I had severe depression and this medication was a God send. And no side effects or sexual dysfunction like with SSRIs. Wish more people knew about how wonderful this herb can be.
I took St. John wort for my depression in 2015 it works for me and in 2021 I have a relapse and I’m taking it again. Need to remind myself that once I feel better again to reduce the intake gradually as well....
I have untreated but polar disorder. I started taking SJW two tablets a day, on Saturday... Monday and Tuesday I had moderate anxiety but Wednesday morning I felt calm, happy, peaceful and just plain ok 👌... this is so encouraging I will continue taking SJW!
Hello Mr. Greer, Thank you for the most helpful review. I have a question I am hoping you can help me with. You mentioned that the most active ingredient in SJW is the hyperforin. I have read this elsewhere as well. However, almost ALL of the SJW supplements I am researching say, as the one your shared does, 3% hypericin. Herein lies my confusion. How do I make sure the supplement I am purchasing is high quality? Thank you for your time in advance
Hi Chad, It is hard to tell which over-the-counter products are high quality unless you send them to a lab to verify that they contain the ingredients that they say they contain. That being said, I use a database called "Natural Medicines" that has professional monographs on supplements. This database also provides a "ranking" for certain products. St. John's Wort from Vitamin World, Trader Joe's, Sundown Natural, BIOVEA, Rite Aid, NOW, the Vitamin Shoppe and more had ratings of 9/10.
Question: If the bottle says "St John's Wort Extract 4:1 per capsule = 2000mg", does it mean I'm actually taking a dose of 2000mg of St Johns Wort extract? Or do I have to divide that by 4 to get the actual does im taking (i.e 500mg) per capsule?
The typical dosing of St John's Wort per natural medicines database: "St. John's wort extract is most commonly used in doses of 600-900 mg daily, taken in 2-3 divided doses, for up to 12 weeks" I am unsure which product you are taking and what the labeling means. This is one of the downsides of over the counter products. That being said, if it is 2000 mg, that is a very high dose.
@@DanGreer the product is VitaConcept Johanniskraut (German for St. John's Wort, and I just read the description and it says: "Our St John's wort capsules contain 500 mg St. John's Wort extract 4:1 = 2000 mg St. John's wort powder. We recommend a daily intake of 3 capsules = 6000 mg pure St. John's wort".
@@intermilan6202 That is how long it has been studied and it is considered safe for that time period. Many people use it for longer, but long term studies have not been conducted.
Any idea where to get a GOOD reliable German brand? Form my research most clinical trials were done in Germany and this is where they prescribe it most often over SSRIs
The best that I could find was an old trial from 2001 that compares German St. John's wort preparations (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11486982) In general, well established big brands are fairly consistent in the product that they produce.
It depends on the severity of symptoms and the number of depression relapses. People with multiple relapses into depression often need long-term or life-long treatment. But supplements and medications can be trialed to be tapered off in stable patients.
Every video I’ve watched they say the whole thing about drug interactions being a downfall. No one else explained why (makes your liver enzymes stronger) That was what I needed to know. Thanks so much. Edited to add a question; would adjusting the timing of taking things help or be irrelevant? For example. If you take your SJW at 8am and your other medication at 8pm everyday, could that avoid an interaction or would your boosted liver capabilities ruin it the full 24 hours?
Hi Amanda, thank you for the comment. Very good question. Liver enzymes take about 1 week to return to normal, so separating the dose in the morning vs the evening unfortunately still would not work.
I didn't find an interaction, but I did find a small article that says St. John's wort may elevate thyroid stimulating hormone. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11765308/
Generally depressants, like alcohol, aren't recommended while on antidepressants. There are some potential increases in CNS side effects if taken together
I couldn't find any information saying not to use caffeine with it. Here is a study as well: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15856409/ Please ask your provider for more information
Quite normal. Higher levels of anxiety to start with is very common but this tends to disappear before long and eventually disappear altogether. Works immediately for some people...for others it can aggravate the problems first, before it helps later.
@Always Flying ur right this is almost the same answer i got at every time.. and between 5 htp and SJW which one works the most effectively against anxiety you think ?
Hi Jewel, you are correct. St. John's wort has a major interaction with birth control. It can speed up the breakdown of estrogen and make the pill less effective.
