St John's Wort questions

[Lonelymum]

Has anyone taken this for anxiety rather than depression? Does it work for anxiety? What would you say its effects were? If it isn't appropriate for anxiety, is there anything herbal that could be taken instead?

[nailpolish]

hi

i took this when i was at college and very low about the whole thing. im definitely sure it helped, got me thru my exams, moving house, my parents splitting up. had no side effects.

you cant take it with the contraceptive pill tho, just in case you are on that

[nailpolish]

what i mean is, i wasnt feeling depressed about all this, i was anxious, esp about exams, so yes, i would say it helped me

[Lonelymum]

How soon do you feel the benefits, would you say?

[WigWamBam]

It can take a few weeks before you notice the benefits. Do be aware that, as well as not taking it with the contraceptive pill, you shouldn't take St John's Wort with any herbal preparations containing chamomile, valerian or ginseng. You shouldn't take it whilst taking anti-depressants either.

Make sure you get the stuff that has a 3% concentration of hypericum in it; some of the brands have less than that, and are not as effective.

Valerian is another herbal remedy for depression and anxiety.

[Lonelymum]

Thanks. Since posting, I looked SJW and Valerian up on the internet and it seemed very complicated, what you could take with them or not. I am not on any other medication but there were all sorts of foods to avoid too. I don't think I could manage that (want to, I mean). Surely it is not as complicated as that?

[bambi06]

what happens if you take it with ginseng as i`ve just started taking st johns wort and already take high potency ginseng to keep me going through the day..

[WigWamBam]

It can cause sedation, altered state of consciousness, and decreased alertness.

[WigWamBam]

I'd have a word with a herbalist about what you can take and what you can't.

[bambi06]

i`m already like that anyway!!!!

[horseshoe]

Lonelymum...

Yes I have used this for about 5 years for anxiety. I suffer from panic attacks and when they get really bad I use st. Johns Wort. No side effects and I dont have attacks when taking it. I use it for 2 -3 weeks at a time. it naturally makes my body relax and so I cant woek myself up into a panic frenzie.....

Like everyone says you cant take it while on the pill as it counteracts the Pills effectiveness hence DD1. [GRIN]

[Newbarnsleygirl]

My mum used to take Magnesium which did work and had no side affects but they stopped working which coincided with her taking some other new tablets.

[Fastasleep]

afaik it's got more of a reputation for treating depression than anxiety. think that kava kava has got more of a reputation for anxiety. or you could always give kalms a go.

i have taken sjw for a few days in the past- it gave me a really weird tic of constantly having to stroke my chin - so a more scary side effect for me than any I have had on SSRIs. my personal view is that if you are at the stage where you are thinking of self-medicating with SJW, it's best to go to the docs and get it all done in a more scientific way.

well worth you taking a multivit with iron and magnesium and zinc if you don't already do so, as sometimes a lack of these IIRC can make you a bit depressed/anxious

[MummytoSteven]

oops that was me, not Fast that posted just now (am at her place on her computer atm!!!!)

[Snugs]

The British Medical Journal has recently published an article saying that St Johns Wort, in trials, was found to be as effective as imipramine (trycyclic antidepressant) but generally better tolerated. There was also an article about it's interaction with other drugs, but the upshot of that one was that not enough research has been done!