Posted by Larry Hoover on October 22, 2002, at 4:24:46
In reply to Does SAM-e affect BCP usage?, posted by WorryGirl on October 21, 2002, at 22:40:09
> I have some SAM-e and St. John's Wort stashed in my closet (which I never tried because I became pregnant soon after buying them). Some time ago I heard that one of them (St. John's Wort?) can render birth control pills useless (or at least less reliable).
> Has anyone heard about this possible side effect?This applies only to St. John's wort. It induces (increases activity) the enzyme identified as 3A4, increasing the rate of the breakdown of substrates of that enzyme, including birth control hormones. There is a slight increase in failure rate for this type of contraception, and the possibility of break-through bleeding.
> Also, how soon could I expect to see results taking either one of these (for depression and anxiety)?
SAMe, same day, with improvement over two weeks.
SJW, possible immediate effect, with main effect occurring after 2-4 weeks. Doseage of SJW can be increased beyond the recommended label dose. There is no known overdose level for SJW. Side effects are the only known limit to dose (within reason).
> Thanks in advance.
>
> PS - I am amazed that any doctor has never heard of SAM-e. I bought mine at Wal-mart, and in my opinion, if it can be bought there, who wouldn't know about it?Doctors average three hours on nutrition-related subjects in med school(according to one of those little factoids that are rampant on the net), and a lot of that is wrong or misguided, anyway. Nutrition is taught from the perspective of avoidance of deficiency disease, not optimization of individual health.
Regards,
Larry
poster:Larry Hoover
thread:124527
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20021019/msgs/124642.html