Help St John's Wort - help please (anxiety question..)

[LittleJem]

St John's Wort - advice please if you can. So I have been taking if for about 2 weeks, and it has got rid of my suicidal thoughts which were constant. Then two days ago, very heightened anxiety. My ex husband thinks I should stay on it and wait it out, in case it settles. I don't know if it will settle or if it will get worse. From internet research, I see two cases of St John's Wort giving panic attacks, and there is nothing about anyone who "powers through" anxiety and then it levels out (as there is with some medication). I have been off it now for a day - and feel fear but not the suicidal thoughts. But I find the fear (and anxiety) pretty unbearable. Thoughts greatly appreciated.

 

[Jean4]

St. John's is tricky. Please discuss it with your doctor. It can interact with other medications you are taking, and can interact with multiple medications including HIV and antidepressants.

 

[LittleJem]

St. John's is tricky. Please discuss it with your doctor. It can interact with other medications you are taking, and can interact with multiple medications including HIV and antidepressants.

thanks - I'm not on any other medications at the moment. I tried two prescription ADs and they didn't work. St John's Wort was working better - then this added anxiety. The anxiety is the worst. If I knew it would pass I would try and sit it out, but my feeling is it will get worse and worse.
I research everything - I mean everything - before I take it. I'm pretty bedridden with depression, so that is all I do most days. That and suicide chatgroups :)

 

[Jean4]

thanks - I'm not on any other medications at the moment. I tried two prescription ADs and they didn't work. St John's Wort was working better - then this added anxiety. The anxiety is the worst. If I knew it would pass I would try and sit it out, but my feeling is it will get worse and worse.
I research everything - I mean everything - before I take it. I'm pretty bedridden with depression, so that is all I do most days. That and suicide chatgroups :)

I would still discuss it with your doctor, due to the side effects and medical ailments you have. For example due to my asthma and respiratory issues, I cannot take it.

I am not saying it is bad. Just tricky and it wouldn't be ethical for anybody to give medical advice over the internet and possibly cause you harm.

 

[LittleJem]

I would still discuss it with your doctor, due to the side effects and medical ailments you have. For example due to my asthma and respiratory issues, I cannot take it.

I am not saying it is bad. Just tricky and it wouldn't be ethical for anybody to give medical advice over the internet and possibly cause you harm.

My doctor said they don't advise on it and don't prescribe it! They also just don't know that much, frankly. My new GP is better, but my old one barely knew about anti-depressants. In the UK barely any of them receive professional training in mental health, despite the fact that 40% of their patients attend the doctors due to mental health. You can find out more on the internet then from the GP.

There are hardly any anecdotes online about anxiety and SJW - some people say they had heightened anxiety and came off. There is no-one saying they had anxiety and it passed. But if it would pass, this is hte best treatment I've found so far.

That's interesting - re SJW and respiratory issues - is that because it isn't compatible with your other medication? I have some lung issues, but not on medication for them.

 

[Jean4]

My doctor said they don't advise on it and don't prescribe it! They also just don't know that much, frankly. My new GP is better, but my old one barely knew about anti-depressants. In the UK barely any of them receive professional training in mental health, despite the fact that 40% of their patients attend the doctors due to mental health. You can find out more on the internet then from the GP.

There are hardly any anecdotes online about anxiety and SJW - some people say they had heightened anxiety and came off. There is no-one saying they had anxiety and it passed. But if it would pass, this is hte best treatment I've found so far.

That's interesting - re SJW and respiratory issues - is that because it isn't compatible with your other medication? I have some lung issues, but not on medication for them.

It is a stimulant which can cause issues with the respiratory system. Another side effect is Xerostomia, otherwise known as anxiety due to the fact it is a stimulant. ;)

 

[LittleJem]

It is a stimulant which can cause issues with the respiratory system. Another side effect is Xerostomia, otherwise known as anxiety due to the fact it is a stimulant. ;)

yep, I think that is the anxiety I'm experiencing. Thanks for your knowledge.

 

[SneekUponIt]

When I tried St. Johns Wort, I had the same chemically induced anxiety/panic type feelings for the first month or so, and then they tapered down to my normal level. The reason I had to quit taking it was because it was over-stimulating me mentally, and I eventually couldn't sleep on it. Not anxious stimulation anymore but a kind of hyper feeling like I had taken way too much caffeine, without the caffeine jitters though, if that makes sense. This is coming from someone who used to be prescribed Concerta(an NDRI) for ADD, and I could always sleep fine once it wore off, and got no anxiety from it, except for an hour or two when it was wearing off.

I think maybe the fact that St. Johns Wort is a mild maoi contributed to the lack of sleep, as I didn't take care to monitor everything I eat to ensure it doesn't contain either tyramine or tyrosine...forget which one causes over stimulation if you eat too much foods containing it, while taking an anti-depressant with maoi properties.
Overall if it wasn't for the not sleeping thing(and I tried using more medical marijuana than usual to sleep, when usually a few tokes gets me to sleep), I probably would have stayed on it. It was really helping me not to care about my thoughts as much, and it's the only anti-depressant I've tried that works on serotonin which didn't cause sexual dysfunction as a side effect(maybe because it works on dopamine also).

Taper off of it a bit if you decide to stop taking it imo. I did a semi-rapid taper, and wasn't too concerned about discontinuation, but for a few weeks it made me feel even more depressed than usual :/

 

[LittleJem]

Overall if it wasn't for the not sleeping thing(and I tried using more medical marijuana than usual to sleep, when usually a few tokes gets me to sleep), I probably would have stayed on it. It was really helping me not to care about my thoughts as much, and it's the only anti-depressant I've tried that works on serotonin which didn't cause sexual dysfunction as a side effect(maybe because it works on dopamine also).

Taper off of it a bit if you decide to stop taking it imo. I did a semi-rapid taper, and wasn't too concerned about discontinuation, but for a few weeks it made me feel even more depressed than usual :/

Thank you - it really sucks when something works and causes side effects at the same time, for sure! Thank you for your thoughts re anxiety and SJW.

I chucked one pill at myself today, instead of three. It has helped quieten the suicidal thoughts, but I am still really agitated. This is just my life I guess.

How are you doing now?

 

[Thereisnothing]

Just a thought. St.Johns Wort does interact with other medications and although natural can effect people differently. I know it alters the way the contraceptive pill works for instance and shouldn't be taken at same time. I did and really messed my hormones, thus with physical effects and also emotionally/mentally. This could be reason for heightened anxiety in your case or not.

 

[LittleJem]

Just a thought. St.Johns Wort does interact with other medications and although natural can effect people differently. I know it alters the way the contraceptive pill works for instance and shouldn't be taken at same time. I did and really messed my hormones, thus with physical effects and also emotionally/mentally. This could be reason for heightened anxiety in your case or not.

Thank you - I didn't know it messed with hormones if you are also on the pill. I knew it made the pill not work - but that sounds rough re messing with hormones. I'm not on the pill myself -non hormonal IUD is the best thing ever IMO.

I stopped the St John's Wort as it was making me feel weird and neurotic. It did quieten my suicidal thoughts - though I was still suicidal. Just the thoughts weren't as loud in my head. I might go back to St John's Wort if I can find nothing else that works better.

Back to being a guinea pig!

 

[mathieu]

It is a stimulant which can cause issues with the respiratory system. Another side effect is Xerostomia, otherwise known as anxiety due to the fact it is a stimulant. ;)

It is not a stimulant and xerostomia means dry mouth.

 

[chris8000]

OK, so a reasonable option is to try to combine St. John's wort with something else, this is very common. For example, ashwagandha could really calm down the anxiety and work together with St. John's wort. But it is not the only option, I also have used the fresh tincture of American skullcap with St. John's wort as a nerve tonic formula, and that is really nice too. There is a lot of good people sharing formulas and herbs for depression and anxiety at /r/herbalism.

Personally, if I were you I'd get familar with pairs of herbs like this, see what they do, then if you still need more strength move on to triplets and so on. Wishing you all the best luck and health.

 

[Jean4]

St. John's can have nasty side affects and can interact with more medications that can be listed. It also should not be taken with certain medical conditions.

Please do not take it without consulting a doctor.

It is not a stimulant and xerostomia means dry mouth.

Actually, it is classified by the AMA and the NIH as a stimulant (former DOH employee here who wrote the protocol for the State of New York and its interactions with HIV medications here. ;) )
Here you go. This was written by me a long time ago (2015). Forgot about this honestly

https://nccih.nih.gov/sites/nccam.nih.gov/files/SJW_and_Depression_11-30-2015.pdf

 

[Lefty]

I took it a long time ago in my teens. I noticed that it did help with anxiety. Though its effects are different for everyone.

 

[chris8000]

Not sure why they're calling it a stimulant, it relaxes me and it is known traditionally as anxiolytic, although people may react differently. MD's aren't always the best source of information about herbs, but they can be useful for helping you not die because of some weird interaction or side effect you didn't know about.

It's called a relaxant in my herbalism text books, I'm not a professional herbalist btw it's just a hobby . I think it can cause hypomania in rare cases so maybe it's related to that.

Herbal stimulants are things like coffee, see https://thenaturopathicherbalist.com/herbal-actions/l-r/nervine/.

 

[IsThisTheEnd?]

I tried St Johns today and I think I felt something after just one tablet
Seemed to dampen my crazy sad emotion but doesn't replace it with any happiness there's no buzz etc and other prescription tablets personally I've had a little buzz.

there was also some weird felling not sure how to explain it very kind of bored feeling,I might try cutting them into quarters.

 

[IrRegularjoe]

thanks - I'm not on any other medications at the moment. I tried two prescription ADs and they didn't work. St John's Wort was working better - then this added anxiety. The anxiety is the worst. If I knew it would pass I would try and sit it out, but my feeling is it will get worse and worse.
I research everything - I mean everything - before I take it. I'm pretty bedridden with depression, so that is all I do most days. That and suicide chatgroups :)

Ask a pharmacist