Saint John's Wort for depression?

[Ouro]

Has anyone here tried using St. John's Wort to treat depression? Did you find it helpful? Do you experience in negative side-effects, or dependence with it?

Edited to clarify:

I am very specifically looking for information from people who have tried St. John's Wort and what their experiences were like, I am not currently interested in information about prescription psychiatric medication, and I am aware of the danger of Serotonin Syndrome if SJW is combined with SSRIs or other drugs that work on serotonin, and I am not currently taking any such meds.

Edited March 28, 2015 by Jormungandr

[toastytoast]

hmmmm...I don't think I have. I've tried a bunch of different prescription ones though, if you'd like my opinion on those. like 7 or 8 different ones

[Ouro]

hmmmm...I don't think I have. I've tried a bunch of different prescription ones though, if you'd like my opinion on those. like 7 or 8 different ones

Thanks, but no. I've been on several dozen prescription psych meds of just about every variety over the past twenty years. I know more than I want to know about those and I want nothing to do with just about any of them right now.

[Dusty15]

I've not tried it but I do know it has many negative interactions with other medications so just be extra careful about checking if you take medication for anything else.

[toastytoast]

hmmmm...I don't think I have. I've tried a bunch of different prescription ones though, if you'd like my opinion on those. like 7 or 8 different ones

Thanks, but no. I've been on several dozen prescription psych meds of just about every variety over the past twenty years. I know more than I want to know about those and I want nothing to do with just about any of them right now.

sorry, I know the struggle. good luck!!

[Ouro]

I've not tried it but I do know it has many negative interactions with other medications so just be extra careful about checking if you take medication for anything else.

Yeah, I know. Now that I'm no longer on an SSRI I don't think contraindication is going to be an issue with the few things I'm still on, but I'm going to discuss the safety aspect with my psychiatrist before I try it to be sure. What I'm really interested in here is what experiences people have actually had with it. Although obviously, I appreciate the concern.

[NoV]

My father used to take it for Seasonal Affected Disorder and it worked really well for him. He used to suffer long periods of moderate depression in the later months of winter and taking this certainly used to allow him to cope better. Hope this helps.

[jano]

I've taken it for depression before I got put on medicine, it worked OK-ish for me. Personally, its a more effective sleep-aif than amti-depressant, but it's different for everyone I guess. But I might be a weird case since not even the medicine I'm on is really helping x.x

I found than B12 supplements worked better actually. You can give that a try! Won't hurt since its basically a vitamin!

I wish you good luck Jormungandr <3 <3

[Bubbles]

I have never taken it so can't give you first-hand info, but just wanted to mention that it is a banned drug in Ireland except on prescription, due to side effects, interactions etc.

[JQLovesSneezes]

I've tried it before I got put on prescription medication, and to be honest, it didn't work that well for me. I was taking it once a day consistently and no matter how long I took it for, NOTHING changed. I didn't have any side effects, either. I do know quite a few people who have taken it and it works wonders for them! So feel free to try it, it couldn't hurt. But if you do decide to use it, know that you have to take it consistently or it won't work properly. You should probably talk to your doctor about it first, though, because they may have other treatments that may work better for you. Hope this helped