Posted by JLx on October 1, 2005, at 16:41:56
In reply to *HIGH* Dose St.John's Wort...questions, posted by med_empowered on October 1, 2005, at 11:44:41
> hey everyone. I've been on a A LOT of meds with limited success...anyway, I'm dealing with a problem variably described as "Mood Disorder NOS" or bipolar disorder NOS (somehow, with all the diangoses in the DSM, I still end up in the "what the hell is wrong with you?" pile). So, since I've had so many problems with conventional meds--weight gain/loss, withdrawal, hairloss, cognitive blunting, insomnia/hypersomnia, etc. etc.--I've decided to try "alternative" stuff. I visited a friend of a friend--she does herbal medicine and nutrition stuff, and makes referalls to "alternative" shrinks and what not-- and she recommended *HIGH* dose (max: 5,400mgs) saint john's wort. I was taken aback, so I did some research on it before I dove in; turns out, there have been some studies using high doses that compared favorably to antidepressants, even the tricyclics (this is important b/c tricyclics have an "edge" in more serious, endogenous forms of depression and anxiety compared to the SSRIs, and that's the form of depression..or whatever...that I deal with). So, I've been doing this for a week, maybe 2, and...I feel really, really good. Not manic--I sleep better, and my thoughts are calm but coherent--and not "wired"; just...better. My anxiety is much improved, the depression less so (but I'm able to leave the house and do stuff, which is helping me work on the depression at a social level). I haven't really noted any side effects...I wear an SPF-15 anyway, so I haven't had any photosensitivity issues. Does anyone have experience with this kind of dosing, or any advice, comments, suggestions? I'd really appreciate any and all input I can get.
Standard dose is 900 mg, twice that is considered a high dose. You're taking 6 times a standard dose. Were you told a rationale for this particular number?
I think I might be concerned about effects to the liver and take milk thistle to help support it.
What brand SJW are you taking? I found this comment interesting from a SJW discussion site, where Perika and Kira are the preferred brands apparently:
"Perika and Kira are produced by different pharmaceutical companies in Germany. According to an article written by Wurglics et al for the Journal of American Pharmacology (cited elsewhere on Kelly's site) Perika has higher hyperforin content and a comparably low hypericin content. Kira has hyperforin/hypericin contents that are more balanced. I believe some people like Perika more because the higher hyperforin content seems to provide a needed boost for their personality type. I believe some people don't have a good reaction to the high hyperforin content, which seems to make them feel like they are more moody than before. When Perika works for people, they really rave about it, but Kira seems to have fewer complaints associated with it." http://www.sjwinfo.org/
I tried SJW some years back. Or maybe I didn't given all the publicity there has been about labs testing various brands and finding great disparities in actual content.
JL
poster:JLx
thread:561589
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20050924/msgs/561673.html