Posted by JohnL on January 17, 2001, at 2:02:26
In reply to Re: st johns wort side effects » mikel, posted by Alli on January 16, 2001, at 14:03:27
Yeah, SJW is an interesting herb. It has so many mechanisms, some of which have been identified and some not. I've tried it several times. Sometimes I got lethargic. Sometimes I got hyper. Sometimes dry mouth and frequent urination, sometimes not. Sometimes teeth grinding, sometimes not. Sometimes it made me feel almost hypomanic, other times it made me more depressed. Sometimes I slept awesome, sometimes I had terrible insomnia. Weird.
SJW prevents the reuptake of serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine. All in approximately equal weighting. Plus it has effects of GABA and glutamine and who knows what else. I don't see how anything--herb or pharmaceutical--could affect so many things and NOT have side effects. In clinical trials however, side effects were about the same as placebo. In the real world, I think side effects are more obvious. I know one lady who really liked SJW because it worked for her, but she ended up quitting because somehow it caused her to have no taste and no smell. That's a weird one.
John
poster:JohnL
thread:51750
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010111/msgs/51839.html