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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 8 of 8. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by JayBTV2 on January 28, 2008, at 14:23:06
Just wanted to post my experience as it may help others :)
So I started taking Rhodiola about a month ago to try and help with Depression and Anxiety issues. It was working pretty well. However, a week ago I went to an optometrist to get a new prescription for my disposable contacts. She informed me during that visit that I had a condition called anisocoria (or uneven eye pupils).
Basically my right pupil was 1mm bigger than my left pupil. If this is a condition from birth it's not really of concern. But having seen eye docs since I was 13 (I'm now 30) I knew this wasn't something that was mentioned to me before. That being so she told me it could be a sign of something pretty serious namely a brain tumor or lung cancer :(
I had asked the doc if my bipolar meds (Lamictal/Depakote) could have been the cause but pretty much said no. Of course I was freaking out and when I got home I started googling aniscoria to see if I could find any reason aside from cancer that might have been causing it. I came across one or two case reports for Paxil and Celexa (SSRIs) in very rare cases producing aniscoria. That gave me some comfort that certain meds can cause your pupils to be "out of sync".
After further research I found one of the most common meds that cause this problem is one given for sea-sickness (scopolamine). I found that scopolamine was technically a muscarinic antagonist.
I dug hard and found a few links that said rhodiola or similar herbs can touch on muscarinic receptors. So that gave me hope (and had me believing) that rhodiola could potentially be the cause.
Anyway so I stopped taking rhodiola a week ago and this morning went back to the same eye doc. As I had noticed in the mirror she said she can no longer see a difference between my pupils. I told her I was taking an herbal med that in some ways is related to the sea sickness patch. She agreed that the herb (rhodiola) was almost definitely the cause.
I had searched here first to see if anyone had reported this issue w/ rhodiola - nothing came up. So after this experience I wanted to make sure I posted in the event anyone else experiences this side effect. It's pretty rough when your doctor starts telling you that you may have a tumor :(
I'm done with rhodiola for now despite the fact that this side effect was transient.
Hope this helps someone.
-Jay
Posted by JayBTV2 on January 28, 2008, at 20:57:37
In reply to Wierd Side Effect of Rhodiola - (Uneven Pupils), posted by JayBTV2 on January 28, 2008, at 14:23:06
Weird side effect even ;-)
Posted by bleauberry on January 30, 2008, at 19:44:31
In reply to Wierd Side Effect of Rhodiola - (Uneven Pupils), posted by JayBTV2 on January 28, 2008, at 14:23:06
Rhodiola has effects on the hormone cortisol. While most NDs and manufacturers claim rhodiola "normalizes" cortisol, what it actually does in science is "lower" cortisol. Good if yours is too high, bad if it is low.
What is a sign of low cortisol? Strange things in the pupils. For example, one larger than the other. Or with a bright light, they go small, then get larger again, and then begin to pulsate. Or they don't respond hardly at all. I'm not sure what doctors look for when they put that bright light in our pupils, but I do know there are noradrenaline/cortisol clues there. My doctor did this test with me and explained it to me.
Anyway, just for grins I thought I would throw the rhodiola/cortisol connection out there for pondering.
Posted by Jan Rose on February 11, 2008, at 8:10:48
In reply to Re: Wierd Side Effect of Rhodiola - (Uneven Pupils), posted by bleauberry on January 30, 2008, at 19:44:31
Rhodiola made me happy, energized and focused until after 1 week on the pill I got a headache so bad I thought I might have to go to the hospital. Never have touched the stuff since that time.
Posted by clipper40 on May 4, 2008, at 20:26:29
In reply to Re:Side Effect of Rhodiola- unbearable headache, posted by Jan Rose on February 11, 2008, at 8:10:48
Hmmm, it lowers cortisol... could be why it made me sick. I had no side effects at all on it at first and was waiting for it to kick in. Instead of getting any benefits however, I suddenly got a headache and felt overall really sick.
Posted by tepidarium on February 1, 2010, at 12:42:35
In reply to Re:Side Effect of Rhodiola- unbearable headache, posted by clipper40 on May 4, 2008, at 20:26:29
This is why I'm scared to try this. I had big time pupil dilation after taking a low dose (500 mg -2g) of tryptophan per day for about 10 days.
What's the best/safest natural supplement for high anxiety that can be taken long term?
Posted by STvo on August 13, 2012, at 13:37:00
In reply to Wierd Side Effect of Rhodiola - (Uneven Pupils), posted by JayBTV2 on January 28, 2008, at 14:23:06
This is an old thread, I know, but I think my experience is worth sharing.
I found this page looking for possible causes of Anisocoria because a few days ago I noticed my right pupil was bigger than my left one under low-light conditions. I cant say if my left one wasnt dilating enough or if my right one was dilating too much. I did notice they seemed to pulsate a little (especially the right one) which scared me A LOT.
Ive made several changes to my diet and Ive been under lots of stress. But the main reason Im sharing my experience is because yes, one of the supplements Ive been taking is an herb blend whose main component is Rhodiola Rosea. It also has Ashwagandha and other herbs, but its like 40% Rhodiola.
Is Rhodiola to blame? I dont know because as I said, Ive done several changes lately including quitting caffeine and making sure I get my iodine and selenium daily requirements.
But considering my google search was for Anisocoria and Cortisol, I think its too much of a coincidence that I end up on a page talking about the main herb in the supplement Ive been taking every time I feel stressed.
Anyway, I took a break from ALL supplements for a couple days and my pupils look almost normal today, even under low-light conditions. But Ive been more relaxed too so I just dont want to jump to conclusions; Ill leave that to the readers.
As soon as I think they look 100% normal, I MAY take that supplement one more time to see what happens, for the sake of science.
Posted by AlexCanada on February 23, 2013, at 6:06:27
In reply to Re: Wierd Side Effect of Rhodiola - (Uneven Pupils), posted by STvo on August 13, 2012, at 13:37:00
> This is an old thread, I know, but I think my experience is worth sharing.
>
> I found this page looking for possible causes of Anisocoria because a few days ago I noticed my right pupil was bigger than my left one under low-light conditions. I cant say if my left one wasnt dilating enough or if my right one was dilating too much. I did notice they seemed to pulsate a little (especially the right one) which scared me A LOT.
>
> Ive made several changes to my diet and Ive been under lots of stress. But the main reason Im sharing my experience is because yes, one of the supplements Ive been taking is an herb blend whose main component is Rhodiola Rosea. It also has Ashwagandha and other herbs, but its like 40% Rhodiola.
>
> Is Rhodiola to blame? I dont know because as I said, Ive done several changes lately including quitting caffeine and making sure I get my iodine and selenium daily requirements.
>
> But considering my google search was for Anisocoria and Cortisol, I think its too much of a coincidence that I end up on a page talking about the main herb in the supplement Ive been taking every time I feel stressed.
>
> Anyway, I took a break from ALL supplements for a couple days and my pupils look almost normal today, even under low-light conditions. But Ive been more relaxed too so I just dont want to jump to conclusions; Ill leave that to the readers.
>
> As soon as I think they look 100% normal, I MAY take that supplement one more time to see what happens, for the sake of science.
>I have noticed uneven pupils too. one larger than the other. But I do not take rhodiola anymore. It can be a small miracle but I believe after a few years of use it just built up too much tolerance for me and possible interactions w other meds/substances is likely an issue. For me it ended up being a bit too unpredictable and made trying other medications/sups more difficult since it became difficult to tell what was doing what.
It very often still increased energy and productivity though. But not necessarily my ability to enjoy anything.
This is the end of the thread.
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