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Does St. John Worts help for depression


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Apparently it does. One large study found it to be superior to the placebo. They found that it had a similar efficacy to anti-depressants, but with fewer side effects.

 

Just be careful if you are taking any other medications right now. For example, it can reduce the effectiveness of hormonal birth control.

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Apparently it does. One large study found it to be superior to the placebo. They found that it had a similar efficacy to anti-depressants, but with fewer side effects.

 

Just be careful if you are taking any other medications right now. For example, it can reduce the effectiveness of hormonal birth control.

 

I'm not taking any other medications, I am reading up on it. Thank you

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An afternoon at the gym leaves me walking on air. Sunshine has a big affect on me as well. I've been depressed these last two days, and I believe it's because we've had an entire week of rain.

 

Fluoxetine (generic prozac) works well. Most pharmacies sell it for $4 /month supply.

 

St. John's Wort left me with nervous energy, but it's been a very long time since I tried it, and I only used it a week.

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I won't openly agree or disagree with other posters here about St. Johns. People's experiences tend to be quite different.

 

My personal encouragement is to avoid over the counter meds and go for sleep, sunshine, exercise, and intellectual/spiritual/emotional growth. I would hope you would find those to be quite enough.

 

If you do find you need some meds to help with the brain chems, I always recommend seeing a physician before popping any pills. Always. Did I mention always? LOL. It is very important...

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I have never heard of St. Johns Wort being used for depression. I'm going to read up on that. However, I do know that St. John's Wort can be toxic and can cause death if taken with certain other prescribed and OTC meds. Before you take any drug or herb, it's best to talk to your doctor about it, especially if you plan on taking something longterm. & if you are going to take herbal drugs -- which are not backed by the FDA -- then it is best to keep a list of what you take on your person at all times. Herbal medicine isn't prescribed and therefore docs and nurses would not know if you were taking any. Whereas prescribed medicine is usually on record.

 

Hope that helped.

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Just thought I would add what little information I have:

 

 

St johns wort has been proven to be similar to prescription Anti-depressants in effectiveness in a couple of studies, as others have said.

 

Personally, I believe frequent cardio exercise is one of the most effective ways to lift a person's mood. It also reduces anxiety.

 

5htp is also something that many people use... it increases the precursors to serotonin in your system. (sorry if that was covered before.) it is easy to obtain.

 

Also, be sure that you have direct exposure to sunlight at least 15 min a day.

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I have never heard of St. Johns Wort being used for depression. I'm going to read up on that. However, I do know that St. John's Wort can be toxic and can cause death if taken with certain other prescribed and OTC meds. Before you take any drug or herb, it's best to talk to your doctor about it, especially if you plan on taking something longterm. & if you are going to take herbal drugs -- which are not backed by the FDA -- then it is best to keep a list of what you take on your person at all times. Herbal medicine isn't prescribed and therefore docs and nurses would not know if you were taking any. Whereas prescribed medicine is usually on record.

 

Hope that helped.

 

It's not backed by the FDA here but I was told by a doctor that it is the number one prescribed medication by mental health doctors in Germany.

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