st john swort, kalms, ad's

[stitch]

thinking of takingsomething.
st johns wort is pharmacollogiccally active, apparently. plus, its very very expensive at 15 opounds for thirty. but the tesco one is 1.50 for sixty. why the huge discrepancy?
or should i try kalms first?
really really dont want to go back to antidepressants.
any advice appreciated

[Bowddee]

IME, go for Kalms. St Johns Wort did bugger all. Have a look at the Bach Flower Remedies as well. I don't go out without my Rescue Remedy.

[stitch]

i have my rescue rememedy, but if i rely solely on that, i dont always use it when i need it as i forget. iyswim,
kalms it is then
any idea about the price difference?

[jellybeans]

I think SJW is fab, it worked for me and my doc said was proved to be as good as ADs for mild - mod depression. I liked the vega ones (£8) but tesco were fine as well. As long as it has hypericin (sp) and hyperforin (sp) it should be fine, takes 2-6 weeks to work. Kalms/valerian or rescue remedy did nowt for me and are not clinically proven.

[puffylovett]

the difference in cost will be for numerous reasons.

source of the herb
wether it's organic
how strong each tablet is
what the tablet is bound with
how much of the active ingredient is in it (Hypericum)
wether it's made to pharmaceutical standards, ie wether the machines that make the pills are broken down and cleaned between runs

you get what you pay for. if you want to see wether or not it works, you need to go for the more expensive one. You MUST NOT take it with anti depressants, they are contra-indicated.

IMO you would be best consulting a medical herbalist, or at the least using the tincture rather than the tablets, youusually pay around £13 for a months supply - and it doesn't have to be broken down, it's absorbed directly through the stomach.

I hope you feel better soon and find something that works for you

[jellybeans]

The more expensive are not necc better, I didn't like the Kira ones (£15) as much as the VEGA, the vega had a nice calming effect, think they had chamomile in too.

[janmoomoo]

Lots of research evidence to show that SJW can be really effective and as good as anti-depressants. Dont take if you are on the pill and you need extra care in sun.