Question: I took Ashwaghandha a week ago to prevent my extremely high level of anxiety and prevent mental breakdown ( I was on my last nerve and have been that way for weeks). It had the complete opposite effect. On the first day I took 480mg (85 of it was withalides root) and I was unable to stay awake for more than 30min period at a time before crashing back in bed. I felt weak like I would nearly pass out every time I tried to do anything physical such as getting a snack from the fridge. I took 1/3 a pill on the following night. I woke up lethargic. Going to the car, I felt like I would faint. If I walked into a store, I would nearly faint.I c I used it for a week altogether. After getting off Ashwaghandha, for the last 5 Days I have experienced shortness of breath after walking more than 1 minute. My thyroid tsh was taken a day after, as well as a test for diabetes. They were negative. My cbc, anemia, and nutritional value were fine except for a low carbon dioxide level (3 points below the norm). My chest xray taken showed that my lungs and heart are fine.m oxygen level. can the adaptogen cause permanent shortness of breath and fatigue?