your thoughts on st. john's wort, please...

I've bought the liquid rather than the tablets. It was quite expensive, but it seems to work. The only thing is it makes me go really, really dopey. I keep having "blank" periods.

I've never suffered from depression but I do occasionally get premenstrually grumpy, and taking St John's Wort for a day or two really makes a difference to that and returns me to my usual sunny self. It's ace.

Yeah, it's a lamp - I got it from Outside In

It would certainly be rather surprising.

Hmm..I've seen these before. They seem very expensive, though. Is it very lovely??

It didn't do anything for me.

Mine just tastes of alcohol. That doesn't bother me unduly, although its a little weird before my Weetabix. It tastes a hell of a lot better than the Vitamin B tablet I have to neck with it.

didn't need to stay on it long term, and wouldn't because of the messing up the pill thing, anyway.

Hmm...yes...I hadn't thought about that, and will investigate. Thanks, oh wise Archel.

Basically, it helps me dislike strangers less — at least until weed is less, uh, illegal.

-- JuliaA (j(underscore)bdule...), February 23rd, 2005.

Wow, an anti-depressant that cleans out your liver ... That's two problems solved!

"There was a report in New Scientist recently which stated that the photosensitive properties of the hypericin in St John's Wort could promote cataracts in rats. There are no reports of the same occurring in humans.

Recommendation As a precaution, the researchers recommend that if you are in the sunshine, you should wearing 'UV-resistant' wrap-around sunglasses, if you are taking St John's Wort. Sunlight shining on the eyes is a cause of cataract in any case, so this is good advice to follow whether or not you are taking St John's Wort."

Eek no... it might work for you, but my experience of anti-depressants fell somewhat short of a life full of ecstatic joy. Quite a long way short, actually. I'll spare you the details.

It's not something you can just pop though, take it for at least a couple of months before you decide it's not working for you.

After 2 or 3 spells of long-term use (6-9 months) I found I didn't need it anymore, I think my brain just reshaped itself to deal with things better.

i'm so skeptical of things like this

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/1917359.stm

The popular herbal supplement, St John's wort, is an ineffective treatment for depression, a major study has found.

The use of herb has grown massively in recent years as more people opt for so-called natural medicines.

Researchers have conducted the largest ever clinical trial into the impact of the herb on major depression - a moderately severe form of the condition.

The researchers, from Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina, found it had no more impact than a dummy medicine.

Dr Jonathan Davidson, director of the Anxiety and Traumatic Stress Program at Duke, said: "Major depression is treatable. But this research suggests that major depression of at least moderate severity should not be treated with St. John's wort.

I took it briefly a decade ago while going through issues, and not only did it not help, but I felt numbness in the tips of my fingertips and toes. The numbness went away when I stopped taking it.

i suffer from excessive feeling in my fingers and toes. is st. john's wort right for me?

st. john's wort is only right for people who think that wort is a delicious snack. otherwise, no.

i am the large internet doctor

i tried it for a little bit back when i was debating getting some help. i soon realized that i needed some actual medicine.

"a dummy medicine." thank you BBC. because "placebo" is one of those difficult words.

meds

just started this today cause i really hate how the "real" stuff turns my sine wave moods into a flat line and i don't want back to that again

you might want to investigate 5HTP, hoos?

personally st johns wort never did anything, although it did make middle-aged women in health food and herbal supplement shops cluck at me concernedly

5HTP?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5-Hydroxytryptophan

available in a similar set of places to st john's wort. it's a chemical precursor to seratonin; the wiki link goes into more detail about the action of it and the enzyme that breaks it down, etc.

personally and anecdotally i've found it effective; the last big study said it probably is but there's not been enough research to say for certain

St. John's says it's a "mood enhancer" on the label & that's how it worked for me when I tried it. It just turned all my emotions up to 11.

That meant irritation and ennui became rage and woe.

Major depression probably is a diagnostic category into which several different syndromes, with similar symptoms, are swept. I suspect SSRIs and serotonin are only one of them. If St. John's Wort works for you with few side effects, bully.

St. John's Wort didn't work for me. Prozac worked a little. Zoloft worked well, but has a short half-life so I could feel the blues after missing a single dose. Right now, 5-HTP & DHA (from fish oil), plus prescribed Zoloft, is keeping me out of bed and active. Perhaps part of my coctail is unneccessary. I'm not risking it.

should read: "SSRI treatable low-synaptic serotonin" above