St Johns Wort for Depression
 

Has anyone had any sucsess with using st johns wort for depression?
Ive been using it ona nd off for about a year now, it dosen't seem tow work tht well but getting off it has as many nassty side effects as staying on it, manly the headahces and sicknesses,
well opinions apreciated.
thankies.
xx

You want to use the extracts. The capsules with the ground up bits in them isn't the best way to go.

I haven't ever tried it, but the literature I've seen on it usually shows it works better than placebo but not as well as many conventional antidepressants. But my main issue with it is that because it's considered a dietary suppliment, it's not regulated at all (at least in the US), and various studies have found that dietary suppliments contain unpredicatable doses, they may or may not contain the listed active ingredients, and they're often loaded with toxins. There have been a few cases where people actually died from taking herbal suppliments contaminated with toxins, but most of the time the levels aren't lethal but are still enough to be harmful.

Ha, I tried that because my mom was in total denial "anything was seriously wrong". I think I just screwed myself over by using it, at the time I hadn't the faintest idea what bipolar was. I just remember feeling great within a few days, the feeling horribly depressed, then feeling energetic and depressed(mixed). I went off of it, because I felt horrible and the fact that "it wasn't working". I didn't have any real withdrawl effects, except that I went into deep depression after going off it. So yea, I've tried it, but my case can be different than others. Just make sure you talk it over with a doctor first, herbs and stuff can have interactions with other things.

As Je Suis Prest said above it can effect other medication.I think it can effect the contraceptive pill if you are on it.

I personally havent been on it but have heard mixed stories about it.

have you gone to the doctor about the depression?

Yeah i went last summer and my mum and her sort of denyed anything was wrong so i got the SJW and then i got £better" fought through the withdrawlal symptoms and stopped now im effectively back on again int eh wake of the destruction that my mums sudden death hads caused im rprobably more depressed than ever but desptie having gone to the doctor himself mydad hasnt noticed so i cant really easily go, all last summer he deneyed there as anything wrong at all so yeah im fooked.

You're not supposed to take it if you're on any other medication. A lot of people have told me to stay away from it totally because it doesn't work.

Hmm yeah i got that, i cant strictly even take paracetamol, nly thing is i know im properly gone now.
It was the fillongly show today u've been looking forward to it for weeks.
But i woke up and thought, Whats the point?

What do you guys reckon, Shall i stop with the st johns Wort and try to get me self to a doctors?

Don't just quit cold-turkey, never a good idea (even for herbal stuff).

I would suggest getting yourself to a doctor, explaining your situation, and ask him that you would like to stop the St. Johns Wort and have the possibility of starting on a medication. Ask him that you would like to start tappering off, he'll tell you how to go about doing so.

So yes, get yourself to a good doctor, but don't stop taking the St Johns Wort on your own.

Ice discovered that today pounding headaches and getnle rocking agogo
Im gonna try and organise to go see a doctor the only thing is i can't think of a way to go without telling my dad [its apopointments only] and i can't show him this. Hmm any advice?
*goes to get some*
Maybe cold turkey isnt such a good idea.

yes i used it and found it to be totally inaffective, i think like most of these natural remedies they are just placebo's and won't work unless you believe they will.

thanks fo your s support stil lnot sure how to visit docs tho

You could get your dad to take you to the doctor by making up an excuse, your dad shouldn't have to be in the room with you and your doc. But, it would be a much better idea to tell your dad how you're feeling, just sit him down and explain possibly get some information your dad can read and tell him to do so. Or, if it's better, you can write him a letter or (a more high-tech way) send him an email.

Yeah i suppose so, ive had a thought tho,
its looking like i need to go to the doctors over persistant heacdaches so if i go in alone i should be able to mention it while imt here.

I don't think all herbal remedies are placebos, just some. Ginger for example can work for a slight stomachache, but I really have my doubts about St. John's Wort. Like others have said, SJW interacts with a number of different medications, especially contraceptives.

Instead of SJW, I'd try fish oil capsules. There's actual studies on how fish and fish oil can improve your moods and mood stability if you have mood swings [Good for Bipolar]. If you want, I can give you links to these, but you can also google. Some people have went as far as to rely solely on fish oil as a psychiatric medication, but I only recommend it as a supplement to psychiatric medications.

Also, if you want to try fish oil, I wouldn't recommend the over the counter stuff you can get at your drugstore. OTC fish oil has impurities and may not work as well. There are prescription forms of fish oil [one that goes by the name of Omacor] that are in a more pure form, so you don't get any nasty side effects from impure ingredients. Talk to your doctor though before starting fish oil, although I doubt it really hurts anything.

I reckont hat could be worth a try, cant get to the docs at the mo cause dads being a pain in the a**e lol so yeah thats that out, maybe when im back at school i can sneak out,,,

Hi, I'm just about to start back at uni doing my 3rd and final year in a degree in herbal medicine, I personally find herbal medicine much more effective than any prescription meds that my doctor has put me on, and I can definitely tell when I have come off the St. Johns Wort (which I have to during the summer, as it gives me a rash if I go out in the sun).

If you do take St Johns Wort I would recommend that you dont take the standardised extracts, as these are just extracts of certain constituents which are deemed to be the most beneficial in this case Hypericin. It has now been discovered that actually its the constituent Hyperforin which gives St Johns Wort it's anti-depressive actions (but then again this may change once more), therefore I believe that you should take the whole plant rather than some adulterated extract. I tend to reccomend tinctures (liquid alcohol based) over capsules / tablets.

St Johns Wort does accelerate the elimination of drugs through the liver, including the contraceptive pill, also you shouldnt take St Johns Wort with other antidepressant drugs, as this can increase the risk of serotonin syndrome.

Besides St Johns Wort there are some other herbal antidepressant remedies, but, it is probably best to consult with a qualified medical herbalist, where a prescription would be tailor made just for you.

Anyhow, that's just my opinion (pro herbal rant over)
Hope this helps.

thanks for your adivice all Il lsee what i can do although its hard to ge thold of anything beyond the tablet form [hypercin] only thing is im worried about the effects of oerdose but yeh