 1300 mg
a day and I started feeling that I was getting very dry mouth and i would cough alot almost like choking and I said to myself the only thing I’m taking is ashwagandha so I stopped taking it and it’s been 2 days already and I haven’t cough and my mouth isn’t dry nomore so know I only feel like palpation in my anul I think is because of the pill of the strength I would do to cough cause of my dry mouth
Hi yes I’ve had very bad side effects from ashwaghanda. I’m very sensitive and after broke up with my boyfriend I was feeling very sad and depressed and I read ashwaghanda can help with low mood. Unfortunately I experienced side effects of taking it and my blood pressure dropped and blood sugar I almost fainted and the other day I felt so fatigued, dumb and like on some high and I couldn’t do anything during my day and I just went to sleep. So I will not recommend taking it at all. Not for sensitive people I assume.
I suffer from Long Covid and have Fibromyalgia and chronic pain I started taking Ashwaganda and noticed that my joints hurt more. It was then I rechecked my diet and found it to be in the nightshade family. Needless to say, done taking it.
I started taking it because I’m in Florida I live in NY and I could not get my medicine for anxiety and depression. I’m good after it goes thru my system but when I first take it, I get sensitivity to the sunlight a headache, nausea and diarrhea. I think I need to take less to be honest cause the next day I’m ok I don’t know what’s happening and if I should stop or let my body get used to it
I have copper toxicity after having copper UID for 10 years and ashwaganda definitely didn’t work for me.I took 2 tablets of ashwaganda in spaces od time and on each occasion I experienced similar symptoms..drowsiness, headache, diarohhea all day, nausea but also adrenal pain that happened a few hours after taking this herb, waking up with palpitations, sweating like crazy and even thou I took the tablet around midday following day I was feeling totally exhausted , sleepy and lacked any energy to function properly.Im not going to take Ashwaganda no more as it definitely doesn’t seem to be in alignment with my body
I have ulcerative colitis. I took Ashwaganda concentrated capsules for 2 days and am still feeling the effects. Sharp abdominal cramping and pain, sometimes accompanied with nausea. Similar to symptoms of a flare up without the washroom frequency. It has been a week and am hoping ot subsides. Feeling very bloated and raw inside.
I started taking ashwaganda about 2 weeks ago, before bed. I took it to help with my sleep. I have had the WORST sleep. I never fall into a deep sleep and keep waking up. It almost feels like I am “speeding”. At first I thought maybe 2 capsules were too much, so I cut back to one. Nope, last night was my last ashwaganda! The only reason I took it is because everything I read said it helped with sleep and I couldn’t find anything saying it could cause an adverse affect. I just found your article after another crappy night sleep!
Long story short, I have a long history of treatment resistant depression, complex grief, PTSD, anxiety and ADHD. I found out I was extremely low on a number of key vitamins and began taking prescribed regimens. My sister had vitamin patches and suggested I try them as well. I started them and did not realize they also included ashwaghanda. The only way I can describe it is I soon started frightening having thoughts/premonition type feelings that I would soon die and severe insomnia as well as hallucinations. I do feel that I have some sort of underlying issue that is causing all of my symptoms and vitamin deficiencies and would love to hear your thoughts. My mental health has taken a deep decline and is impacting my physical and social well being greatly and I am now 42. I would love to regain my life before it is too late as this had cost me a great deal this far. Thank you.
I took ashwagandha for over a month, with initially no problems. It helped my anxiety, and though I knew it was bubbling under the surface, it allowed me some relief from the fatigue caused by constant anxiety. However, it is now causing extreme diarrhoea. I stopped taking it for a few days, and everything went back to normal. Then took one tablet and within 6 hours, same effect, with added nausea. I will now stop taking it entirely, which is a shame as I thought I had found a good support for my anxiety.
Hi just reading your article as I have taken ashwandha on and off but I can’t say I have felt better with it.
I have C677T on my methylation gene and even activated b’s make me jittery.
I haven’t felt normal for the last 10 years since breast cancer and going through menopause when having treatment just this nervous anxiety all of the time tried most health supplements but still get hot flushes.
I did the Dutch urine testing and my estrogen was on the floor my methylation pathways were good.
I have took b vitamins for years too scared not to get the right amount of b’s I need for methylation.
Spent a fortune on health therapists health supplements nothing changed through all of it
I had my first ever dose of ashwaghanda on Wednesday evening. About an hour later I started to feel nauseous and a couple of hours later started puking. Yesterday I spent the day being hot and cold tingling all over. Last night I had really vivid complicated dreams. I ate some toast this morning and puked it up accompanied by a really bad headache. And then about two hours later I felt much better. I still feel a bit battered but oh so much better. I’ve not been anywhere near someone with a tummy bug, the rest of my family have eaten the same things I did without any impact. We live very rurally so it’s easy to say these things with confidence. The only difference is I also had some ashwagandha. So I maybe clutching at straws but maybe not?
Al 5 giorno di assunzione che sarebbe oggi sono stato veramente in uno stato pietoso, ansia, estrema sonnolenza, attacchi di panico esperienza terribile, alla mattina risvegli difficili specifico che sono in cura con xanax da 6/7 anni in concomitanza esperienza da non riprovare mai più
On the 5th day of taking it, which would be today, I was really in a pitiful state, anxiety, extreme sleepiness, panic attacks, terrible experience, difficult awakenings in the morning, specifically that I have been on xanax for 6/7 years in conjunction with an experience never to be tried again.
Hello!
I ordered “ Magnesium, New Chapter Magnesium + Ashwagandha Supplement, 2.5X Absorption, Muscle Recovery, Heart & Bone Health, Calm & Relaxation, Gluten Free, Non-GMO”. I started taking the 18th feb. I’m on paraoxetine for anxiety also, for years.
I feel I’m having a bad reaction to the supplement. I may be wrong but the timing seems to make sense. Feeling extremely anxious, depressed, extra clammy/sweaty, irritated. Been reading up about reactions and came across yours.
I took 2 at night and It helped me sleep but the next morning this caused deep depression and anxiety attack. This was on 2 different mornings with a break between.
I don’t see where I can post a comment, so I’ll reply to this one, especially since I relate to it!! When I first began taking Ashwaganda, it seemed to help with my anxiety and sleep. On the second week, it didn’t seem as helpful anymore and I stopped taking it as much. On to the third week, my anxiety was worsening so I decided to try it again. I feel like lately I’m getting the symptoms the article mentioned; nausea, more stomach problems, more anxiety and depression. I’m so glad I saw this article.
I also don’t see where to reply so:
While i have taken ashwaganda in the past with no noticeable side effects, i just bought some powdered organic ashwaganda, and putting in a jar the fine powder billowed out and i could smell it and it made me feel nauseous and within 5-10 mins I started vomiting… which is why i looked up this subject. I think i will just get rid of it… if that little makes me vomit, it’s not for me.
PS, I very rarely vomit, maybe once a decade.
I had a very similar experience, I had taken it around 9am because I was feeling anxious this was calm by hum brand. Maybe an hour later I felt like my body had a vibration, rapid heartbeat and extreme anxiety/panic. So terrifying I didn’t take it again and have not experienced anxiety like that since.
I don’t see where I can comment either so I will do the same.
I have recently tried Ashwaganda and it has been helpful. What was wrong is the dosage. Once I greatly reduced the dosage it was fine.
I use a tincture. It is indeed powerful and I believe that one must find the dosage that works best for one’s body.
I think it’s wonderful herb but after a few doses and finally a huge dose of it straight under the tongue my side hurt & I was having horrible gas. I think I need to taper off for awhile
I’ve been taking alpha greens which has ashwagandha in it for almost two weeks. I was just taking ashwagandha before that though and had to stop. After a few days of taking just the ashwagandha I noticed a persistent headache, low motivation and probably worst of all it makes me pretty irritable. I am much less tolerable to things that bother me and they set me off noticeably quicker. Whether that be a good thing or a bad thing I am unsure of. I’ve always been a very passive person. Not since ashwagandha though. A good thing I noticed was that I do sleep much better and wake up feeling refreshed. I suffer from ibs and Alpha Greens has worked miracles for me in that department. I just wish they would drop the ashwagandha or offer an alternative without it. Contrary to popular belief, not everyone handles it well.
I’m glad to have found this post. I just started taking Ashwagandha leaf juice Monday, didn’t take it Tuesday but did again on Wed and Thur. The itching started Wed night and getting raised red spots that I thought were bug bites. I have a cat and thought we were infested by fleas, checked him head to toe. No fleas (and I hadn’t found any on me or seen anything biting me. At that point I thought I was going crazy. Topical Benadryl did absolutely no good, so I started hunting online. It’s sad, but also comforting to see that there are others going through similar symptoms. Like many others have commented the itching is worse at night. I have limited mobility and even with proper diet have been unable to lose weight, so this was part of a recommended Ayurvedic juice to assist with my much needed weight loss. Unfortunately, I have several bottles of the juice and will not be able to return them. I hope the itching stops soon 🙁
I started using it for a week, and unfortunately I’m feeling mental dullness, lack of clarity and not sharp which is unfortunate because I think I’m sleeping better but I have to stop because I can’t work properly while feeling mentally drained like this
My pharmacist suggested I try Ashwagandha to reduce stress and insomnia. Three separate doses of 500 mg sent me spiraling into a weepy, depressive state. It’s been years since I’ve felt this “dark”. No more for me.
I took it 2 nights in a row and experienced hallucinations both nights. I will NEVER touch this again.
I took ashwagandha for the first time and my throat started to close up, it felt like I was getting a sore throat but more like a closing. thank God I only took one chewable from CVS Pharmacy and I am returning them first thing in the morning. And taking an antibiotic to help fight this whatever reaction is im feeling. Beware of ashwagandha hype.
Thank you for this article. I thought I was going crazy. My ND put me on a cortisol manager, which included 500 mg of Ashwagandha and Magnolia bark. Consequently, a week after being put on it, I experienced hot flashes and tachycardia at night, with adrenal dumps that were so hard in the morning that I could barely function and would dry heave. Without a full night of sleep, I became more anxious and depressed. I have visited a cardiologists, a MD and an integrative medicine person and none of them caught this.
I have stopped this dosing today and will be detoxing and hoping that all of this goes away. It’s been over two months. Thank you for everyone that shared.
I couldn’t figure out my tachycardia. My heart has been racing and I can’t get it to come down. Today I had an episode of dizziness, shakiness… likely low blood sugar. I’m glad I read this, I’m done with ashwaganda after reading all of this!
I started taking 500 mg pill before bed since a few days ago, and it helped me fall asleep faster, sleep longer and feel more awake and fresh in the morning when I get up. On the other side, I have elevated heart rate and elevated fatigue.
I’m an athlete so the sleep is important to me. I had trouble with waking up in the night and not falling asleep again, especially during competitions (which is 3-6 days for me), But I don’t know if the elevated heart rate and fatigue will lead to bad consequences on my performance.
Any suggestions?
Sorry for my English.
Try Primal Sleep its all natural and it works well.
I took Ashwaganda 8 years ago. And I remember it like it was yesterday. I became horrifically ill. I began vommitting having seizures and my skin began to peel off. This was back in the 80’s and when I went to the hospital they though I had aids. I walked in on my son the other day smoking it out of his bong. I only let him do natural herbs like Marijuana. And I had a long talk with him about the effects these kinds of things have on your body.
I took Ashwaganda 8 years ago. And I remember it like it was yesterday. I became horrifically ill. I began committing having seizures and my skin began to peel off. This was back in the 80’s and when I went to the hospital they though I had aids. I walked in on my son the other day smoking it out of his bong. I only let him do natural herbs like Marijuana. And I had a long talk with him about the effects these kinds of things have on your body.
The herb did the opposite things of what the proponents claim it would do. I became more insomniac, weak, have brain fog, etc. I thought my body needed to adapt since today is my 4th day and, now that I know the thing is not for everybody, I will not take it again.
Strange, seems to work for me and obviously everyone is different. I haven’t slept well since 0ct 16 of 2022 when I went to the hospital with stress, high BP and elevated heat rate and since then, I’ve had a hard time sleeping or staying sleep soundly. Plus my stress and anxiety levels soared. Been taking two Gogi Ashwagandha gummies, MAX, a day and have my stress and anxiety levels are nonexistent, my BP and heart rate is awesome and I’m taking no other meds, only regular vitamins. I use to take Ollys melatonin extra strength which worked maybe 20% of the time with sleep. I also tried Feals Cbd full spectrum med strength which was slightly more effective. Goli works for me thus far but I’ll update if it changes.
I don’t see how some people can have opposite results. I just started taking it and my only issue is that it only knocks me out for about 2 hours and then I wake up and can’t get back to sleep. The fact that I fall asleep so easily makes me wonder if the amount is off . Just one pill has 700 mg . Too much, too less ? I don’t know.
I’ve been taking the same ones for over a year now, along with my levothyroxine. The past week, my heart rate is now elevated even at rest, and I feel like I’ve went from hypo to hyper which I found can happen when taking ashgwanda. Keep a close eye out on your heart rate.
I was actually surprised when I woke up alive this morning, not exaggerating at all!
I’m 59 years old and on zero meds, alcohol, or drugs. My daughter bought some Ashwagandha gummies for her Anxiety, insomnia, etc. She thought it might help me with my insomnia, so she gave me one gummy. It was the biggest mistake! A couple of hours later, after eating, I suddenly felt sick and began vomiting. This progressed to the point that I could barely catch my breath, vomiting for hours on end, heaving every last bit of bile and dry heaving all night. I was having extreme diarrhea while also vomiting. I was sweating profusely and shivering at the same time also. It has been 24 hours and I am still having a rapid heartbeat, dizziness, and weakness with nausea. I lost 9 pounds in one night! I didn’t even know that was possible. I must be highly allergic or something, but PLEASE BE EXTREMELY CAUTIOUS WITH THIS.
Note: My daughter has had no issue with it for two weeks.
I appreciate the time and effort you put into creating this resource
This stuff has really had a horrible effect on my system .
1. Fatigue
2.exhaustion
3.depression
5. Mind fog & serious confusion
6.anxiety thru the roof
7.paranoia
8 . Sleeplessness
9. Elevated heart rate
10 . Negative emotions
11. Bad temper
12. irritability
13. Intense headaches
Never again will I touch this stuff , this is a full on toxic reaction!!!!!
Thanks this is happening to me and it is my second day so i decided…… ok now i know side effects and the product will go to the trash can or better yet down the drain!
Thanks 4 your information.
I basically had all of the bad experiences you mentioned from this substance. Anhedonia, falling to sleep fast but waking up 4 hours later unable to sleep more, severe depression with suicidal thoughts, lack of motivation, low energy, no desire to enjoy life anymore… I think this substance must be approached with extreme caution. My wife took it once and said she felt like she didn’t want to be in her body, the same extreme discomfort she had when stopping nursing.
I would be interested in your thoughts on tongkat Ali; that is the new substance raved for increasing testosterone and energy. Andrew Huberman raves about it. Once I stabilize from quitting the Ashwaganda I may try it. I’m going to be careful though because I took this Ashwaganda for almost a year and I don’t think I even realized how much it was hurting me until I recently stopped and feel much better
Hi this has happened to me after taking it one day, fever of 104… I will never ever take it again
I was taking Ashwagandha for 6 days 2 gummies a day, one in the morning one in the evening. Felt great! No anxiety, reduced stress, better mental focus along with some other benefits. Yet yesterday I took my second gummie and just felt like my anxiety was bumbling at the surface but my body wouldn’t let it out if that makes sense. I later then started having minor brain fog, I went to the gym later on and felt massive fatigue and weakness, then got to the point of a panic attack and had to leave. I later calmed and went to bed and had minimal sleep. I haven’t taken any today but I have huge amounts of brain flog, lack of concentration and anxiety. Are these withdrawals? How long does this last? And how long does Ashwagandha stay in your system?
DO NOT TAKE ASHWAGANDA! I WAS SERVED PAPERS FOR AN ARREST
I TOOK THIS AT BEDTIME BECAUSE I WAS UNDER EXTREME STRESS FROM MY SON HAVING A CANCER DIAGNOSIS OF MELANOMA
I WOKE UP WITH WILD HALLUCINATIONS , I HAD THE MOST VIVID DREAM THAT HE SAID HE WAS COMING AFTER ME WITH A RIFLE. I WOKE UP IN A PANIC I WAS KNOCKING ON MY NEIGHBORS DOOR THAT HE HAD A RIFLE AND I RAN INTO HIS HOUSE SHAKING
HE HAD ME ARRESTED FOR BREAKING AND ENTERING
NOW IM GOING TO COURT AND POSSIBLY JAIL
I forgot to add I was dreaming about my boyfriend coming after me with a rifle
If you look on memorial Sloan Kettering web site under ashwaganda it states adverse side effects of this herb is hallucinogenic
Sorry but I must add this
I am 69 years old and never in my life was I ever convicted of a crime or even a dui
Never had hallucinations, until I took ashwaganda squeakie clean my entire life!
Only three days in but so far have only negative side effects. I have severe ME/CFS so I have a long list of symptoms already but it has heightened some of them. I initially wanted to try ashwagandha to lower my stress levels and help aid sleep (I have tried A LOT of sleep meds in the past but am trying to go down the more ‘natural route’)
So far:
Taking even longer to get to sleep, alert before sleep
More vivid distressing dreams
Higher HR and stress levels during the day and night (according to Garmin watch and I can feel it)
increased headaches and nausea
Increased IBS symptoms
Increased itchiness and fuzziness
Increased sneezing and congestion
Increased brain fog
Increased irritability and restlessness
Judging by a lot of these comments I’m guessing this likely isn’t for me but I was wondering if anyone persevered and saw results? As painful as it is, I don’t want to give up too quickly as I know things can take time to work, though with no positive effects at all so far it might be the only option.
I also had a really bad response. I had a couple of herbal drinks that had Ashwagandha. I had a full blown panic attack. My anxiety was so extreme. I will never take it again. Very bad experience
I took ashwagandha 3 times… because I really wanted to benefit from the results people rave about. Unfortunately, in all 3 occasions I broke into a sweat and within an hour git very sick with non stop diarrhea and vomiting. I’d really want to know why.
I’ve had a fever 104 I am praying it ends soon, I only took it once and never again
I just bought a bottle of supposedly the most potent and concentrated (Goli; whose products are honestly amazing) and let me tell you, they weren’t joking. (Everyone eats at least one extra gummy because they taste too good)
I only had the three, dosage called for two…..I just got home from the hospital.
My entire abdomen swelled so bad it was nearly breaking the skin and started to bruise even. Tender painful abdominal distention. It swoll so bad that at the emergency room they immediately ordered an ultrasound and CT scan thinking that I may have ruptured my appendix or had gallbladder stones. The Sonographer pointed out my intestines were so swollen that I had bowels “trapped” in between all the “inflammation of the likes that I have never seen” said the Dr.
it is potent and people should be let know. They had me drink pure prune juice and as much water as I could stand and eventually it gave way. The pain was relieved by lying on my back and alternating ice and heat. My lab work came back a mess. And I’m a healthy guy who had la work just two weeks ago and it was perfect.
The dr thought it was pancreatic cancer or pancreatitis and immediately they took my vitals thinking I could go into insulin shock any moment.
Never again. Good riddance.
I was bit by a tick 3 1/2 yrs ago that developed the bullseye rash. I went to the doctor the next morning as the bite woke me up in the middle of the night and the tick was still there, with the bullseye apparent. I was given serious antibiotics that destroyed my gut. As part of a detox and gut rebuilding I took ashwagandha, ginger, tumeric and others for 6 weeks. I took a break and about 6 months later decided to do it again as I was feeling pretty crappy. It almost killed me. I should have called 911 but wasnt thinking clearly. My body poured out of every opening, sweat pouring, dizzy. I laid in the tub and continued to pour out and vomit until I passed out. When I woke up, I showered in my clothes just to be able to get them off. I am autoimmune (AR) now and just found out ashwagandha is a nightshade which is a no no for autoimmune. Now Im wondering if my antibiotics werent I have alpha gal syndrome? I am allergic to many meats and 20+ other things with cross reactuvity.
The doctors have treated me so horribly over the years and yet Im still sick as a dog and can no longer even work. Hmmmm
Look into mcas
I started taking Ashwaganda a couple of weeks ago due to my anxiety (a result of grief, depression and quite difficult time I am having for almost three years).
At first it seemed Ashwaganda helped me with the anxiety and all the stress, however about 4 days ago I started feeling even more anxious, worried, depressed even though the overall situation I am in hasn’t changed.
I don’t know whether it’s the herb or I am experiencing any extra anxiety on my own. I also have less energy, fatigue and my mind is racing.
I have decided to stop using it.
Same thing happened to me.
I have Rheumatoid Arthritis, I started Ashwaganda and I felt jittery and couldn’t sleep and I felt like my body was trembling and I couldn’t concentrate at all.
I took Ashwaganda for about a month at night in a supplement that mixed the Ashwaganda and Melatonin .
I developed hives on my back and sides with a few on my arms .
The hives on my back and side itched tremendously and were accompanied by redness and extremely intense itching .
I am now totally stopping the Ashwaganda supplement and will drink a lot of water on a daily basis and apply hydrocortisone cream until the hives clear up.
Notably I went on vacation for about seven days and didn’t take the Ashwaganda with me .
The hives and itching totally cleared up .Now on returning and taking the Ashwaganda for three nights the hives have almost totally returned.
More indication that the Ashwaganda is the problem!!
I dont take ashwaganda often but i have a deathly fear of doctors and dentists I tend to have panic attacks. The other day I had to get a crown and so I took two tablets, now that i do the math was about 1000 mg. I gave it time to kick in and I got so sick and could not focus. I went to the dentist got got my thing done then vomited all evening. It’s safe to say I will probably just cope with my anxiety in other ways from not on.
Omg so glad i found this article! I took some mixed with vitamins…woke up at 2 am with vertigo,was sweating,vomitting,felt like crap for 2 weeks after. For 2 weeks i could barely founction,had headaches,was drowsy. And i never though it could be the supplements i took 🙁
Women please becareful as ashwagandha increase testesterone .
Also it can messed with thyroid.
I started taking Ashwaganda about a week ago based on the positive reviews and haven’t been myself. I don’t eat like used to and have to force myself to eat so I don’t starve. The biggest issue I have is with it contributing to sexual dysfunction. I’m not sure about why but have noticed sexual issues since taking it. I’m going to stop taking it and just stick to L Theanine. I’m hoping I will get back to normal.
I’m in the same boat. I was taking every other day before a workout and it did wonders for stamina and I felt great. Also curbed my appetite as well. I was shredding weight
Side effects lots of gastrointestinal issues then ED happened. I stopped taking it 3 months ago and gastrointestinal issues cleared up but still have ED
Just took ashwa over the counter chews for the first time, can’t stop vomiting. This happened when I tried relaxaim sleep as well. Dangerous though package says all natural. Be ware!
I started taking a variety of Vitamins 1.5 weeks ago which included ashwaganda. Since then I’ve had extremely low energy, incredible brain fog, heightened anxiety, and today, a headache. Like many others commenting on here, I’m not sure Ashwaganda is the right supplement for me.
Anyone experienced elevated liver enzymes while taking Ash? I’ve NEVER had abnormal blood work, until my most recent labs. All other levels are normal, except liver enzymes. Only thing I’ve done different is the Ash. I’ve only been taking it for a few weeks. Dr. thinks my results could be a lab error, but the more I researched, the more journals I’m finding that relate liver damage to Ash. use.
The Ashwagandha pills gave me abdominal pain for most of the day and diarrhea for a couple of days. I was also slightly dizzy. I only took one pill as I was not sure of the effect that it would have on me.
I experienced sexual dysfunction too taking Ashwaghanda for about 2 months. I had little interest in sex whereas I did before. I stopped the ashwaghanda and my sex drive came back shorty after stopping it. Then I took it one day for stress and it made my brain feel slow. I think I should just not take it. I thought it was helping with my overall stress but I’m not so sure now. Definitely causes a lack sexual interest.
I’m very surprised to see such negative reactions to ashwangandha… I’ve never heard of it doing anything like that before. I have been taking ksm66 for about a week… I must admit I feel less anxious (although not after reading this article!) And have had no gastro issues at all which I am massively prone to. BUT I can’t sleep properly for the last 4 days. I wake loads of times in the night which is very odd considering it is supposed to help with that. To be fair I don’t know it os the fault of ashwangandha… I am also premenstrual but it is very weird. I actually just took a capsule again now but maybe tomorrow I should avoid it and see how I sleep…
Wow was googling on the side effects as I had it worst!
On and off taking it for 2 months.
Within that 2 months, I had random fatigue,weakness, mild anxiety and depression that I just blame it on hormone as I already have pcos. But I did wondered as it never happened that bad before
After taking it for 2 mths, I guess it had build up to the max, thats when I felt ill and drunk and feeling I can pass out anytime. Rushed to ER, my BP was 90/60!! Thats horrible because mine always 120/70. Stop taking it straight away. BP back to normal after 3 days stopping it. Mental health and others back to normal after 8 days. While in withdrawal, I notice some breathing problems.
I also had period problems that I just relate after reading some comments!
While on Ash, I had longer and shorter crazy cycle that again I blame it on pcos and ageing but never had this crazy before.
Now my period is still
messed up, hope it will get better.
Ash is posion for me. regret it.
I took ir originally just to improve my 5 hrs sleep wish to have 8 hrs. Its ok now I take my 5 hrs sleep!
Thanks for sharing. A few times I have felt like I was going to pass out. My blood pressure is low to begin with. My appetite was affected too. Ate just because it was time to. My husband was concerned that I didn’t want to eat. I am not over weight. Again thank you for sharing.
Hi Lina.
I am on day 4 if taking Ash and decided to look into my symptoms only to fall upon this page and your comment. Although my symptoms have not been horrible I started 2 nights ago having sleeping problems, racing mind, anxiety, possibly some mild hallucinations and I want to say I may have even gained some weight as I feel…bigger. my husband has also expressed difficulty sleeping, some strange “dreams” and shortness of breath particularly night.
Anyway, besides our common side effects, the reason I am commenting specifically to you is that I fell upon Ashwaganda while looking into a herbal supplement for my daughter and her issues as she has had an adverse reaction to the birth control pill to which she was taking to help with monthly symptoms as well as hormonal acne. What I read about Ash wasn’t exactly what I had in mind for my daughter but it did sound like an option for some concerns I was having so I purchased it and continued surfing the net and investigating the options. In my search I came across 2 supplements which mentioned great success with PCOS. The first one being NAC or
N-acetyl Cysteine which has claims to have had “better improvement in clinical, biochemical and hormonal profile than Metformin in PCOS patients”, and the second one being Vitex Chaste Berry which had some good reviews on Amazon.
Anyway, by no means am I a doctor or anyone close to such, just a girl that has put in a lot of hours researching these 2 online as I am very cautious as to what I want my daughter taking.
I purchased both of these with the intention of trying the Chasteberry for her first. The NAC had many other health benefits that I plan on trying myself in the meantime and will have on hand in case the Chasteberry fails to help with her issues.
She has yet to take the Chasteberry as I want her to go another few weeks off the pill before introducing something new to her system so I’m unable to comment on any pros or cons. I just thought I would share this information in case you were at a loss and looking for new leads for relief. I suffered with endometriosis up until a recent hysterectomy. I wish I had heard of these supplements years ago as I would have given anything to find some help with my symptoms and with infertility issues.
I wish you much luck and good health.
My wife and I went out to dinner for my birthday to a popular seafood restaurant. The very next day, my wife became terribly sick. Food or water would not stay down and she had explosive diarrhea and vomiting. She could barely walk because she was so weak. We thought she had food poisoning from dinner the night before. She got slightly better after a day and a half and she was much better after about 3 or 4 days.
A few days later, she walked into my office holding a vitamin bottle and said “I don’t think I had food poisoning, I think it was this” and she handed me a bottle of Ashwagandha. Sure enough, she took another dose and became violently ill again with the exact same symptoms. My poor wife now had to battle this for a second time within a week.
This is a terrible supplement! I read the bottle and there were no warnings at all. She had a severe reaction with just one 450mg capsule. Reading through this article and comments, it seems there are many different types of reactions to this supplement from high anxiety, depression, palpitations, diarrhea, vomiting, weakness, extreme fatigue.
She is finally sleeping now, but if there is no improvement in a few hours we will be visiting the ER since she is so dehydrated and weak after battling this twice in a week. You can see in her face how she instantly went from very healthy to gaunt, weak, and sickly. The diarrhea and vomiting comes on so fast she doesn’t even have time to roll over and get out of bed. She is so fatigued she can barely walk. Water passes straight through her almost instantly as if she is pouring it on the floor.
I never even heard of this supplement until now. Based on what I am reading here, this supplement is an additive to many types of shakes, health drinks and teas. It is quite scary that people can have this type of a reaction to a supplement and there seems to be zero awareness that there is a potential for very serious and dangerous side effects. Not only that, most people are taking this thinking they are improving their health.
Be very careful if you are researching this supplement and are thinking about trying it. Based on my quick research, this is not isolated and a measurable number of people experience severe side effects.