Topic Title: 15 days on Wort & nothing
| |  "15 days on Wort & nothing"
, Sat 13 Sep 10:17
I am on my 15th day of taking St.John's Wort and here is my experience. Maybe someone can offer me some advice.
Last year, for 9 months i was taking a form of Prozak and it was absoulutly what i needed. It brought me back to my old self again. Along with feeling 'normal again' I was frightened from all of the horror stories regarding witdthdrawl... I weaned myself off over a period of 2 weeks (a bit bitchy was I!!) It worked.
Yes, it brought me back physically to where i used to be before depression took over but unfortunatley i did not deal with some issues in my life and now, after 6 months or so, i am heading down the hill again. I amnow seeing a counselor to resolve some things and it's looking positive, but it will take a long time...
I do not feel St. John's Wort is helping me. I am taking suppliments along with it. I do not want to go back to the Prozac because I have read it can do damage to your liver and that makes some sense to me as I used to sweat alot during my sleep and I feel that was my body fighting the damage...Ever so slight that may be....I would rather keep my body healthy!
I have read that you should give it up to 8 weeks to work, but I have young kids and really find each day to be a major major effort and don't want to be like this in front of them. Prozac is looking better every day.
Thanks for listening and for any adivice you may have.
Posts: 1 | | Registered: Thu 4 Sep 2003 14:12 |
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| | "15 days not long enough" , Thu 2 Oct 18:02
Some of the effects of SJW can be felt immediately, but other benefits take time.
There are several research articles that have shown that two weeks of SJW did not increase beneficial chemicals in the brain, but by 8 weeks, it did. The same time frame is true for SJW restoring the adrenal glands to normal. (they didn't check every day, just at 2 weeks and 8 weeks, so it could have been 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8 weeks). But if you have anxiety or depression, that sounds like a long time.
The advice to take a somewhat higher dose for a short time is good for most people. The biggest known concern at high doses is becoming sensitive to ultraviolet light - but every one is different and some people might experience side effects.
You might also look into taking a low dose of 5htp for a few days to help transition. 5htp is quick acting and effective in boosting serotonin. The net effects are similar to prozac, but the action is different - 5htp puts more serotonin into one end of the pipes, where prozac closes the other end of the pipe and stops serotonin from draining out. Concerns with 5htp - don't mix with SSRI medicines, as it can cause serotonin syndrome. Don't take too much, or for too long - there are some (theoretical) concerns that it could cause a heart valve problem like phen-fen. This has not been observed, but some have raised this as a possibility. I take 5htp (1-2 capsules per day) once or twice a week. When I have aura or cluster headache premonitions, I take it daily for a few days, and then put it away until needed again.
I am also waiting for the SJW to kick in - in the past 6 months, my GAD went to Panic, then a cluster headache cycle without the headaches (but with all the other distinct problems), then irritable bowel, aura (without migraine) and panic again. (My hypothalamus is pretty messed up!!) So I started taking SJW again. It has been two weeks, and I am starting to improve, but haven't made it into the clear yet. Imipramine and other anti-depressants that I could be on also take several weeks to work, and they have more side effects. Some anti-anxiety meds are quick acting (valium, xanax, etc) but these are addicting and I decided that they would be my last resort only.
I took SJW daily for all of 2000 and the first quarter of 2001. During that time, my mood was stable. I did not obsess on stressful situations, and did not collapse in self-pity and depression when I felt a lack of control over things. I did not have cluster headaches that summer. Didn't have panic attacks, and my anxiety was fairly normal. I did not have a cold or flu the entire time. I thought I was over it, and thought it would be good to give my body a break from SJW. I didn't notice any side effects from SJW, just being catious. Since then, I have slid downhill. The slide was slow, almost imperceptable. But if I look at where I am now compared to where I was taking SJW, its clear I have gone way downhill and I need to do something. I will give SJW another month or so. I am optimistic.
Posts: 0 | | Registered: Thu 2 Oct 2003 17:20 |
| | "Re(1):15 days on Wort & nothing" , Mon 22 Sep 09:26
It's perfectly ok to double the 'recommended' dosage of SJW to
1800mg a day if needed. My internist has told me this and gave me a print out from her herbal book she uses with patients, that
says this as well.
I have found I need to take it in the am, because it interfers with my sleep if I take it later in the day, so I take it all at once. right now I take 1200 mg.
Posts: 6 | | Registered: Tue 2 Sep 2003 11:9 |
| | "Re(1):15 days on Wort & nothing" , Thu 18 Sep 16:51
I was talking to a pharmacist yesterday about St. Johns Wort. He said yes, it really works in the same manner as prozac except it is weaker. I was really shocked to get such a positive statement from a medical professional regarding the herb. The pharmacist said that SJW takes 3-6 months to really kick in. That was not my experience, but then again perhaps I will feel quite different in a few more months. I noticed it in 4 days time.
How long did it take for the prozac to kick in last time?
The pharmacist seemed to indicate that it was perfectly safe for an individual to remain on prozac indefinately with bi-annual liver tests.
Why did you get off of prozac? I'd probably try prozac if I had medical insurance and it wasn't so darn expensive. The parmacist did go so far as to say that the side effects of SJW were the same as prozac. That statement is certainly up for debate, though I could see where he is coming from.
Posts: 23 | | Registered: Mon 18 Aug 2003 14:41 |
| | | "Re(2):15 days on Wort & nothing" , Fri 26 Sep 03:37
I stopped taking the prozac because of the fears about my liver and i do not like taking strong medication and i felt this was strong medication because it worked so well and it started to work in 2 days!!
I recently changed my method of taking Wort to only at night and alot of the fatigue did go away. The only other side effects I got from St. John's Wort was slight dizziness/ nausia during the first few days.
Maybe i will double my dose. I'll give it a go for a few days. If it doesn't work I'll go back to the prozac (the exact name was Prozamel, f.y.i.) because i am struggeling too much.
Posts: 2 | | Registered: Thu 4 Sep 2003 14:12 |
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