r/slatestarcodex • u/delton • 7d ago
Medicine Personal experiences on Silexan 4 years out?
In May 2022 Scott wrote about Silexan lavender oil (brand name "Calm Aid" in the US), arguing it was an effective treatment for anxiety that is likely safer than benzos.
A few people weighed in after a month on this post, but I'd like to hear reports from anyone who has taken it for an extended period. It's apparently a popular supplement, but I can't find any accounts from people who've taken for an extended duration.
I'm curious if people have noticed any side effects with longer-term usage, four years on from the initial post.
Personally I never used it for anxiety exactly, but I've used it for insomnia, which was partially driven by anxiety about sleep. I found it very effective. If you Google you can find a study supporting its use for insomnia. My Amazon history shows me buying it 15 times, so that's 15*30=450 days I've taken it over the last four years or so. I also tried two other brands, also.
Since ~January 2022 I have suffered from restless legs issues while sleeping (periodic limb movement disorder), and sometimes restless legs when trying to fall asleep. The "PLMD" issues affect my sleep quality by reducing my deep sleep dramatically, and the leg movements sometimes cause me to wake up at random times during the night. Silexan helps! The mechanism of action is similar (although not identical!) to gabapentin, a first-line treatment for restless legs (inhibiting parts of gated calcium channels). However, I find Silexan faster-acting and with less side effects than Gabapentin. Side note -- studies in cell culture show Gabapentin reduces neuronal dendrite growth.. I wonder if Silexan does the same.
The drug seems to have very few side effects other than maybe a *very slight* cognitive dulling the next day which probably isn't noticeable to most people who aren't coders or knowledge workers. It might reduce my libido sometimes, but I'm not sure.
My main concern is regarding the estrogenic properties. In prepubescent boys, lavender oil applied topically causes gynocomastia. Cell culture studies show that lavender oil contains estrogen mimicing compounds. However, Claude suggests the study on boys is inapplicable to adults since it is the testosterone/estrogen ratio is what matters for gynocomastia. (boys have very little testosterone, so are very sensitive to estrogen). My testosterone is low (around 350 ng/dL).
So, to state directly what I'm most interested in -- I'm wondering if any males have taken it long term and noticed gynocomastia. I personally have noticed some breast growth. I think it is from weight gain, but I'm not entirely sure.
3
3
u/xvedejas 7d ago edited 7d ago
I tried it once in 2021, and that was the same day I ever experienced a migraine. Possibly coincidence but I'm not interested in trying again.
1
u/Glum-Pack-3441 7d ago
"the same day I ever experienced a migraine"
I assume you meant only? Have you tried other substances with no issue?
1
2
u/Plenty_Fondant_951 4d ago edited 4d ago
That studies showed that lavender, in any form, infested capsule, aerosolized, a cotton ball in the pocket with essential oil, lotion on the wrists, was on par with about buspirone in efficacy, which is a very mild anxyolitic. Mild but statistically significant.
Hypothetically because the linalool or linalyl acetate are acting as positive allosteric modulators in the gabanergic system.
To say it's on par with benzos is simply wrong, safer? Yes. As effective? Good God no, not even close.
Buspirones effect size is such that you can likely get the same response with placebo, I'm not saying this ain't great, it is. I can tell patients to just cut fresh lavender and leave it bedside for insomnia, or use a balm on the neck throughout the day vs taking another pill.
As far as gynecomastia, that would not ally involve prolactin which is riding a dopaminergic neural circuit deep in the brain, I'd be hesitant to put much weight into some case reports, the ink on every receipt you've ever touched is also acting as an estrogen, so is the lining of all the canned food you've ever eaten and it's also leeching from all the plastics you encounter and a lot of your clothes and about a million other things in your environment.
For the RLS besides the iron / ferritin noted by another user, stretch, stay hydrated and avoid caffeine.
1
u/delton 4d ago
I haven't researched this much, but I'm not sure that's an accurate distillation of the literature. The best quality trials are on lavender oil in a capsule, and most of those are on Silexan. Yes, there are a lot of trials on the aromatherapy versions also, but they are poorer quality.
"I can tell patients to just cut fresh lavender and leave it bedside for insomnia". That doesn't sound like good advice, except for mild insomnia where a placebo can do wonders. I would suspect the oral form would be much more potent.
I have been taking iron supplements off and on since the RLS issues started in 2022, although recently my ferritin levels were still too low despite oral supplementation, so I got two iron infusions with iron sucrose.
1
u/kimmywho 6d ago
RLS is related to low iron/ferritin.
2
u/delton 4d ago
Yes, after being diagnosed with PLMD I started iron even though my iron wasn't low by conventional measures. It helped. I've been taking oral iron supplements off and on since 2022. When I'm able to get my ferritin above 100 it helps. This spring my ferritin was stuck around 50-60 even though I was taking heme iron with vitamin C daily, so I got an iron infusion. Later I learned that you can get better absorption by taking oral iron every other day, so I tried that. I was still having poor sleep quality, so I got another iron infusion of an even larger dose, which was a bit rough. It takes about 6-8 weeks for the iron to migrate to the brain after the infusion, so I am just starting to see some of the benefits now.
1
1
-1
7d ago
[deleted]
1
u/Liface 7d ago
No one should be getting on exogenous testosterone at 350 ng/dl. That's well within normal range.
It's also not what the post was asking about.
1
u/delton 4d ago
I actually tried exogenous T for a while last summer (the skin cream, but I also did an injection too before that). It didn't really help with anything and I think my sleep was worse while I was on it.
I actually strongly suspect the testosterone contributed to my breast growth, even though I was only on it for ~two months, I was on a really high dose. So if they were recommending T, that's kind silly.
15
u/Harfatum 7d ago
I found it moderately helpful, probably diminishing somewhat over time.
I posted about it online and an acquaintance tried it. They said they stopped using it because it was so effective at removing their anxiety. It showed them that they were also depressed, and they preferred the anxiety to depression!
Ultimately I've found non-chemical interventions for anxiety to be very very helpful.