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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 6 of 6. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Sunflower7771 on February 14, 2001, at 9:57:41
I want to start taking St. Johns Wort, used it before and worked better than the Celxa I am on now. I am down to 5 mg of Celxa, how long do I need to wait before I start taking St. jOhns Wort.
Any ideas, or links to Websites with this info.
Thanks
Posted by SalArmy4me on February 14, 2001, at 10:45:31
In reply to Celexa to St. Johns Wort, posted by Sunflower7771 on February 14, 2001, at 9:57:41
St. John's Wort is a weak inhibitor of serotonin. I may be effective for someone who feels bad every once in a while, but not for people with major depressive disorders.
If the St. John's Wort doesn't work, do not be afraid to ask for help from a doctor. They do care, despite what everyone else thinks. :)
> I want to start taking St. Johns Wort, used it before and worked better than the Celxa I am on now. I am down to 5 mg of Celxa, how long do I need to wait before I start taking St. jOhns Wort.
> Any ideas, or links to Websites with this info.
> Thanks
Posted by Bill L on February 14, 2001, at 12:56:41
In reply to Celexa to St. Johns Wort, posted by Sunflower7771 on February 14, 2001, at 9:57:41
Here's my 2 cents. I am doing very well on a combination of Celexa and SAM-e. My med history was- first St John's Wort, then Prozac, then SAM-e, now SAM-e with Celexa.
Maybe you should consider taking SJW along with Celexa. Of course the doses should start low since you have to watch out for serotonin syndrome. Your doctor should advise you on this.
Although I never tried that combo, it sounds like it may have worked for me. The SJW did a decent job for my depression but didn't help my anxiety. The SAM-e also helped my depression to a fair degree but not anxiety. Adding Celexa gave me the extra boost I needed for anxiety and depression.
So if you think that the combo might work, consult with your doctor. The Celexa will work mostly on Serotonin, and the SJW may help balance out other neurotransmitters.
> I want to start taking St. Johns Wort, used it before and worked better than the Celxa I am on now. I am down to 5 mg of Celxa, how long do I need to wait before I start taking St. jOhns Wort.
> Any ideas, or links to Websites with this info.
> Thanks
Posted by roo on February 14, 2001, at 13:48:54
In reply to Re: Celexa to St. Johns Wort, posted by Bill L on February 14, 2001, at 12:56:41
How do you determine what the right dosage of
sam-e is for yourself?
Posted by Sunflower7771 on February 14, 2001, at 15:08:44
In reply to Re: Celexa to St. Johns Wort, posted by Bill L on February 14, 2001, at 12:56:41
How much Celexa and Same are you taking?
> Here's my 2 cents. I am doing very well on a combination of Celexa and SAM-e. My med history was- first St John's Wort, then Prozac, then SAM-e, now SAM-e with Celexa.
>
> Maybe you should consider taking SJW along with Celexa. Of course the doses should start low since you have to watch out for serotonin syndrome. Your doctor should advise you on this.
>
> Although I never tried that combo, it sounds like it may have worked for me. The SJW did a decent job for my depression but didn't help my anxiety. The SAM-e also helped my depression to a fair degree but not anxiety. Adding Celexa gave me the extra boost I needed for anxiety and depression.
>
> So if you think that the combo might work, consult with your doctor. The Celexa will work mostly on Serotonin, and the SJW may help balance out other neurotransmitters.
> > I want to start taking St. Johns Wort, used it before and worked better than the Celxa I am on now. I am down to 5 mg of Celxa, how long do I need to wait before I start taking St. jOhns Wort.
> > Any ideas, or links to Websites with this info.
> > Thanks
Posted by Bill L on February 15, 2001, at 7:17:14
In reply to Re: Celexa to St. Johns Wort, posted by Sunflower7771 on February 14, 2001, at 15:08:44
I'm taking 300 mg SAM-e and 20 mg Celexa. The average dose of Celexa is about 30 mg. Children are often given 10 mg.
I read Richard Brown's book on SAM-e. He is a psychiatrist at Columbia University in NY. He starts people at 200 to 400 mg of SAM-e. Then they can go up as high as 1600 mg, but if they need more than 800, he often combines the SAM-e with a prescription antidepressant. In his book he said that he combines SAM-e with many different AD's except MAOI's. Also, he doesn't use it on bipolar patients.
When I added Celexa, I reduced the SAM-e from 400 mg to 300 mg based on how I felt. The good thing about dosing with SAM-e is that the results are felt quickly.
For SJW, a couple of years a go they were saying 900 mg per day (300 mg 3 times a day standardized to 0.3% hypericum). Now, they seem to be recommending up to double that amount in more severe cases of depression. It may take a while to get the right dose because it can take 2 or 3 months to get the full effect. If I were to go the SJW route again, I would probably take 3 pills a day (each pill containing 450 mg SJW standardized to 0.3% hypericum). I would take that along with 10 mg of Celexa to start. Then maybe move up to 20 mg if necessary.
Be aware that SJW may make birth control pills less effective. It also has MAOI activity (theoretically) but I don't think that has caused any problems in practice. It's very important to use a well known and well trusted brand of SJW since they vary greatly in quality and reliability of the dosage stated on the label.
> How much Celexa and Same are you taking?
>
> > Here's my 2 cents. I am doing very well on a combination of Celexa and SAM-e. My med history was- first St John's Wort, then Prozac, then SAM-e, now SAM-e with Celexa.
> >
> > Maybe you should consider taking SJW along with Celexa. Of course the doses should start low since you have to watch out for serotonin syndrome. Your doctor should advise you on this.
> >
> > Although I never tried that combo, it sounds like it may have worked for me. The SJW did a decent job for my depression but didn't help my anxiety. The SAM-e also helped my depression to a fair degree but not anxiety. Adding Celexa gave me the extra boost I needed for anxiety and depression.
> >
> > So if you think that the combo might work, consult with your doctor. The Celexa will work mostly on Serotonin, and the SJW may help balance out other neurotransmitters.
> > > I want to start taking St. Johns Wort, used it before and worked better than the Celxa I am on now. I am down to 5 mg of Celxa, how long do I need to wait before I start taking St. jOhns Wort.
> > > Any ideas, or links to Websites with this info.
> > > Thanks
This is the end of the thread.
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