St. John's Wort

I was curious to see what everyone's experience has been with St. John's Wort. I took it for about a year a while ago and it worked great for me. I am reluctant to try it again becasue my depression is a bit worse this time. How many of you have tried St. John's Wort, and did it work for you?

Nope. Spittin in the ocean.

I use St. John's Wort (since last March) and I think it is working. I was pretty severe when I started it, but I wasn't willing to try prescription drugs and people were telling me that SJW worked for them. I avoided even SJW for a long time.

It is not without side effects, but I only had side effects when I overdosed. The side effects I had were numbness and tingling in my fingers and hypomania, and both went away when I got back to an appropriate dosage. There has only been one time since I have been using SJW when I got significantly depressed and I was taking too little SJW then (skipped it for one day then forgot it half the time for the next couple of days).

I have gel-caps that are 300 mg each and I take two per day, six days per week. I also use an herbal tea with SJW (800 mg per bag) but if I use the tea I have to not take the gel-caps. I make the tea as an iced tea, a quart at a time, and keep it in the refrigerator, but only one bag in the quart is SJW and the rest are peppermint or some other flavor. When I overdosed it was because I was making a quart with 4 bags of SJW and then drinking it all in one day. I did that like three days in a row. More than 900 mg in a day is a bad idea.
Wendy

<font color=green>Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that, you, too, can become great. -Mark Twain</font color=green>

I think there are mixed reviews on St. John's Wort just the way that some antidepressants work for some people and others don't. I think the issue gets clouded because a lot of recovery from depression has to do with the depressed person's willingness to overcome the illness (at least if you are moderately depressed). I don't think St. John's Wort is the answer for truely severe depression based on what I have read. All I know is that St. John's Wort worked marvelously for me before without the nasty side effects of many anti depressants. And, when I stopped taking St. John's Wort before my mood abruptly changed.

I think that many physicians shy away from the herbal remedies for many reasons, not the least of which is that the pharmaceutical companies market to them relentlessly. But, I also think that medicine has gradually forgotten about some of the tried and true old fashioned approaches that work. Ever take Echinacea? I have used that several times with great success to manage chronic bhronchitis. That is when I became a believer in herbals.

So, I wouldn't necessarity write it off as "spitting in the ocean". Like any other antidepressant its worth a shot to see if it works for you. I was just interested in other people's experiences. And, was also interested if anyone was seeing a doc that supported St. John's Wort use.

I support natural remedies. I used St. Johns Wart some years back and it did help but made me so sleepy I stopped taking it. I also have a friend who's child had ADD and she gave her daughter that in liquid form and it helped tremendously.
I have never met a doctor that supported natural methods but it would be nice if they did. There are many holistic practioners and they can do some good if you find a good one. I guess it's about the same challenge of find a really good doc.
Heidu

Every path to a new understanding begins in confusion- Mason Cooley

My sister is a psychiatrist. She was not the first person to tell me that SJW works the same way that SSRI's do (inhibiting the reuptake of serotonin). She does agree with that, and told me that there is strong evidence that it works. She also told me that there were side effects. She mentioned the numbness in the extremities before I told her that I had that - I hadn't realized that it was a side effect of SJW. Another possible side effect she mentioned is photosensitivity (basically it is easier to get sunburned). That one is better known. While my sister admits that SJW is effective, she is not particularly happy that I am self medicating. She would rather have me go to a psychiatrist, even if I am just going to take SJW, just to be monitored for side effects, but I'm not going to do that. What I am doing is working and I'm not going to go pay somebody to mess it up.

SJW is not the complete answer for me, however. I have also had years of therapy (still going for the moment), and relied on therapy alone up until this past winter/spring. I'm using light therapy also (just started that three weeks ago).

I use echinacea too and have for some time. It does clear up many infections. There are other herbs that I use too. Chamamile and sometimes valerian for sleep, slippery elm for sore throats, ginger for upset stomachs (also as a preventative against car sickness - ginger cookies work for my kids). Herbs work. I think that doctors know it too, whether they like it or not. Most that I have talked to about it, including my sister, just say that since herbs are not monitored by the FDA you can't be as sure about how well the dosages are standardized. I understand that it is not legal in the United States for anyone, including doctors, to prescribe herbal remedies. But in other countries herbs are included in the mainstream practice of medicine.

<font color=blue>Life is filled with tragedy; if you let it overwhelm you, you cannot enjoy life's innocent pleasures. -Robert Heinlein</font color=blue>

Many pharmaceuticals were, or are still derived from natural sources. Herbs of all kinds are unquestionably of great value. I think a big problem with many or most of the natural sources available in stores or internet is the variance in the amount of the important active chemicals. If you read 6 labels, you will find 4 or 5 different ways to measure what you are taking. All of which are nearly impossible to meaningfully compare. I have read there is also reason to doubt the accuracy of what is labeled in terms of active ingredients and their strength or bioavailability.

I think that as long as teh herbs work for you then why not stick with them? As I said I know St. John's Wort worked for me in the past, I took that after discontinuing Paxil with great success. I was just thinking of switching to St. John's Wort again and wanted some feedback. I also agree with the caution on standardization. I guess this can be minimized by purchasing the same brand from a reputable company.

I know that there have been some clinical trials that concluded that St. John's Wort is no more effective than placebo. But, I am skeptical of those results. If no more effective than placebo why is it used extensively throughout Europe. And, why are there physicians like Rapunzel's sister that admit that St. Joh's Wort works the same was as antidepressants.

I guess if it works, don't question it. For me I never ahd any side effects at all from St. John's Wort. I am always careful in teh sun and never had a problem with increased sensitivity.

There was also a study (I think I heard about it on docJohn's weblog) that found that antidepressants worked, and so did placebos - just as well. Maybe it has more to do with what you think will work and your willingness to get better than anything else, but whatever works!

<font color=blue>Life is filled with tragedy; if you let it overwhelm you, you cannot enjoy life's innocent pleasures. -Robert Heinlein</font color=blue>