Anyone try St. Johns Wort for depression/anxiety?

**blw** · 03-17-2011 07:35 PM

Hi,

I suffer from depression and have done for several years. I have tried different meds but nothing has made me feel any different from how I feel without them.

I have been hormone (mirena removed) and anti-depressant free for about 2 months (don't feel any better but don't feel any worse - just sort of feel like i am waiting out my life). I have always wondered about St. Johns Wort and if it actually works. I tried 5htp for a few months but that didn't help at all.

I would love to hear from anyone who has tried St. Johns Wort and if it worked for you or not.

Thanks a bunch,

Bonnie

**Seeker_Advice** · 03-18-2011 02:05 PM

There is some evidence that St Johns Wort does relieve the symptoms of depression. The problem is, nobody knows for sure how much as it can vary widely between people. The other concern I would have is NOT knowing what you're getting as far as consistent dosage and where it comes from.

Without products like this being regulated, they're pretty free to do whatever they want as far as manufacturing, claim whatever they want as to what any given product will do and get their 'raw materials' from wherever they want.

Something similar could be said about prescription drugs too, especially if you saw the 50 minutes segment on TV last weekend (a report on hundreds of millions of dollars in phoney prescription drugs) but at least, they are regulated and being aggressively pursued. Which, IMO, is better than nothing.

Perhaps you need to consider revisiting your physician or a psychiatrist (who specializes in treatments of the brain). I have battled depression my entire adult life and was on seven different anti-D drugs until I/we found one or two that worked, in the right dosage without sexual treatment effects.

**ItsASecret** · 03-18-2011 02:58 PM

First and foremost trust nothing bought off of a "legit" online pharmacy. Think about it, buying a random drug off the internet should set off red flags.

The next thing to consider is the dose. When it comes to herbs what the seller of the herb does not want a person to know is that the actual dose needed to cause the supposed effects is actually several times greater than anyone should be taking. Taking large amounts of anything can be very very dangerous and should be avoided. When you hear of these research studies about St. Johns Wort and other herbals what they do is find a chemical and isolate it, and throw it into rats at several different doses and see what happens. If something happens they say "it is plausible to say this has some effects", what they also note is that they needed to magnify that dose several times than the actual dose that is in the original plant. Current research into St. Johns Wort will report cases when they note good effects from it, but again they let people know that it is not guaranteed to work the same way in them and they also will not say that it is a proven cure.

This applies to nearly all herbal 'remedies'. They say "oh take St. Johns Wort it cures depression", but in actuality the dose that MAY cause some help is several times what is available in the brand you buy. You cannot get the dose from a store bought plant that will give the same plausible results as that of a research lab. The lab variety of the actual chemical they think is responsible for the effects is going to be much greater than what is in the actual plant. This is why so many herbals work by the placebo effect, you think you are getting better when really there is no scientific reason for it (reason being the bought variety is so so so low in concentration). Granted if the placebo effect is encountered it is not a bad thing because that person feels better which was the whole point to begin with.

Your best bet would be to talk to your doctor again. Antidepressants do not work quickly, they take sometimes a few months to kick in. Another thing is to try other types if one brand has not worked. And if you truly insist on a herb to try ask your doctor if they know of a legitimate seller of something like St. Johns Wort, do not go to the internet to buy something. Ask a doctor if they know of a store that is certified to sell things, if there is a herbalist (preferrebly with a doctorate) that you can do see.

**auntie_awesome** · 03-18-2011 04:33 PM

Years ago I took it, but it did not help. Anti-depressants take time and you have to be patient. They do not work overnight...AND there are SO many combinations sometimes it just takes a bit.

But also.....you can't just rely on a pill. You have to try to help yourself with counseling, coping techniques and other methods that you find relaxing that help.