szam

Hi all,

I've been battling depression and anxiety since my early teens (now 25) and have been on pretty much every SSRI (and a couple non SSRI). I moved to Wales last year and my doctors surgery are very unhelpful and although I have seen every doctor there, there isn't one that I've found to be sympathetic and non-judgmental at my situation.

So due to my fear of going back to the doctor, not being on any meds and my recent depression relapse I'm trying St Johns Wort. I've tried it in the past and it makes my IBS flare up, that's all I can remember (although that was prior to my sobriety so who knows what caused that). My body responds best to citalopram but I can't face the endless unquenchable thirst and sleepless nights that I always get as a result.

Have any of you had experience with St Johns Wort?

Soberwolf

I haven't tried it before szam but I do know it's a popular choice in certain Scandinavian regions over anti depressants best to consult with a Dr esp if your prone to flare ups from it IBS wise

emme99

I tried St Johns Wort a few years ago and I felt really good while taking it. I know it cannot be combined with some other antidepressants so I recommend checking with your doctor first but I felt it helped me a lot. I was also on a good eating plan and other good habits in general so I can't say 100% sure it was the St. Johns Wort but I do give it a lot of credit. If you are taking any other meds, I recommend checking with your doctor first.

aNewEternity

it can work. you have to be religious about taking your doses though (same goes for any antidepressant).

as others have said, it's not to be combined with any other SSRI and there probably should be a few weeks between SSRI cessation and starting to take St John's Wort.

when I was on the stuff I suffered from light sensitivity. one can't prove that it was the St John's Wort that did it, just something to be mindful of, from my experience.

timetohealguy

Hi szam,

I have been taking St Johns Wort daily for about 4 years.

I suffer from anxiety and had separately tried a tricyclic anti-depressant and Prozac, and neither of them agreed with me. I had awful nausea on Prozac. The tricyclic made me feel like a zombie and I was very tired all the time and I had weird body jolts in my sleep. So since neither Prozac or the tricyclic agreed with me, I stopped taking them.

So that led me to St John's Wort. Overall I am very happy with it. I have minimal side effects from it.

The side effects I have noticed since I started taking it are:

1. Eyes more sensitive to light - not a major problem - I just wear sunglasses whenever I am outside, even on cloudy days.

2. Skin more sensitive to sunlight - I find if I am out in the sun, I get sunburnt more easily than before I started taking St John's Wort - so I make sure to use sunscreen if I am in direct sunlight.

3. A bit of dehydration - my mouth tended to be a bit dry when I first started taking it (but nothing like as dry as it was on the big pharma meds). I also was a bit constipated for the first 2 or 3 weeks, but after my body got used to the St Johns Wort, that went away. Now I just make sure to eat plenty of fiber in my diet and drink plenty of water.

I find it definitely takes the edge off anxiety symptoms, but I don't feel that zombie-like feeling of being heavily medicated.

The St Johns Wort tablets I take say on the label that they contain hypericin 1mg.

I take half a St Johns Wort tablet in the morning, and the other half of the tablet at night. I used to take just one tablet at night but figured spreading the dose so I take it in two stages during the day may make the levels in my blood more consistent during the day.