St John's Wort to Treat Depression and Anxiety

[ScarletBegonias]

Thanks very much for this input, everyone!

Hi Scarlet, just to let you know that I used St. Johns Wart several years ago for quite severe depression and it's effect kicked in in a matter of days. The andtidepressants the doctor gave me made me 'numb' like a zombie so I replaced them after afew weeks with SJW. I think they were 60mg doses which I took 1x3 per day. Gradually I cut down by 1 a day over 3 weeks until I didn't take them any more. That was about the time I started looking into alternative therapies, diets, meditations etc.

A couple of years ago my sister in law also used SJW when she contracted psoriasis which her doctor said was stress based.After afew weeks the problem cleared up and she was certainly much calmer than she had been for a long time.

Earlier this year I spoke to my mum and we discussed the medication her doctor was givig her and she said she was not herself any more. She was happy to try something else. So we decided to try the St. Johns Wart. She is still taking 180mg/day but says she feels better than she has in years. She is 73 yo. and is trying to follow the paleo diet with afew slip ups now and then because she 'misses' her favourites. But for her age she is doing really well.

Hope these experiences may have helped somewhat. Good luck, Scarlet.

Thanks stellar. Wow, that's it? My doctor said I'd have to take 4000mg to equal the amount of Prozac I was on. I was thinking of trying to keep it at about 1000mg. Hmm...

St John's Wort is a serotonin booster. It is often used when 5 HTP didn't worked, which usually happens when the thyroid gland is sluggish due to lectins or a gluten diet.

So how is your diet Scarlet ?

Good question, Gandalf, thanks! My diet is good. I am dairy, gluten, refined sugar and alcohol-free and I've been eating more fats and proteins, mainly in the morning. I usually eat eggs, poultry, fish, veggies, flax and buckwheat flour. I try to minimize fruits, and usually only have an apple or some pineapple. My doctor recommended I eat a banana a day so I could get enough potassium so I did that for a few weeks. I've stopped though, because they have so much sugar in them and also slow my digestive track. I drink mostly water, homemade lemonade with stevia or unsweetened cocoa powder with stevia. I also have herbal teas occasionally and I am always staying hydrated.

I feel pretty good about my diet and also my sleeping patterns now that I am taking melatonin and staying off the computer at night. It's interesting to note though, my doctor says I can just keep taking melatonin (that's what she does too), but I thought it was supposed to be a temporary fix. I am taking 5mg per night and getting more sleep has helped me out the most, I think.

I have discussed this with my doctor and she agrees that coming down gradually off of the Prozac is the best way to go. She recommends a 25% reduction in the amount I am taking per week over three weeks, but these are capsules and therefore cannot be split. :/

Capsules can be divided, I do it some of my supplements. Health food stores should have empty capsules. So you can open the capsules and divide as needed. It's a bit tedious but doing this has really helped me get the exact dosage I need. My doctor advised iron supplements to get my blood iron levels up. The capsules I use have 15 mg. I found this is way too much of daily dose. Gives me upset stomach and I don't feel good. I break them into thirds. This gets my iron levels where they need to be and is easier on my body.

Of course, ask your doctor about this.

Caplets, the hard ones can be divided as well. If they don't break easily with you fingers they make caplet breaking devises possibly also available at health food stores.

Mac

I'd be careful with dividing pills. Many of them are time-released and if you cut them open you can get too much of the drug at one time, even if you are taking more than half.

Wow, I didn't even think about this, thanks for noting it here, Mr. Premise! I found my 100mg of Zoloft pills last night and decided to cut one into quarters so I could take a piece this morning, which I did.

I have discussed this with my doctor and she agrees that coming down gradually off of the Prozac is the best way to go. She recommends a 25% reduction in the amount I am taking per week over three weeks, but these are capsules and therefore cannot be split.

When dividing isn't an option, you could faze out 25% by skipping some days. For instance, over a 12 day period you would be taking your capsule 3 days in a row and then skip one day and continue accordingly. So in 12 days you swallow 9 capsules in stead of 12 which amounts to 25% less.

I like this idea, thanks Palinurus! I plan not to take anything else until I see my psychologist again tomorrow. I'll ask her about taking the 40mg Prozac every other day and see what she says. I threw away about half a dozen prescription meds on the 4th of July here in the USA this month. It felt good, but I refused to throw away the anti-deps or Xanax. I haven't taken a Xanax in over a month and I am tempted to toss them, but apprehensive, because of the approaching school year. (I'm a teacher and was really stressed out last semester.)

Had a Dr. tell me once that St. Johns Wort can have some serious interactions with other drugs (don't know if Prozac is one), serious as in death. My wife was taking about a handful of different prescriptions at the time and he told her to ABSOLUTLEY do not take St. Johns Wort with what she was taking. ...Prozac was one of the things she was taking.

I've taken it and like it, but it is very short lasting for me.

Just please check it out.

If my memory serves, it is not to be taken with MAO inhibitors. I don't think Prozac is a MAO inhibitor, but I could be mistaken on that.

Thanks SilverJeep and anart! Yeah, I've heard there can be drug interaction problems with Prozac and St John's Wort and do not plan to take them at the same time. St John's Wort can interact with many prescription drugs and probably some supplements too.

Hopefully it does something for me, but I believe I am able to figure out some ways to work on my emotions these days and think that will help too. I'm just taking one step at a time to detox, if possible, lol. My main concern is that I get enough sleep during the school semester when I start teaching again. I will work to focus on this and on controlling my emotions when all the 'A' influences start to fill my life again.

_http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypericum_perforatum#Adverse_effects_and_drug_interactions

Pharmacokinetic interactions
St John's wort has been shown to cause multiple drug interactions through induction of the cytochrome P450 enzyme CYP3A4, but also CYP2C9.

CYP3A4: _http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CYP3A4#CYP3A4_ligands

CYP2C9: _http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CYP2C9#CYP2C9_Ligands

Also, Prozac is an SSRI: _http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_serotonin_reuptake_inhibitor

Thank you again for this information and the support too that some have expressed. I don't know where I would be in my life if it weren't for this forum. Truly...

 

[ScarletBegonias]

I would like to update this thread and state that I really like taking St John's Wort. If I go without it I notice a little mood shift. I think I'm going to keep taking 300mg of this supplement three times a day in addition to 100mg of 5-HTP nightly.

 

[davey72]

Personally, St John's wort mad me feel psychotic, but this was years ago, and i wasn't on the best diet at that time. not sure if this would make a difference. I have used 5-htp more recently(while still on a bad diet, and it seemed to work very well, as long as i only took it once every 2-3 days.

 

[ScarletBegonias]

I want to update this thread to note that I stopped taking St John's Wort a few weeks ago and have noticed no difference in my mood! I tried to stop taking it twice before, but noticed I would get depressed, so I always went back on it. However, I have been on the paleo diet for a couple months now and feeling so well that I thought I would give quitting another try. It seems I no longer need this herb to help my mood and that is such a freeing feeling! So, where is the dancing bacon smiley to insert when you need it? ;D

 

[SeekinTruth]

I want to update this thread to note that I stopped taking St John's Wort a few weeks ago and have noticed no difference in my mood! I tried to stop taking it twice before, but noticed I would get depressed, so I always went back on it. However, I have been on the paleo diet for a couple months now and feeling so well that I thought I would give quitting another try. It seems I no longer need this herb to help my mood and that is such a freeing feeling! So, where is the dancing bacon smiley to insert when you need it? ;D

Thanks for the update, Scarlet. Great to hear the diet has worked for you. I'll give you an "invisible" dancing bacon smiley while I wait for the real thing. :P

 

[Nienna]

I want to update this thread to note that I stopped taking St John's Wort a few weeks ago and have noticed no difference in my mood! I tried to stop taking it twice before, but noticed I would get depressed, so I always went back on it. However, I have been on the paleo diet for a couple months now and feeling so well that I thought I would give quitting another try. It seems I no longer need this herb to help my mood and that is such a freeing feeling! So, where is the dancing bacon smiley to insert when you need it? ;D

I am just curious, Scarlet? When you tried to quit the St. John's Wort before, were you still eating gluten and dairy? What was your diet like the last time you tried to stop using it?

 

[ScarletBegonias]

Thanks for the update, Scarlet. Great to hear the diet has worked for you. I'll give you an "invisible" dancing bacon smiley while I wait for the real thing. :P

Thank you, SeekinTruth! :D

I am just curious, Scarlet? When you tried to quit the St. John's Wort before, were you still eating gluten and dairy? What was your diet like the last time you tried to stop using it?

My diet had no gluten, dairy, refined sugar, alcohol, or artificial sweeteners and very few processed foods (only when I ate out) when I tried before. I was eating more fruits, vegetables and buckwheat though, and not nearly as much fat as I consume these days. :)

 

[Alana]

Great news, Scarlet!

My diet had no gluten, dairy, refined sugar, alcohol, or artificial sweeteners and very few processed foods (only when I ate out) when I tried before. I was eating more fruits, vegetables and buckwheat though, and not nearly as much fat as I consume these days. :)

I think the reduction of carbs and increase in fats is what likely did it. If I recall correctly, depression can be a side effect of thyroid hormonal imbalance, inflammation, and/or yeast infections, all of which are treated with low carb, high fat diet. Primal Body Primal Mind goes into this in depth as well. Another thing is, if like most of us your diet in the past was low in cholesterol because of "heart issues" fear mongering, it might be that your brain was starved for cholesterol, that is now getting with your diet, which makes it happier and in turn, makes you happier :D

This sott article is very important regarding the cholesterol/depression cure link:

http://www.sott.net/articles/show/228185-Low-Cholesterol-and-Suicide-Your-Brain-Needs-Cholesterol

 

[Nienna]

Great news, Scarlet!

My diet had no gluten, dairy, refined sugar, alcohol, or artificial sweeteners and very few processed foods (only when I ate out) when I tried before. I was eating more fruits, vegetables and buckwheat though, and not nearly as much fat as I consume these days. :)

I think the reduction of carbs and increase in fats is what likely did it. If I recall correctly, depression can be a side effect of thyroid hormonal imbalance, inflammation, and/or yeast infections, all of which are treated with low carb, high fat diet. Primal Body Primal Mind goes into this in depth as well. Another thing is, if like most of us your diet in the past was low in cholesterol because of "heart issues" fear mongering, it might be that your brain was starved for cholesterol, that is now getting with your diet, which makes it happier and in turn, makes you happier :D

This sott article is very important regarding the cholesterol/depression cure link:

http://www.sott.net/articles/show/228185-Low-Cholesterol-and-Suicide-Your-Brain-Needs-Cholesterol

I agree with Alana.

Actually, fruits are really bad as, from what I've read in articles on SOTT and here, fructose is worse that sucrose; although both are bad. All the hoopla that fruits are soooo good for you is really not great health advice.

I'm really glad that things have started looking up for you and you no longer have to take the St. John's Wort.

 

[stellar]

I want to update this thread to note that I stopped taking St John's Wort a few weeks ago and have noticed no difference in my mood! I tried to stop taking it twice before, but noticed I would get depressed, so I always went back on it. However, I have been on the paleo diet for a couple months now and feeling so well that I thought I would give quitting another try. It seems I no longer need this herb to help my mood and that is such a freeing feeling! So, where is the dancing bacon smiley to insert when you need it? ;D

Really happy for you, Scarlet!!

 

[ScarletBegonias]

My progress would not have been possible without the help of the members of this forum. Thank you all, so very, very much.