Ashwagandha Experiment: Day 13 and the End

The ashwagandha experiment has ended for me, though my husband is still considering it.

End results for me:
My asthma is worse, my allergies are worse, and I definitely have my GI allergy symptoms (stool change, stool color change, some abdominal cramping) going strong now with no other possible cause since this is the only new thing I've introduced.

The first few days, I had less pain, more energy, and I really thought it was something I could take that would help.  The rebound headache when it wore off, though, was definitely a problem, as were the sleep issues.  I felt more rested when I took it at night, but the tracker said I had absolutely no deep sleep those nights, and it was a lot harder to fall asleep (when it already is difficult).  Switching to taking it in the morning helped a lot for a couple of days.  In trying to ease up the bad headache in the evening (well, worse headache since I always have a headache), I split the pills to stagger dosing, and it didn't seem as effective that way.  Going back to taking a whole pill in the morning did not help my pain like it had before, and my allergy symptoms definitely started getting worse.

Another side effect for me was massive lack of appetite.  I've been forcing myself to eat even a little and finding that my appetite comes back when it wears off in the evening, which is not a good thing for my weight or metabolism at all.  I just didn't want to eat, didn't even think of food as something good (which is weird for me).  I do wonder if, for people on medications that make them hungry all the time, it would help counteract any of those symptoms.  That isn't the case with me, though, and while it helped me stay in a better calorie range for me, it didn't help with weight loss because of when I was finally hungry and able to eat.

Conclusion: I'm allergic to it, and I'm stopping taking it as of today.

End results for my husband:
He stopped taking it a couple of days ago, mostly due to the bad headaches he was starting to get.  We aren't sure if those are due to the ashwagandha, actually, so it's more that he's put it on pause to see if, after this weather system goes through and he tries it again, it works better for him.

He definitely was having GI symptoms, too, though.  Worse gas, some abdominal pain from gas cramping, and his gas smelled much worse.  We're not exactly sure what it was doing to our gut biomes, but it was doing something.  He hasn't had the lack of appetite to the same degree I've had, but he definitely has not been as hungry until it wears off.

Conclusion: My husband thinks he needs a smaller dose than the 600 mg we've been taking (Garden of Life) and a different formulation.  He's going to try taking it again in a few days and see if he has the same symptoms, and he possibly will be taking half pills instead.