Would you take St Johns Wort instead of trying AD's

[ihatethecold]

I would say I have mild depression caused by recent life events that are still ongoing.
I have to go back to my GP today to report back on how I'm feeling.
I'm trying to feel ok and some days I manage well.
Ad's feels like a last resort
I worry about the side effects.
Losing my already low libido
Weight gain
Feeling worse before I feel better.

I've never had them before so I don't know what to expect.

Should I try SJW first??

It's contraindicated with contraceptive pill, so that might give you a short answer!
I was prescribed seretalin, when I specifically asked for ads- when I was in the pharmacy I remembered sjw and bought some too! I came home and read through everything I could find and in the end decided to not take either!
You mention life events and that was definitely the cause of my anxiety/ depression. Is this likely to change? For me it was a perfect storm of things happening rather than a chemical or hormonal situation in me iyswim.
8 months on and I'm on an even and happy keel. I do all the self care I can think of- sleep, diet, exercise and sunlight, busyness and talking to positive people. Definitely go to your GP, but also monitor those factors in your life and ensure you're doing what you can.

Thanks folded, glad to read you are doing better.
I do as much self care as I can after realising I was sinking under all the stress of getting other people better.
In the last year I've had to deal with

10 Suicide attempts by my adult DS
His Psychosis
My dgk being taken into care.
Ongoing SS involvement with his family.
My teenage dd being so severely cyber bullied that we had to involve the police.
My dd now is under camhs for anxiety and is struggling to get into school every day.
My job workload increased 4fold last November.

But as mums we just keep going trying to get our loved ones back to a good place.

I have days when I feel like rubbish.
There's so much to do every day.

Wow OP you have been through a lot in the last year, no wonder you suffering.

I've suffered from mild depression & PND in the past and been subscribed anti-depressants. I was only in them for a short while & they did help but didn't really help with the reason why I was feeling like I did. Therapy was what helped with this.

A few months ago I started to feel down again suffering similar symptoms to the ones you described & reluctant to go back on anti depressants, I also didn't feel that it was bad enough for that. I started taking SJW and 5HTP & I think it has helped me. I feel better, more motivated & less lethargic. I would still go to the Dr and discuss it with them but I think that SJW is a good option to try, it may not work for all but it helped me.

Thanks Champers.
Did you have any side effects from taking AD's ?

I take it! I simply cannot deal with any weight gain as I have pins in one knee and plates in the other ankle and I'm a hillwalker. I use exercise to improve my mood and weight gain would cause pain in the joints and curtail my activity level so I avoid ADs.

Thanks Expat.
Did it take long to make a difference to your mood or ability to cope?

See the thing is, today I feel ok and that I'm coping well. Tomorrow may well be different but I don't know until tomorrow happens.
I'm a positive, outgoing person that everyone keep asking how I'm still standing.

I feel like saying "what choice do I have?"
If I can't fight for my kids MH who will?

Try St. Johns Wort. I get mine from a herbalist and take as a tincture.

I have severe depression (have been hospitalised), have BPD and anxiety. My St. Johns Wort also has lemon balm and rose with it for anxiety.

I have tried almost every anti depressant under the sun and could only tolerate fluoxetine. Some made me hypomanic and other had really bad side effects. Then I was diagnosed with a cardiac arrhythmia which narrowed the field even more.

Whilst not cured of my depression (which I have had since aged 18) I am certainly better on the St Johns Wort than without.

Thank you Claire.

Where do you get it from?

I'm in Germany where it is prescribed commonly by GPs as an alternative to mild depression. I tend to get mild winter depression here so often take it in the winter months in combination with a light box on dull days.

I would recommend that you only take it after consulting your GP. The danger is that people start taking it who are actually more seriously depressed than they think, and then end up not getting the help they need. You've endured a huge burden in the last year, and the doctor needs to formally diagnose you with mild - rather than medium to serious - depression first, I think.

It's contraindicated by several things - the Pill is one. It increases sensitivity to sun. My mum couldn't take it because of her heart medication (but the medication also prevented her drinking cranberry juice!).

A full medical dose for an adult is 900mg per day. You might need to take this as two tablets at 450 each.

I find that it takes about three weeks before I notice any improvement at all, for some people it works quicker. But it's really not something that will work as a one-off (I feel better today so I won't take it, tomorrow I might etc) - you need to be consistent. In that respect, it's no different to standard ADs.

I would imagine less side effects though Arch?
I'm seeing my GP today, I will ask her.