hiya!

[Macca]

Hello people, I dont know where to start but Ive recently confronted my problem with depression by telling my parents which was hard to do. I have known for a while now and admitted it sometime ago but only really tried to deal with it lately when I started getting panicky as well. My doctor said that I needed some kind of help to get me through it and we agreed that anti depressants wasnt the way to go and she recommended SJW. Ive only been on it for less then a week now and I thought it was working but maybe I was tricking myself. I think I need to give it more time. My only concern is with the brand. I live in England and bought the SJW from Holland and Barrett because they were having a sale. Its the HERB Tech one, but Ive not seen it mentioned on the website yet. I was wondering if anyone had experience with this brand and could recommend it or not? any suggestions will be greatly appreciated!

[David]

Haven't taken that brand myself, but I'm certain that others must have had experiences with it - perhaps try searching the archived posts from the old forum??

Most critically, what does it say on the bottle?? By that I mean, what is the concentration of the active ingredient? How many mg are there in each tablet? How many tablets are you supposed to take each day?

Ideally, you are looking for about 1000mg of hypericum perforatum (SJW) per day, at a hypericin (active ingredient) concentration of 0.3% which will provide you with 3000ug (or 3mg) of hypericin per day.

Unfortunately, many brands are less than clear about the above on their bottles and it can take some "decoding" and arithmetic to work out if you are taking the correct dosage or not...

Many people do feel almost an "instant effect" when they start out on SJW, but generally, it takes 6 to 8 weeks to really start working and for the effects to be stable.

I'm also from The UK and have been using a brand called "Quest Vitamins" for a number of years now with success.

Welcome to the forums and good luck!

[Macca]

Hi david,

Thanks for your advice. I think that the active ingredients and dosage are of the right level, and I believe that it is doing me some good. I seem to be a bit calmer and more able to think things through a bit better, especially my emotions.

I supoose the worry for me was that Ive read alot about research grade, and hyperforin, and having the whole extract and not just parts of it etc etc.

I think Im with the right brand, and its not caused me any side effects yet so i suppose Ill stick with it. As its all new to me and seems to be somewhat of an unregulated herb I was looking for a bit of confidence which I think you've given me.

As it is I think im doing well and more in control, I think I should carry it out for the full 8 weeks first though before I reach any definate conclusions!

cheers


Macca