St Johns Wort or 5-HTP??

[alexa1]

Hi. I have Just been to Holland & Barratt and asked about the best remedy for depression/anxiety and she reckons 5-HTP, but it is expensive. I didn't buy as it was dear but I wanted know if any of u have had good results with it. She said I could take alongside the SJW and advised me to take at bedtime 1 0r 2 tablets. .She also advised me to buy rescue remedy which I declined as it's pants, and a vitamin B6 comlex.

Any suggestions, shall I Just stick with the SJW for a while longer (it's only been 2 days), or should I go for the ones she said.

Thanks for any advice

There has been a lot of research done into St. John's wort Anaconda, much funded by the German Gov.t where it is much prescribed by doctors, and it is as effective as the SSRI's such as Prozac, Citalopram etc for medium/mild depression, not to mention having much fewer/less severe side effects.
It acts (IIRC) both as an SSRI and a MAOI, so if you were to take 5HTP as well, I'd have thought that it should only be done under supervision, since otherwise it could cause problems. Ditto avoid red wine; strong matured chees; and too much red meat as far as I remember.....

Donk - The woman in Holland & Barratt said I could take the ST Johns & 5-HTP together and when I asked her if it might be a bit much, she said not at all as long as I only took the 1 tablet of 5-HTP. She also recommended vit B6.

Does anyone know if these people are properly trained/qualified? I would imagine they are to work for a well known shop like H&B.

I think that some are trained, and some not. I'm not sure that I would mix the two myself, but then I try not to mix too much in general iyswim.

I am always amazed at how herbal medicine can bring such a range of reactions - I know that I did speak to my GP at the time, and he said that although he couldn't be seen to recommend them, that he had seen them had a good effect on people, and wouldn't say not to take them.

SJW works well and in same way (similar effect on brain chemistry) as some of the prescription ADs - but like them you need to take it for a couple of weeks before you are going to see any effect.
Don't know about side effects etc - herbal medicines contain active ingredients, they often work in the same way and cannot be considered to be safe just because they are natural. Aspirin contains the same chemical as willow bark, but one is pure and one isn't.
Anything you take can interfere with other medications that you are on and you need to speak to someone who knows what they are doing.
If I were you, I'd either a) see a medical herbalist to advise me about herbal antidepressants or b) see a GP to advise me about conventional antidepressants rather than c) see a shop assistant in holland and barretts who may be interested more in selling you something.

i dont think the staff in holland and barrett are trained to do anything other than sell stuff,but in the same way im beginning to think that gps are doing the same thing on behalf of the pharmesutical industry(soz cant spell)

If it were me I would either see a GP who is sympathetic and knowledgeable about herbs (if you're lucky enough to have one) or a trained medical herbalist. Second best (And what I acutally did at the time as I did not have access to either of the above - an extensive literature search to look at the research........
Sadly I no longer have all the articles/links etc or I would forward them.

I have a planned phone call with my GP today about my depression, she prescribed Citrolpram, which i decided not to take untill my thyroid levels are sorted out (thanks to advice on here). However I was thinking about taking sjw and running it past her today on the phone, so I will also see what she has to say, if anything, about 5-htp and report back. She's quite clued up on alternative stuff, so I would value her opinion.

Glad to hear you're talking to your GP about all of this and that they're helping you. Good luck and hope you feel better soon.

Glassofwine - Thanks. Please let me know what your GP says. I didn't think GP's were that clued up on herbal medicine.

I took Citrlropram and thought the side effects were horrendous. This is why I am going down the herbal route.

The lady in Holland & Barratt reckons it's safe to take SJW and 5-HTP together although I have bought both, I am a bit reluctant to take them both, she also advised a vitamin B complex too.

Anyway, not sure if she was Just after a sale or she genuinely knows her stuff.

alexa1 - think it depends on the GP - some are very into alternative/complementary medicine and some aren't. Need to 'shop around' and find someone who thinks along the same wavelength as you - there are lots out there and even some of the proper 'old school' types (like my FIL!) are prepared to keep an open mind!!

Ok, have spoken to GP this afternoon and she was very pro sjw, said that they are not able to prescribe it, but there have been clinical trials that have shown it to work with mild to moderate depression. She agreed that it was the best route for me to try, but as has been said earlier in thread they have to watch out for it conflicting with other meds. She didn't know mutch about 5-htp and suggested that as sjw had had a lot of research it might be a safer route to go.

Sadly my new thyroid test shows that its now at a good low level, which means that if my depression was only due to thyroid problems I wouldn't be having it now. Still feeling positive as I can try the sjw and luckily I'm not too bad.

Fantastic that you've agreed a way ahead. You've started treatment now so really things can only get better - if it had been the thyroid then I'm guessing would have meant lifelong medication whereas with ADs not likely to need them permanently. Good luck!

I know this is an old thread but some really interesting points here on the use of 5HTP in particular. I used 5HTP for the last few years and have not noticed any lasting side effects (except initially). But I was advised by someone in the shop a while back to pause the 5HTP every couple of months for a week or two, which I have done and I think has helped my body to have a bit of a 'breather'. I don't think it's good to keep taking any supplement every single day for long periods of time. I have moved over now from tablets to patches now because they are supposedly slow release. This has helped me I think to keep my serotonin levels stable rather than up and down (as you get with tablets).

Be careful here - 5HTP is NOT serotonin. The serotonin molecule is far to big to cross through the membranes separating the blood and the brain.
5- hydroxy-tryptophan is a precursor to serotonin, and is small enough to cross into the brain cells which can then use it to create serotonin.

Think this might what is known as a zombie thread? (Ie dormant but I'm resurrecting it)?!

Anyway. What is this 5-HTP stuff?

I tried 5HTP after I came off my first antidepressant for a month afterwards.I found it cheaper on online from amazon. Then after I stopped that I switched to SJW.

I'm on new Antidepressants so not taking either now.