St. John's Wort??

[Krystal_Ivy]

Has anyone here ever used St. Johns Wort? I was thinking about taking it for PMS/depression. I heard some scary side effects though. Anyone ever have any experiences with it, good or bad?

[Lady Bugg]

I have used it.My brother told me about it.....and it actually stablized my

'mood" more than anything.Kind of like an anti depressant without the

prescription. My experience with it was ok.

[Obblhey]

I used it for a little while when I was younger to try and help my ADHD. It didn't really do much one way or the other.

[cpc28655]

Well, as with any other herbal treatment, there is no conclusive proof one way or the other. The best advice I can give you is to do as much research as you can before taking anything.

 

The only herbal treatment I have ever taken was saw palmetto a few years back when I had prostatitis. Something tells me that you won't ever have that problem, lol.

[philosophia]

It has really helped stabilize my mood. I have read it only really works for people with mild depression, you will need more serious meds if you have more than mild depression.

[frangipani1]

I've used it and it helped to stablize my mood. But it's not for everyone.

There have been clinical studies done that show it is only useful in treating mild depression... (it's not useful in treating moderate to severe depression.) I can't remember the dosage though - from memory it needs to be relatively high to get the stabilizing effect and you have to take it over a while (it won't work magically in a couple of days). Apparently in Germany it is a really common prescription. Anyway do some research - also because it can interact with other medications. Good luck!

[shikashika]

be careful if you are on the pill! or use extra protection if you are taking st. johns

[TANKGRL]

My boyfriend and I both tried it and unfortunately it did nothing for us

[Mrs Elliott Smith]

Never tried St. John's Wort-- but I occasionally use Kava Kava for the same purposes. By occasional, I mean that I'll use it every day for a few weeks, or a month, then stop for a couple of months. (I stop taking it because I want to LOWER the risk of harming my body from the herbals.)

 

It honestly has never failed to lighten my spirits a bit and ease the depression.

 

When I did research on the supplement, I found that it is widely used to combat anxiety (as opposed to depression), and its effectiveness has been compared with benzodiazepines.

 

As with any supplement (both herbal and nonherbal), Kava Kava has side effects and can interact with other medications and supplements.

[sidehop]

Krystal, I have but didn't work for me. Though they say you should take this for few weeks like with a lot of herbal supplements to see results.

 

But, I do know what works well is eating two bananas a day. I read some newspaper clipping that my g/f had on a fridge and WOW. I do feel a lot more relaxed and happy for some reason. Bananas have lots of serotonin.

 

Might want to check out this link:

 

link removed