Has anyone here ever taken St. Johns Wort?
Let me know your thoughts, especially if you have taken it?!
THanks
Answer:
The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) have developed this fact sheet on the use of St. John's wort for depression. It is part of a set of a series intended to help consumers breed informed decisions in the region of whether to use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) for a disease or medical condition. NCCAM define CAM as approaches to health attention to detail that are not currently part of conventional drug as practiced in the United States.a
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Key Points
St. John's wort is an herb that have been used for centuries for medicinal purposes, including to treat depression.
The composition of St. John's wort and how it might work are not ably understood.
There is some experimental evidence that St. John's wort is useful for treating mild to moderate depression. However, recent studies suggest that St. John's wort is of no benefit surrounded by treating major depression of moderate severity. More research is required to relief us know whether St. John's wort has plus in treating other forms of depression.
St. John's wort interacts beside certain drugs, and these interactions can be insecure.
It is important to inform adjectives of your health concern providers about any psychiatric therapy that you are currently using or considering, including any dietary supplements. This is to help ensure a sheltered and coordinated course of care.
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a Conventional pills is medicine as practiced by holders of M.D. (medical doctor) or D.O. (doctor of osteopathy) degree and by their allied health professionals, such as physical therapist, psychologists, and registered nurses. To find out more, see the NCCAM fact sheet "What Is Complementary and Alternative Medicine?"
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is St. John's wort?
St. John's wort (Hypericum perforatum surrounded by Latin) is a long-living plant with ashen flowers. It contains many chemical compounds. Some are believed to be the stirring ingredients that produce the herb's effects, including the compounds hypericin and hyperforin.
How these compounds actually work within the body is not yet particular, but several theories have be suggested. Preliminary studies suggest that St. John's wort might work by preventing nerve cell in the brain from reabsorbing the chemical messenger serotonin, or by reducing level of a protein involved in the body's immune system functioning.
2. For what medicinal purposes have St. John's wort been used?
St. John's wort have been used for centuries to treat mental disorders as ably as nerve headache. In ancient times, doctors and herbalists (specialists in herbs) wrote something like its use as a sedative and treatment for malaria as all right as a balm for wounds, burns, and insect bites. Today, St. John's wort is used by some people to treat mild to moderate depression, anxiety, or sleep disorders.
3. What is depression?
Information on depression is available from the National Institute of Mental Health. Here is a brief overview.
Depression is a medical condition that affects nearly 19 million Americans respectively year. A person's mood, thoughts, physical health, and behavior adjectives may be affected. Symptoms commonly include:
Ongoing downhearted mood
Loss of interest or pleasure in endeavours that the person once enjoy
Significant change contained by appetite or weight
Oversleeping or difficulty sleeping
Agitation or unusual slowness
Loss of dash
Feelings of worthlessness or guilt
Difficulty "thinking," such as concentrating or making decisions
Recurrent thoughts of loss or suicide
Depressive illness comes within different forms. The three major forms are described below. Each can alter from person to party in jargon of symptoms experienced and the severity of depression.
In major depression, inhabitants experience a sad mood or loss of interest or pleasure surrounded by activities for at smallest 2 weeks. In addition, they enjoy at least four other symptoms of depression. Major depression can be mild, moderate, or severe. If it is not treated, it can second for 6 months or more.
In minor depression, people experience equal symptoms as major depression, but they are not as much of in number and are smaller amount disabling. Symptoms last at lowest possible 6 months but less than 2 years continuously.
In dysthymia, a milder, but more chronic form of depression, nation experience a depressed mood for at least 2 years (1 year for children) accompany by at least two other symptoms of depression.
In bipolar disorder, also call manic depression, a person have periods of depressive symptoms that alternate near periods of passion. Symptoms of mania include an strangely high stratum of excitement and energy, race thoughts, and behavior that is unthinking and inappropriate.
Some nation still hold outdated beliefs about depression--for example, that the moving symptoms caused by depression are "not real" and that a personality can merely "will" himself out of it. Depression is a real medical condition. It can be treated effectively beside conventional medicine, including by antidepressant drugs and guaranteed types of psychotherapy (talk therapy).
4. Why is St. John's wort used as an alternative therapy for depression?
Some patients who thieve antidepressant drugs do not experience relief from their depression. Other patients enjoy reported unpleasant side effects from their prescription medication, such as a dry mouth, nausea, headache, or effects on sexual function or sleep.
Sometimes people turn to herbal preparations approaching St. John's wort because they believe "natural" products are better for them than prescription medications, or that organic products are always secure. Neither of these statements is true (this is discussed further below).
Finally, cost can be a reason. St. John's wort costs smaller quantity than many antidepressant medication, and it is sold without a prescription (over the counter).
5. How widely is St. John's wort used for treating depression?
In Europe, St. John's wort is widely prescribed for depression. In the United States, St. John's wort is not a prescription medication, but in that is considerable public interest in it. St. John's wort remains among the top-selling herbal products within the United States.
6. How is St. John's wort sold?
St. John's wort products are sold in the following forms:
Capsules
Teas--the dried herb is added to boiling wet and steeped for a period of time.
Extracts--specific types of chemicals are removed from the herb, disappearing the desired chemicals in a concentrated form.
7. Does St. John's wort work as a treatment for depression?
There have been irrefutable research to try to answer this question.
In Europe, results from various scientific studies own supported the effectiveness of undisputed St. John's wort extracts for depression. An overview of 23 clinical studies found that the herb might be useful surrounded by cases of mild to moderate depression. The studies, which included 1,757 outpatients, reported that St. John's wort was more potent than a placebo (here, a "dummy" pill designed to have no effect) and appeared to produce a lesser amount of side effects than some standard antidepressants (Linde et al. British Medical Journal, 1996).
Other studies conducted recently hold found no benefit from the use of St. John's wort for certain types of depression. For example, the results of a study funded by Pfizer Inc., a pharmaceutical company, found that St. John's wort, when compared next to placebo, was not effectual for treating major depression (Shelton et al. JAMA, 2001).
In enclosure, several components of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)--NCCAM, the Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS), and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)--funded a large, thoroughly designed research study to find out whether St. John's wort extract benefits people beside major depression of moderate severity. This clinical trial (a research study within people) found that St. John's wort was no more potent for treating major depression of moderate severity than placebo (Hypericum Depression Trial Study Group. JAMA, 2002; for further information, scene the press release online at nccam.nih.gov/news/2002/stjohn... or contact the NCCAM Clearinghouse).
8. Are near any risks to taking St. John's wort for depression?
Yes, there are risks contained by taking St. John's wort for depression.
Many so-called "natural" substances can have insanitary effects--especially if they are taken in too significant a quantity or if they interact next to something else the person is taking.
Research from NIH have shown that St. John's wort interacts with some drugs--including infallible drugs used to control HIV infection (such as indinavir). Other research shows that St. John's wort can interact with chemotherapeutic, or anticancer, drugs (such as irinotecan). The herb may also interact beside drugs that help prevent the body from rejecting transplanted organs (such as cyclosporine). Using St. John's wort limitations these drugs' effectiveness.
Also, St. John's wort is not a proven psychiatric therapy for depression. If depression is not adequately treated, it can become severe and, within some cases, may be associated with suicide. Consult a vigour care practitioner if you or someone you charge about may be experiencing depression.
People can experience side effects from taking St. John's wort. The most adjectives side effects include dry mouth, dizziness, diarrhea, nausea, increased sensitivity to sunlight, and fatigue.
9. What are some other possible problems with using St. John's wort?
Herbal products such as St. John's wort are classified as dietary supplements by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a regulatory agency of the Federal Government. The FDA's requirements for carrying out tests and obtaining approval to deal in dietary supplements are less strict than its requirements for drugs. Unlike drugs, herbal products can be sold short requiring studies on dosage, safety, or efficiency. For more information, see the NCCAM fact sheet "What's contained by the Bottle? An Introduction to Dietary Supplements."
The strength and quality of herbal products are normally unpredictable. Products can differ in content not simply from brand to brand, but from batch to load. Information on labels may be misleading or imprecise. For more information on safety issues, see the NCCAM reality sheet "Herbal Supplements: Consider Safety, Too."
10. Is NCCAM funding research on St. John's wort, including for depression and other mental illnesses?
Yes. For example, recent projects supported by NCCAM include:
Safety and effectiveness of St. John's wort for tivetreatmen of minor depression
Safety of St. John's wort for the treatment of social phobia
Effectiveness of St. John's wort for the treatment of extremist compulsive disorder
Effects of St. John's wort on how well birth control pills work
Possible adverse interactions of St. John's wort and narcotic cramp medications
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For More Information
NCCAM Clearinghouse
Toll-free surrounded by the U.S.: 1-888-644-6226
International: 301-519-3153
TTY (for deaf or hard-of-hearing callers): 1-866-464-3615
E-mail: info@nccam.nih.gov
Web site: nccam.nih.gov
Address: NCCAM Clearinghouse, P.O. Box 7923, Gaithersburg, MD 20898-7923
Fax: 1-866-464-3616
The NCCAM Clearinghouse provides information about CAM and in the region of NCCAM. Services include fact sheets, other publications, and search of Federal databases of scientific and medical literature. The Clearinghouse does not provide medical warning, treatment recommendations, or referral to practitioners.
CAM on PubMed
Web site: nccam.nih.gov/camonpubmed/
CAM on PubMed, a database on the Internet developed jointly by NCCAM and the National Library of Medicine, offer citations to (and in most cases, brief summaries of) articles on CAM contained by scientifically based, peer-reviewed journal. CAM on PubMed also links to many publisher Web sites, which may contribute the full text of articles.
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Web site: www.nimh.nih.gov
Toll-free: 1-800-421-4211
E-mail: nimhinfo@nih.gov
Address: 6001 Executive Blvd., Rm. 8184, MSC 9663, Bethesda, MD 20892-9663
NIMH is committed to reducing the burden of mental bad health through research on mental disorders and the underlying basic science of brain and behavior. NIMH provides publications on depression and other illnesses.
Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS), NIH
Web site: ods.od.nih.gov
Address: 6100 Executive Blvd., Bethesda, MD 20892-7517
ODS, whose mission is to explore the potential role of dietary supplements to raise health thinking, promotes the scientific study of dietary supplements through conducting and coordinating experimental research and compiling and disseminating research results. Its public information is offered via its Web site only.
ClinicalTrials.gov
Web site: clinicaltrials.gov
ClinicalTrials.gov provides patients, family unit members, condition care professionals, and member of the public access to information on clinical trials, primarily in the United States and Canada, for a yawning range of diseases and conditions. It is sponsored by NIH and the FDA.
Computer Retrieval of Information on Scientific Projects (CRISP)
Web site: crisp.cit.nih.gov
CRISP is a searchable database of federally funded (including by NIH) biomedical research projects conducted at university, hospitals, and other research institutions.
I have have friends who like it. However, research have shown that L-Tyrosine is more superior. The research was done on morbidly depressed patients. You can snag it at any helth food store.
I took it for three years, and it worked pretty well. Be aware, you will be somewhat sun sensitive while taking it, so wear sunglasses and use so-so protection when you are out in the sun.
It will help yourself to about two weeks to build a even to the point where you will discern the benefits so be patient. Also, depression recurrently masks anxiety, and anxiety is normally one of the major cause of depression, so your anxiety problems could worsen as your depression improves. If to be precise the case you will want to consider dream therapy to get at the cause for your anxieties and deal next to them in a not dangerous environment.
Hey there,
I a short time ago wanted to write and permit you know that i took st johns wort for three years, That stuff works great it didnt make me adjectives tierd and groggy like some of the other medication there are. It made me surface good close to i wanted to stir out and do stuff. I hope that has help you a little bit, But i would strongly recommend to try ou st johns wort first and see how it does for you.
Tari
The medicine and health information post by website user , ByeDR.com not guarantee correctness , is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment for any medical conditions.
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