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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 2 of 2. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by gloria on April 22, 2000, at 9:33:03
Hi John, I see from previous post that you take SJW. I am currently on BuSpar and was wondering if I could add SJW. SJW is what I first started with (Movana was a good one for me) all this anxiety, panic attack crap. Anyway I have been through hell since then, tried just about every AD and did not tolerate them well due to apathy and weight gain. You have probalbly seen my post on here before. I started BuSpar about 3 weeks ago and guess what the little drug that shouldn't is working. I would like to add a little kick to this and thinking back SJW did give me energy. So my question is could these two be combined? Thanks Gloria
Posted by JohnL on April 23, 2000, at 3:20:51
In reply to To John L; St John,s Wort, posted by gloria on April 22, 2000, at 9:33:03
>
> Hi John, I see from previous post that you take SJW. I am currently on BuSpar and was wondering if I could add SJW. SJW is what I first started with (Movana was a good one for me) all this anxiety, panic attack crap. Anyway I have been through hell since then, tried just about every AD and did not tolerate them well due to apathy and weight gain. You have probalbly seen my post on here before. I started BuSpar about 3 weeks ago and guess what the little drug that shouldn't is working. I would like to add a little kick to this and thinking back SJW did give me energy. So my question is could these two be combined? Thanks GloriaGloria,
It would be misleading for me to say it is OK to mix SJW and Buspar. And I doubt any professional knows. Most professionals would probably advize against it based on the fact that they don't know.Having made that disclaimer however, I have to admit I have personally tried SJW in combination with just about everything, including Buspar. (As our mileage varies considerably, my chemistry did not like Buspar). While there are lots of unknown mechanisms of SJW, one of the primary mechanisms we are aware of is reuptake inhibition of serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine, in approximately equal proportions. Combining Buspar with a drug of those characteristics is not a problem.
Buspar has tricky mechanisms. It does affect dopamine. How the combined effects of SJW and Buspar on dopamine work is anyone's guess. It may be overly sedating, it may be overly stimulating, or it may be absolutely wonderful. Just try to be aware that SJW generally does take longer to build up in the system than prescrip drugs, so you'll need a few weeks to a couple months to really make any judgements as to efficacy. But if you have any negative or undesirable reactions early-on, it might be wise to consider discontinuing the trial.
The only way to find out is to try it and see. I would start, as I always do, with very low doses at first. Kind of like dipping one's toes in the water before jumping in. Try a 300mg pill of SJW one morning. See how it goes. If all is well, repeat the next day. When you're comfortable with it, up the dose to 2 pills a day. And so on. You can keep raising the dose up to 9 pills a day--though as you know the usual dose is 3 per day.
Buspar is often combined with other reuptake inhibitor antidepressants as an augmentation strategy, so I don't see any problem in trying it. Just start low and conservative until you've had a chance to feel it out. To keep it in perspective, in the old days they used to mix MAOIs with TCAs and stimulants. Those are pretty heavy-duty combinations, which make Buspar+SJW look like child's play. Though nobody can say for sure, the combination looks pretty safe to me, with a decent potential for good results. :-) JohnL
This is the end of the thread.
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