Topic Title: help needed/2 questions
| |  "help needed/2 questions"
, Thu 1 Sep 03:58
Hi all,
I`m 35 years old and I have been diagnosed with endogenous depression 10 years ago. Have been taking Elavil ( TCA, low dosage) and Valium(also low dosage), with good results, for over 6 years but they began to loose effectiveness a year ago so I decided to give up on antidepressants altogether. The withdrawal was hell and went on for 9 months. At this point I`m drug free but my state of mind is deteriorating: my main problems are that I generally feel foggy, my mind is far of being clear, lack of focus, short time memory impaired, lack of motivation, and moderately anxious.
I`ve been browsing the net for the last month trying to make up my mind on the remedy I should try and decided for SJW.
I have 2 questions and would appreciate any advice:
Is SJW effective on the symptoms above?
Is there any difference between Hypericum and Hyperforum? (The brand I bought has 250mg Hypericum/pill but doesn`t say anything about Hyperforum).
Thank you for any comment.
Posts: 0 | | Registered: Thu 1 Sep 2005 3:28 |
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| | "Question for dania" , Fri 2 Sep 05:45:
A question for Dania, what dosage of Elavil were you taking, and did it work for you? I'm interested because I was recently prescribed a low dosage of Elavil at 25mg which didn't work and now I am taking 50mg at night though the doctor wants to increase it to 75mg. How long did it take to work for you? Any info welcome.
[this message was edited by word72 on Fri 2 Sep 14:27]
Posts: 59 | | Registered: Fri 8 Oct 2004 2:44 |
| | | "Re(1):Question for dania" , Sat 3 Sep 03:00
Hi word72,
I`ve been taking 50mg of Elavil(2 pills) and 10 mg(1 pill) of medazepam(similar to valium) daily for 6-7 years: half Elavil(12,5mg) + half medazepam in the morning, same dosage in the afternoon and 25mg(one pill) of Elavil before going to bed.
It worked for me almost immediately, within one week or so and kept on working very well for a long time. I was very active, calm and felt my mind clear. I didn`t experience any side effects till lately.
The big problem was to give up on taking them; I tapered down for 9 months (although the doctor gave me a 3 weeks schedule). The withdrawal was pretty bad and went on all along the withdrawal plus another 3 months. I think it was mainly because of the medazepam though(as I understood benzodiazepines do that).
I`m happy if I helped. If I can answer you any other question please feel free to ask.
Did you try SJW?
Dania
Posts: 1 | | Registered: Thu 1 Sep 2005 3:28 |
| | | "Re(2):Question for dania" , Sun 4 Sep 12:02
Thanks for your reply. Glad to hear that the Elavil worked for you so soon, I have not found any improvement and I've been taking it for 6 weeks now. At first I was on a low dose 25mg, maybe too low, and went up to 50mg a week ago. I took SJW for a year and it worked well at first but at the end the effectivness had worn off. Interesting to hear someone else's experience of taking Elavil as I do not know many people taking this medicine.
Posts: 59 | | Registered: Fri 8 Oct 2004 2:44 |
| | | "Elavil" , Mon 5 Sep 15:57
Hi Word, I don`t think you should continue on Elavil if it didn`t show to be effective in 6 weeks time. Elavil acts on norepinephrine and serotonin while SJW is supposed to work on dopamine too. I am not a doctor but I think if you had a good reaction on SJW and not that good on Elavil; you should maybe look for something acting equally on dopamine. Check on Tianeptine or Selegiline ( I tried Tianeptine, that was supposed to be great - there are very successful stories on forums of people who took it - but didn`t work for me). These are the only 2 antidepressants, as long as I know, that shouldn`t have side effects. …just an idea…
Posts: 2 | | Registered: Thu 1 Sep 2005 3:28 |
| | "Re(1):help needed/2 questions" , Thu 1 Sep 08:25
My personal experience is that sjw helps with all of the symptoms you mentioned, but that I am still left with a lot of problems with motivation. I have noticed others on the forum seem to need something more than sjw to help with significant anxiety. Hypericum is a name for St. John's Wort. Hypercin and hyperforin are thought to be its active constituents, but I'm not sure that anyone knows exactly how either one works. Some people have luck with hypercin based formulas, but from what I have read more seem to be helped by formulas that are also standardized for hyperforin. Hypercin standardized brands are widely available. Brands double-standardized for hyperforin and hypercin are for the most part available only in health food stores or online. Your label should state the percent of hypercin and/or hyperforin -- if it just mentions hypericum that does not tell you the amount of active ingredient, since that is the whole herb, and the brand may not be standardized.
Posts: 37 | | Registered: Sat 7 May 2005 17:9 |
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