Kira SJW seems to have changed, am panicking a bit please advise

[Bananaketchup]

Hi,

I have been taking the KIRA SJW for a good while now and it works well for me - I was on ADs but had to stop in order to be assessed to adopt. The packaging has changed now though and where it used to say 300g of SJW and guaranteed 900mic of hypericin, now it just says 450-odd g of SJW and no mention of how much of the active ingredient. The tablets look diferent too. Does this mean it's less strong, or how do you work out how much to take to get the right dose? I take 3 of the 300g ones so 2700mics of hypericin.

I am panicking a bit, I really don't want to inadertently drop my dose cos I know I will go into an anxiety spiral, and the Kira brand are the only ones I've found I can take without gagging - bit of an emetophobe and most SJW tastes horrible! I'd be very grateful if anyone can help.

You sound very anxious about it already!

You could ring the manufacturers and ask them?

I have swallowing issues and find the more expensive Boots own brand (90 one a day in a purple box) easy to swallow.

I just checked the packaging and it tells you how much hypericum is in it.

Also, try not to think too much about an anxiety spiral. SJW doesn't do that much for anxiety actually!

Yeah I am quite anxious about it - i can't go back on the ADs so I feel like the SJW is my only option and I'm scared to accidentally cut my dose and it stops working. I hadn't thought of asking the brand, am going to google them now, thanks.

Have you considered 5htp too? That's very good for anxiety.

I'm nervous of 5htp, I read about some evidence of heart valve damage and there are heart problems in my family. I would like to find something else though.

banana personally I think you are right to be wary of 5htp - it is not fully tested and what proper testing has been done has shown evidence of heart valve damage. What have you tried in terms of counselling? CBT?

How far are you in the adoption process BK - you say you had to come off ADs in order to be assessed. Has the assessment started. I don't want to be pessimistic but adoption is a very complex and stressful business, and could very likely increase your anxiety in any event. Have you talked to the social workers about the changes you are trying to make to deal with your anxiety.

You probably know that you will have to undergo a full medical with your GP for an application to adopt, and then the GPs report is sent to the Medical Officer of the LA who interprets the GPs comments and makes a decision whether on medical grounds you are suitable (or not) to adopt. I don't know how long you have been on ADs but it seems you have recently come off them and are in a quandry about this new method you are trying. I have to say that I think this may cause some concern for the assessing social worker.

This process is obviously to protect yourself but more pertinently to protect any child that you may adopt. I think you should have a discussion with your assessing social worker (if you have got that far) and discuss these mental health issues. If you have not yet been allocated a social worker, then ask to talk to a member of the adoption team.

madmouse - I am a counsellor so CBT doesn't work for me, I can see the workings IYSWIM and it doesn't work. The SJW works fine, I just don't want to drop the dose.

NanaNina - I am halfway through homestudy. the agency made me come off ads for a year before they would assess me. I have had my medical. I am not struggling with this, the SJW works fine for me, what I want is to be able to ensure I stick to my current dose.

This is the reply I got from the maufacturer:

The active ingredient in Kira GoodMood is Hypericum dry extract. Each tablet contains 450mg hypericum dry extract.

Hypericin is an analytical marker substance only. The content hypericin in one 450mg tablet is between 540µg - 1260µg.

I can't say this has helped me much, the old tablets said guaranteed hypericin 900mics but apparently the new ones can be anywhere from 540-1260? Seems a big variation.

The Boots tablets show a similar variation. So it is entirely possible that the tablets have not changed, but the information on the leaflet has been changed to confirm with some rule or other.

Hi Banana,

I dont know if you've already sorted your query with the Kira, but hopefully I can help (as you can probably tell by my user name, I'm not a 'mum' but found your post when googling Kira)...

In short, yes Kira as obtained from Boots has changed a little. At the end of 2011 the UK government passed a law that only 'traditional remedies' could be marketed in the UK. The LI160 mix that Kira had contained was not deemed traditional as it had only existed since 1999, and so the 'Kira GoodMood' brand is an older version which qualifies as 'traditional'.

If you're doing OK on the current version, then great, but if not you can source Kira LI 160 online via E-Bay. Internet sales are excluded from the ban on marketting and there are plenty of stockists selling this from within the UK. Dispatch is usually in a few days - the box is different, but it's definetely the same stuff. Hope this helps!