Thorne Research, PharmaGABA-250, 60 Veggie Caps

My physician recommended this for my anxiety. I had tried many other supplements on my own that all promised to calm, relax, help focus, help sleep, etc. I have struggled with insomnia, anxiety and panic attacks for the past 4 years. I am currently taking Xanax to help manage my symptoms but I do not want to stay on Xanax the rest of my life. This is the only product that I have found that actually works. It keeps the anxiety from getting out of control. I can usually just breathe through it now. And this supplement has allowed me to start dosing back on Xanax. I take PharmaGaba 3 times daily as recommended. It does not make me sleepy but rather just levels everything out. It does not feel like I took a Xanax which you definitely feel the affects of but rather I noticed that I just felt calm throughout the day. No ups and downs, no jitters, no racing heart, no fight or flight feeling. It really has given me hope that I will be able to get off of Xanax and start to manage my anxiety in a healthier way.

Product as described

I did a sleep/stress test and learned that my cortisol was upside down. Low in the morning - so sluggish and can't get out of bed, even at 10 AM, I could only get up because I HAD TO. High in the evening - laying in bed, almost like I have a panic attack - so alert, I can't sleep. I'm taking a few supplements now and altering my diet and lifestyle to reduce my cortisol levels. I want them high in the morning, so I can spring out of bed and low in the evening to lay down and rest. This PharmaGABA-250 is one of the supplements I started taking with the guidance of a functional nutritionist after we saw my cortisol labs. I can report that I noticed the effect of this supplement. I took it with a small glass of water about 30 minutes before bedtime. Fifteen minutes in, I started to feel very heavy - like how I feel when I'm sleepy. I did my bedtime routine - put on PJs, washed my face, brushed my teeth, etc., and got into bed. I woke up the next day a few minutes BEFORE my alarm. I felt refreshed, perfect. I've been taking this every night and have had great success, except one night when I had some sugar close to bedtime (I had cocoa), that disrupted the experience. So, GABA helps a lot, but diet also impacts me. One dose-related caution I would use is that my partner wanted to try this supplement to help him sleep when stressed about work. He couldn't stop thinking about work. He took one pill (same as I do), and he slept. He felt very heavy the next day and struggled with work in the morning, which was the exact opposite effect he wanted. He might benefit from Thorne's lower (100mg) dose. We've ordered it, but he hasn't tried it yet. If you're not sure how much you need, I recommend starting with the lower dose because you can always take more of them if you find you need them.

I have many, many food sensitivities that trigger migraines. Many of these foods are high glutamate foods. My dr. told me to try this because the gabba counteracts the glutamate somehow. I do t remember what he said, but it made sense at the time. Anyway, does gabba get rid of my migraines? No. Does it make it so that I can take some caffeinated Tylenol and not be praying for death because of the pain? Yes! In fact, I can usually get rid of the pain altogether. The exhaustion and aphasia will just be what they will be, but at least the pain is manageable. This is a godsend for me.

This helps with brain firing it relaxes you but not in the sleepy sense. I usually take one to two before I go to bed or two in the morning before I start my day. It makes me feel less stressed.