St John’s wort vs sertraline

[Lilllypad11]

I’ve come to a point whereby I’ve been on at johns wort for a long while now (4.5 months) I wonder, is it worth it or is sertraline better? I’ve not felt great and I find the only reason I chose it is because 1. Anti depressants are a hard choice in my 20s and secondly, I tend to drink some weekends for parties or festivals…so if I’m on AD’s I couldn’t.

help?

honestly i’d avoid sertraline. i was on it for a month and i had to come off because i felt so so ill, headaches all the time and just generally under the weather. spoke to friends/family who had the same experience and said they found fluoxetine better. i decided to stay off ad’s because i’m scared of getting addicted to being on them but even if i was desperate i would never go for sertraline again

In opposition I love Sertraline. Was the magic pill I needed!!

Also, I drink on it fine 🤷🏼‍♀️

Its not 100% true to say that you can't drink on anti depressants. It is not recommended for several reasons (including that alcohol itself is a depressant) but it wouldn't kill you. Have you spoken to your GP?

Fwiw I have issues with anxiety and sertraline turned me into a gibbering wreck and I came off it after 4 days. Citalopram probably saved my life, although in retrospect I could/ should have come off it sooner (4 years).

Unsure what "Anti depressants are a hard choice in my 20s" means but I began taking ADs in my 20s after years of inadequate treatment and finally saw results. I wouldn't be here without them, I'd really consider it.

I found that when I truly needed it sertraline really helped. I only stayed on it for a year as there were side effects I didn’t want long term. But it made a massive positive difference in terms of my mood and ability to cope.

You can still drink on some ADs, so I wouldn’t let that be an obstacle. That said, the thing that had the biggest positive difference on my mood was stopping drinking. It may seem impossible to conceive of, but actually it may be worth giving both a try for a period of time. Your health and wellbeing is more valuable than a few weekend drinks (which btw I don’t really miss now).

When I felt I no longer needed them, I took myself off and it was fine, so they don’t have to be something you’re stuck on forever.

Been on both, St John's Wort is working better for me. No side effects and I'm coping a lot better, not really depressed anymore. Been on SJW for 6 months.

Just be aware that St John’s Wort interacts with a lot of other medication, including the contraceptive pill.

Can I ask what St John's wort strength and brand you take?

There's no comparison in my opinion, sertraline has been exactly what I needed. My husband was very anti it but is now on it too after seeing what it's done for me. Neither of us have side effects. I drink and he doesn't. Don't discount it.

Citalopram didn't agree with me, made me a zombie for years. Really slowed me down in looking for help with PND. I'll probably take sertraline forever though. I'm a naturally depressed and anxious person, and I feel like it brings me up to a more normal baseline. Not numb, no side effects I've noticed (after the first month). I've not tried St John's wort due to the interference with other meds like birth control.

My oldest son is as a result of nokne telling me St Johns Wort negates the contraceptive pill!

Sertraline was like a breath of fresh air, my anxiety disappeared. The first two weeks were difficult but it was worth wading my way through a couple of weeks to feel so much better

@clarkkentsglasses I take Boots Max Strength SJW.

(For those who've mentioned it, I don't need/use birth control and I'm not on any other medication which would interact. I do use SPF 50 though as it causes photosensitivity).

For those of you with experience of taking St John's Wort, what was your main reason for taking it? Was it anxiety or depression or both?
I've stared to experience anxiety for the first time in my life and I think it's due to the perimenopause. I am taking HRT ( all 3 hormones) and it's helped a bit but the anxiety hasn't gone away fully. Has anyone taken SJW for this situation- any success with it? Thanks.

In my case I had anxiety, depression and also have combined type ADHD so very low dopamine levels which doesn't help depression. I was a mess, suicidal at times. SJW helps me function day to day, stops me from getting too low and just gives me a good baseline to do life from. I can cope, and that's really saying something.

i took it last year for a few months for anxiety and it worked really well for me. i can’t really remember why i stopped (probably the age old ‘i feel better now so i can stop taking it’ thing 😅).