Drug info - Kava-kava Interactons With Anti-Anxiety and Anti-Depressant Medication

[barrett092]

Swim just got some kava kava and on it it states it should not be taken if you are on any anti-anxiety medicine or anti-depressants. Well, swim is on both on lexapro 10 mg and clonezapam .25 mg (very low). Should he be worried???

[Bajeda]

It helps to spell the names of medications correctly when asking for advice. Many of them are obvious, but sometimes if you refer to something by a lesser known name and spell it incorrectly it can pose a problem for finding the information you need. Just a thought.

As to the question...



Here is what an online drug interaction checker brought up:

Drug-Drug Interactions

clonazepam and kava (Moderate Drug-Drug)
GENERALLY AVOID: A case report suggests that kava may increase the central nervous system adverse effects of benzodiazepines. In the report, a 54-year-old man treated with alprazolam became semicomatose with lethargy and disorientation following self-medication with kava for 3 days. The exact mechanism of interaction is unknown, but an additive or synergistic CNS effect is suspected.

MANAGEMENT: Until further information is available, concomitant use of kava and benzodiazepines is not recommended. Patients on benzodiazepines should be advised to consult their caregiver before using any alternative medicines.

clonazepam and escitalopram (Moderate Drug-Drug)
MONITOR: Central nervous system- and/or respiratory-depressant effects may be additively or synergistically increased in patients taking multiple drugs that cause these effects, especially in elderly or debilitated patients.

MANAGEMENT: During concomitant use of these drugs, patients should be monitored for potentially excessive or prolonged CNS and respiratory depression. Ambulatory patients should be made aware of the possibility of additive CNS effects (e.g., drowsiness, dizziness, lightheadedness, confusion) and counseled to avoid activities requiring mental alertness until they know how these agents affect them. Patients should also be advised to notify their physician if they experience excessive or prolonged CNS effects that interfere with their normal activities.



Its hard to say exactly what the level of danger is. There aren't many reports online regarding experiences mixing Kava and Benzos. The ones I could find were about mixing small doses of both for the most part, generally with favourable results. One exception is this trip report from erowid where a fair amount of Alprazolam was consumed, suggesting a good level of tolerance before hand.

I would be cautious if swiy decides to use Kava-Kava while taking his anti-anxiety medicine. Use a small dose to start if he decides to try the combination, as synergy will probably enhance the level of effects and increase the possibility of negative side effects.

[barrett092]

SWIM has taken kava a couple times now with some good and some bad effects. On the onset of taking it Swim does have a sense of happiness but toward the end swim becomes groggy and gets a mild headache. Swim is not sure if swim should continue kava use considering swim is not having the experiences some have mentioned on the board.

Swim is also curious if there are anything better swim should check out that doesn't interact with the discussed meds swim is on.

[Bajeda]

If swiy is getting such negative side effects from normal doses of Kava I'd suggest he doesn't use any more, as generally you don't experience effects like that.

What do you mean by "anything better" that swiy should check out. Other illicit substances? Other ethnobotanicals?

[barrett092]

Other ethnobotanicals that go well and not interact with the anxiety type medicine Swim is on. It's hard when you have such a shitty condition that inhibits some of the experiences one can have.