Ashwagandhas. I have an autoammune disorder

I just wanted to let you know i have autoimmune disorder so I guess I must be taken off the s3 list…sorry

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That’s a shame Jo. Welcome to you, i see this is your first post. Its good to be aware of what may not suit your condition.
Hopefully you will be able to try some other herbs in the future although i guess S4 will be some time away yet, unless sofi have any left over Valerian (S1) that you could try. I know they dont have any passiflora (S2) right now as i have asked. I think i have strange ( or different anyway) brain chemistry from many other people because if anything Valerian seems to make me less ready for sleep and wide awake, often until dawn! But i guess sofi analysis will pick up on that. From reading here it seems to suit many of the Pioneers.
Im sure that @alexwalkerjones will be in touch soon if they can offer an alternative solution. Best wishes x

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Welcome @jocromer to the sofi community. I am going to ask @pamelaspence for advice. She is our herbal specialist and has been practising for several years. take care and speak soon :smiling_face:

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Thanks so much for messaging @jocromer and we will certainly check in with @pamelaspence (she may also DM you personally to discuss things further if we can help) and thank you @drmudlark for the tag!

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Hello @jocromer and welcome to the Treehouse!

Without further information I can’t really comment but certainly having an autoimmune condition would not automatically mean that you couldn’t take part in the S3 (Ashwagandha) programme. If you can let me have a little more detail I’d be happy to look into it further for you. Feel free to DM me if you like, or keep the conversation open here for others to learn from.

Kind regards,
Pamela :herb:

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I have sarcoidosis, an autoimmune disorder like Lupus. I have taken Ashwaghanda before in tablet form with no issues whatsoever. I appreciate everbody is different though. I was diagnosed in 2012 so ive tried a lot of different herbs and supplements , vit D has caused me more issues than any other!

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Welcome to the sofi community. Thank you for joining and sharing your experience with us. If you have any questions, please feel free to share. I am going to tag @alexwalkerjones for any follow-ups. Take care :smiling_face:

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Hi @pamelaspence
I actually started the topic of Ladies of a certain age and would like to know if i am able to take Ashwagandha, as 8 am recently on

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Oops sorry not sure what happened but I am recently on oestrogen pessaries and cream after being advised for years that that was not possible as acancer history in our family is rife, but I’ve also read that ashwagandha is not compatible with oestrogen is this correct? Xx

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Good to have you in the Sofi community @jocromer and sorry you can’t take part in phase 3. I have high hopes for valerian and am sure if it’s at all possible the powers that be will do their best to see you don’t miss out. Good luck going forward.
:innocent::sleeping_bed:

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Hello,

Well the good news is that ashwagandha is one of my absolute go-to herbs for women going through menopausal hormonal changes and this is because it supports the adrenals directly, and they have to work extra hard at that point picking up the entirely new job of oestrogen production for the rest of your life. This is the reason why anxiety and aleep issues can increase markedly through peri-menopause and beyond.

In clinic I use ashwagandha regularly alongside both phytoestrogenic herbs and all forms of HRT so I don’t consider there to be any issue.

I would love to read the source of your information to understand where they got the idea from? And of course if in doubt with your own health situation you need to check in with your health care professional.

Hope that helps!
:herb:

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@pamelaspence thats so good to her that it benefits woman going through the menopause. I was on HRT and stopped a few months ago and the hot flushes, lack of sleep and anxiety has returned. Roll on s3.

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Yes! Anything that you do that will reduce your stress levels (and therefore stop your adrenals having to work so hard) can help support your body through menopausal transition. For some women that can be enough for the body to manage the transition without trouble, for others, more support will be needed - but it’s definitely a good place to start. As a herb that directly supports the adrenals, ashwagandha can help reduce anxiety, and sometimes that will also be enough to reduce hot flushes. It depends how big your oestrogen gap is… Hope S3 is helpful to you! Do let us know! :herb:

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Can i ask if im already taking an ashwagandha supplement would this rule me out of the next phase? Or should i stop taking the supplement and continue to record my baseline?

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Glad you asked that. I was going to ask the same question. In fact, should we stop all other supplements while trying out any of the sofi supplements?

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Let’s give @pamelaspence a tag and see what she advises. From a general data perspective, you are quite alright to continue using previous supplements you are taking, as daily journaling (and establishing a strong baseline) helps us to pinpoint any changes in sleep and/or mood due to the plant, regardless of other supplements you may already be on.

In other words, the less you change about your routine before, during, and after your trial, the more accurate the analysis by sofi’s brain :sofi_moon: :sparkles:

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Sorry for the delay in replying - I’m playing catch up!

Hmmm. Interesting question. As a rule, don’t change anything before starting a sofi programme because the less change the better. But I’m not sure what to do about people already taking Ashwaganda. There is no toxic dose so it’s perfectly safe to top up with the Sofi stick and continue on the supplement, so that isn’t an issue. Usually I would suggest people drop a supplement if they are taking the same herb from me though.

@alexwalkerjones I think we should check with Enrico and team about what it would do to the ashwagandha data. Because it may skew that Pioneer’s data for ashwagandha but not for other herbs since they would be on a different dose.

Options would be to keep going with the supplement as usual and not changing anything, or having a few weeks off the supplement (a wash out phase) and then restarting with the ashwagandha spray.

Interesting! Thanks for the conundrum :slight_smile: :pray: :herb:

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