St Johns Wort (for mild depression)...have you used it?

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Ockie

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Hi guys. For a while now I have been suffering from eradic mood swings. Go from fine to explosive rage in a matter of seconds. The smallest and mundane things have been setting it off. It got so bad that I myself started to get a bit worried. In between I would go into a mood best described as sullen and blue where I just frankly dont give a **** about anything or anyone. Someone could show me a dead puppy and I most likely would not care (very unlike me)

Anyway, so I decided to start using St Johns Wort. I have been on it now for a bout 3 weeks, taking a tablet in the morning and at night. I seem to feel a bit better. A bit more stable.

Have any of you guys used it before....did it work for you? Is this maybe just a kind of placebo effect?

Just interested to hear what you guys have to say.

bye bye.
 
Was it recommend to you be a qualified doc?

St Johns Wort is not some natural "herbal" treatment you can just start taking as some claim.
 
Alan said:
Was it recommend to you be a qualified doc?

St Johns Wort is not some natural "herbal" treatment you can just start taking as some claim.
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NO. I just started taking it. My doc dont know about it...never discussed it with him. But you buy it at Clicks and its made from a flower. What is wrong with just taking it?
 
ocleroux said:
Hi guys. For a while now I have been suffering from eradic mood swings. Go from fine to explosive rage in a matter of seconds. The smallest and mundane things have been setting it off. It got so bad that I myself started to get a bit worried. In between I would go into a mood best described as sullen and blue where I just frankly dont give a **** about anything or anyone. Someone could show me a dead puppy and I most likely would not care (very unlike me)

Anyway, so I decided to start using St Johns Wort. I have been on it now for a bout 3 weeks, taking a tablet in the morning and at night. I seem to feel a bit better. A bit more stable.

Have any of you guys used it before....did it work for you? Is this maybe just a kind of placebo effect?

Just interested to hear what you guys have to say.

bye bye.
Click to expand...

Are you using any chemicals that might be effecting your mood?
 
Any powerful drug( natural or not) that messes with the chemicals in your brain must be given proper consideration. St Johns Wort has side effect like photosensitivity and can interact with other medications either reducing their effectiveness or causing complications.

If you're suffering from mild depression first do plenty of research on your condition. Try various other methods before resorting to medication, If you find you have to resort to meds seek professional help so you get the correct treatment.
 
Well opimum is also just made from a flower so take that into account ;-). OC I think for what you've described you might actually need to see a doctor over it, that doesn't sound like mild depression, you might actually have a chemical inbalance that would need to be looked at. Rather see a doctor then just taking something off the counter, as mild depression is more a general feeling of apathy, a slight mood swing but not what you've described. I've been in and out of shrinks and spent a fortune on them for the last year my wife has chronic depression so I've seen the signs and what is probably best.
 
ocleroux said:
NO. I just started taking it. My doc dont know about it...never discussed it with him. But you buy it at Clicks and its made from a flower. What is wrong with just taking it?
Click to expand...

Opium is also made from a flower....

For some reason people seem to believe because something is made from a plant [herbal] that it's healthy and harmless in any quantity. Almost all drugs have some sort of plant ingredient in it, yet no one would simply take a random drug just because it happens to be on the shelves?
 
w1z4rd said:
Are you using any chemicals that might be effecting your mood?
Click to expand...

No, except for the adcodol here and there for when I get stress headaches. The nurse that visits our office weekely said last week she is worried about my heart rate. Everytime she measures it, it is 90 bpm approaching 100. She asked if I get heart palpatations sometimes and if I drink lots of coffee. I said yes and yes, but only decaf. She said it might be anxiety causing the high bpm. Not sure if the two is related somehow. But I dont really drink either. The only thing that I do really on a daily basis is smoke. I dont do drugs or stuff like that.
 
Lupus said:
Well opimum is also just made from a flower so take that into account ;-). OC I think for what you've described you might actually need to see a doctor over it, that doesn't sound like mild depression, you might actually have a chemical inbalance that would need to be looked at. Rather see a doctor then just taking something off the counter, as mild depression is more a general feeling of apathy, a slight mood swing but not what you've described. I've been in and out of shrinks and spent a fortune on them for the last year my wife has chronic depression so I've seen the signs and what is probably best.
Click to expand...

I know you are right....but I have been with a shrink before when my dad died and some other stuff was going on....she put me on a anti depresseant and it did absolutely nothing for me. The whole experience was just a waste of time. Maybe I must just give it some more time and see how the wort pans out. If it does not get better then I have a friend who I see now and again. Can maybe turn to him if I dont come right on my own. But first I will see how it goes. I am not good communication this kind of things to people face to face. I feel emabarresed.
 
That was not a very good shrink then for just putting you on anti-depressants especially for something like a father dying, there are some good ones that you actually talk to and they allow you to open up and do wonders without drugs, drugs should only be used if it's a chemical imbalance.
 
ocleroux said:
No, except for the adcodol here and there for when I get stress headaches. The nurse that visits our office weekely said last week she is worried about my heart rate. Everytime she measures it, it is 90 bpm approaching 100. She asked if I get heart palpatations sometimes and if I drink lots of coffee. I said yes and yes, but only decaf. She said it might be anxiety causing the high bpm. Not sure if the two is related somehow. But I dont really drink either. The only thing that I do really on a daily basis is smoke. I dont do drugs or stuff like that.
Click to expand...

There's your first problem. Stop smoking

Perhaps you need a beta blocker. That slows the heart rate and helps with stress and anxiety.
 
ocleroux said:
Hi guys. For a while now I have been suffering from eradic mood swings. Go from fine to explosive rage in a matter of seconds. The smallest and mundane things have been setting it off. It got so bad that I myself started to get a bit worried. In between I would go into a mood best described as sullen and blue where I just frankly dont give a **** about anything or anyone. Someone could show me a dead puppy and I most likely would not care (very unlike me)

Anyway, so I decided to start using St Johns Wort. I have been on it now for a bout 3 weeks, taking a tablet in the morning and at night. I seem to feel a bit better. A bit more stable.

Have any of you guys used it before....did it work for you? Is this maybe just a kind of placebo effect?

Just interested to hear what you guys have to say.

bye bye.
Click to expand...

Hi OC,

If you google "do not use st john's wort with....." you get some interesting results :)

If I were you, I'd rather go see a professional.
 
ocleroux said:
No, except for the adcodol here and there for when I get stress headaches. The nurse that visits our office weekely said last week she is worried about my heart rate. Everytime she measures it, it is 90 bpm approaching 100. She asked if I get heart palpatations sometimes and if I drink lots of coffee. I said yes and yes, but only decaf. She said it might be anxiety causing the high bpm. Not sure if the two is related somehow. But I dont really drink either. The only thing that I do really on a daily basis is smoke. I dont do drugs or stuff like that.
Click to expand...

Okay then I am not sure. I asked my wife about your heart rate and her reply was that it was "upper average" and not too much to be concerned about. You dont seem to be creating an artificial imbalance of chemicals so its not that. Dunno hey, this definitely sounds like a head doctor thing.
 
Alan said:
There's your first problem. Stop smoking

Perhaps you need a beta blocker. That slows the heart rate and helps with stress and anxiety.
Click to expand...

But smoking is one of my few pleasures right now. I am worried if I stop now it might actually make it worse. The last time I stopped smoking I was not a happy chappie. Just to give you a example. Last week I had a complete blowout with one of the woman in the office. She accused me of something (which I took extreme offense to) and I started screaming at her and called her a b*tch and a cow and the rest I dont really remember. I was shaking afterwards I was so besides myself. If I had to stop smoking and become even more agro I am worried I might do something really stupid. My office manager came to talk to me about the incident and I explained what she accused me of and so she saw my point of view...but my point is that I went so ballistic that I was actually scaring myself.
 
w1z4rd said:
Okay then I am not sure. I asked my wife about your heart rate and her reply was that it was "upper average" and not too much to be concerned about. You dont seem to be creating an artificial imbalance of chemicals so its not that. Dunno hey, this definitely sounds like a head doctor thing.
Click to expand...

Thank you for that towenaar. And thank your missus for me. My mom used to be nurse but have not discussed it with her because she will just worry herself and I just frankly cant deal with a worried sick mother now also. So thank your missus for easing my mind on that a bit. The nurse said for my age my heart rate is supposed to be 70 so mine seemed extremely high compared to that...but if your missus says its ok....then ill take it as such.
 
Tachycardia, palpitations, mood swings/explosive rage = some key symptoms of a thyroid imbalance. Have a look at Graves disease/graves rage/hyperthyroidism

A TSH blood test costs about R100 and you should be able to get it done at a blood lab without a referring doctor.
 
Broadcom said:
Tachycardia, palpitations, mood swings/explosive rage = some key symptoms of a thyroid imbalance. Have a look at Graves disease/graves rage/hyperthyroidism

A TSH blood test costs about R100 and you should be able to get it done at a blood lab without a referring doctor.
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You are scaring me! I will look it up at wikipedia when I am home. Is this a serious thing?
 
ocleroux said:
But smoking is one of my few pleasures right now. I am worried if I stop now it might actually make it worse. The last time I stopped smoking I was not a happy chappie. Just to give you a example. Last week I had a complete blowout with one of the woman in the office. She accused me of something (which I took extreme offense to) and I started screaming at her and called her a b*tch and a cow and the rest I dont really remember. I was shaking afterwards I was so besides myself. If I had to stop smoking and become even more agro I am worried I might do something really stupid. My office manager came to talk to me about the incident and I explained what she accused me of and so she saw my point of view...but my point is that I went so ballistic that I was actually scaring myself.
Click to expand...

Allrighty then .. maybe right now isn't the best time to try & stop smoking, lest you kill some of your co-workers.
 
evilstebunny said:
Allrighty then .. maybe right now isn't the best time to try & stop smoking, lest you kill some of your co-workers.
Click to expand...

I dont think I would actually kill someone.....but I am worried I might harm someone when I am in such a rage. It just comes on so suddenly. The incident I refered too above came out of nowhere. I was in a sullen mood...neither here nor there....and when she accused me it was just like a switch had been flipped in my head and I went banannas. That is I guess what scares me about it most of all. How suddenly it happens and the extreme swing my mood takes. It just seems very unpredictable. And I am the kind of person that needs to be in control. One of the reasons I never do drugs. I hate loosing control.
 
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