I'm going back on 800mg l-theanine a day

I cut down to 400mg a day , by not taking my evening 400mg dose.

All this just means half my day ( the latter half) is spent in anxious misery.

There’s a huge risk in doing this (800mg a day) and it is as follows:

If i have to come off it cold turkey , like if i end up in hospital unexpectedly, then hey presto i become psychotic. How do i know this? I came off 800 mg cold turkey before and went psychotic. So i went back on it and then tapered it down to 400mg. L-theanine is very like a benzo or a med at a dose of 800mg.

But ive decided I’ve no choice, the anxiety is too much.

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I have some l-theanine, but I’ve never taken it. Would 200mg as a one off have any effect whatsoever?

I am reluctant to get hooked, but as a one off, could i take it as a ‘treat’?

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200mg will have an effect. 200 for me is like a light switch, i can feel my thinking improve like someone flipped a switch about an hour after taking it.

100mg doesnt seem to have any effect.

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I am sorry that you feel so anxious to have to rely on this supplement. You seem to identify the withdrawal symptoms and the effect it would have on your life, so wouldn’t 600mg suffice?

Would they allow you to take l theanine in a hospital if you had to go? in order to taper down.

Is no good living with anxiety. If the l-theanine acts like a med just do what you’re doing and treat it like a med. I appreciate you get withdrawal effects like a benzo but I don’t think you build a tolerance to it like a benzo so I don’t think you need to worry too much.

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They would i assume. I’m just doing a bit of catastrophic thinking probably.

The old rumination game is a killer. Keep strong. I would recommend starting meditation, but it’s a bit hit and miss for sz and it takes a few weeks of practice to make any progress.

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Gonna try some l-theanine myself. I always find it helps.

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Abilify can cause a lot of Anxiety.
Maybe going to 800mg is a good idea.

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I tried 400 before I couldn’t notice anything maybe the brand isn’t good that I took

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I tried a brand that had 400mg capsules and it was useless. I swear by the ‘now’ brand 100mg capsules.

But it’s more expensive. So ive ordered another cheaper brand to try it out. Hopefully it won’t be as bad as that 400mg capsule brand.

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I’ll try that out. Thanks

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Is this because it’s addictive or because it’s been helping you? I have just ordered some for a friend who is very unwell and the last thing I would want to do is give her an addiction to anything…

u can increase ur aps…!!

I am guessing that by increasing your brains levels of GABA your brain is producing less, as with anything that substitutes an endogenous source with an exogenous source your body produces less… (in this case it is boosting the endogenous levels rather than substituting them but the same principal would apply) I am very concerned now, I just ordered some moments before this thread was posted now I have decided not to give it to the person I bought it for which means I just totally wasted my money…

I think it is more the desire not to be anxious than the physical need for the supplement. An addiction of sorts, but not like a benzo craving that might be suggested.

I could be totally wrong, I am not a doctor, just my guess on what could be happening if indeed it is habit forming… maybe like I said earlier it was helping you more than you realised until you stopped taking it?

I haven’t taken it yet. I’m saving it if I ever do get over anxious. I won’t be taking it daily either, maybe once a week maximum and not in 800mg quantities either.

@everhopeful

You used to take 800 mg per day, then you tapered down to 400 mg per day. Why did you taper down?

Because i tried quitting 800 cold turkey and went psychotic. That scared me, so i dropped down to 400 a day. I didnt try quitting 400 a day cold turkey so don’t know how that exercise would have gone. Better i assume.

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