| |  "St John's Wort 5 weeks update"
, Thu 6 May 03:55
Since I found out a lot about St John's Wort here on this site I thought I would report how things have been going week by week over the 5 weeks I've been taking it. I must stress that I do not believe my progress is entirely attributable to the herb. I have been seeing a counsellor as well and the particular reasons why my depression and anxiety were triggered are beginning to resolve themselves. On top of this, the incredible support I have received from family, friends, work colleagues and others who I hardly know, has been very good. I must also say that indulging in activities such as fishing, bike riding, picnics, swimming etc have also helped. I believe that the herb HAS helped my mood in conjunction with these things. I believe that it helped me to start doing these things and interacting with people better. Basically, it enhanced the skills I used to have and the ones taught to me in therapy. I should also add (sorry, keep thinking of other things) that I have cut out caffeine based drinks and products and believe this is handy. I take the herb as presribed on the bottle, with meals three times a day and with a glass of water. I may increase dosage to 4 per day soon - just as a boost. Lastly, I live in Australia, I was taking Blackmores brand and it is quite well tested and has a good rep. It seemed to be doing me well but I didn't know the Hyperforin levels and Perika seemed like a very well tested brand so I switched. The switch caused me a few upsets for about 7-10 days, including a particularly low mood, but since then the adjustment seems to be taking place and hopefully my mood and personal skills continue to improve. Anyway, here's the run down, week by week, short but hopefully helpful:
Week 1: First day had those immediate effects of something new being introduced to the body and brain. After this it was patchy and I encountered mild headaches that sometimes had a pounding effect for a short time. Expect adjustments and put in the efforts of exercise and CBT or other therapy you're using.
Week 2: A smoothing out of the adjustments. Still moody but the "edge" had been taken off a few things.
Week 3: A decent week, really started feeling like myself again.
Week 4: Made the switch in brands and paid a small price for a little while. However, the first day on Perika I was virtually whacked! Pretty funny. Nice feeling. Then, I paid the small price I spoke about for longer than I expected.
Week 5: Some anxieties present due to change in brands and change in personal circumstances. Thankfully, this only lasted 2 days as the circumstances changed for the better and perhaps the new brand's effects too (but the same might have happened had I have stuck to the Blackmores brand). For the past 3 days I have felt very well! And this was not the first time in the last 5 weeks but it is certainly the most consistent.
Add Note: For those of you who do not have the type of support I spoke about above from family, friends, etc, I can empathise. 6 Years ago I had major depression and virtually noone to lean on. It's very hard and I did it without any medication or herb supplement whatsoever. I recovered well for a while but slowly slipped back to this point, which has been positive. I can only say that getting involved in community and social things helped break me out of that pattern over a 2-5 year basis to the point that when I slipped this time people were there for me. Get that support wherever you can and NEVER give up! :)
Posts: 4 | | Registered: Thu 8 Apr 2004 1:0 |
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