St John's Wort..Is it safe to take?

Question

Before i started trying for a baby, i used to take st johns wort as it helped me stay calmer and not get over emotional but i stopped taking it as i wasnt sure it was safe to take if i got pregnant. Did anyone else take it while pregnant and do you know if its ok etc? or is there something similar i can take that is safe?

I will of course check with my doctor but i would like to know what others may have taken so i can ask and find out.

Answer 1

My local health-food and homeopathic shop have a booklet with the guidelines, and when selling St John's Wort they have to ask if you're pregnant or on any medication.

St John's Wort can interfere with prescription medication reducing its effectiveness and should not be taken during pregnancy or while breastfeeding.

Answer 2

On February 10th, 2000 the FDA issued a Public Health Advisory for certain drugs that may potentially interact with St. John's Wort. A study at The National Institutes of Health (NIH) showed a significant drug interaction between St John's wort and Indinavir, a protease inhibitor used to treat HIV infection. Concomitant administration of St. John’s Wort and Indinavir substantially decreased Indinavir plasma concentrations. Based on this study and reports in the medical literature, St. John’s Wort appears to be an inducer of an important metabolic pathway, cytochrome P450. As many prescription drugs used to treat heart disease, depression, seizures, certain cancers or to prevent conditions such as transplant rejection or pregnancy (oral contraceptives) are metabolized via this pathway, the FDA recommended that health care providers should alert their patients that St. John's Wort use might reduce the effectiveness of their medications. If you are taking any prescription medications, consult with your doctor before using St. John's Wort.
If you are a woman or on the pill or like the sun (cataracts) you can not take this!

Answer 3

Be very careful with SJW it can be very dangerous in conjunction with ither meds. Dietary supplements of all kinds ( SJW, Gingkoba etc) are not regulatied by the FDA becasue they are not considered "drugs" so there are not restrictions or regs around them. So be careful ask your doctor before taking anything like this. Try a nice tall glass of OJ and a healthly diet. You'll be better off!
Cheers

Answer 4

for this type of information you should really ask a qualified herbologist. I think St. johns wort is pretty safe , but it seems i remember that you shouldnt mix it with certain other drugs, so you should really ask a knowledgeable professional.

Answer 5

its a dodgy one that you cant take with a lot of other medication. As its a herbal remedy, it wont have been tested so the advice on the back will be not to take it. I wouldnt just to be on the safe side

Answer 6

You shouldn't take any of those. I took them for a while, but you become addicted to sustances that aren't really good for you. You are better off drinking green tea, or camomile tea would make you camomila in a healthy way.

Answer 7

I would say no. Acoording to the book "what to expect when you are expecting" it states that all herbal teas and herbal medicines can be just as dangerous as any other drug. they even could be worse since they are not regulated by drug companies or the gov't

Answer 8

I think it would be OK to take it but if your not sure ask someone in a health shop or your GP

Answer 9

I would ask a trained professional.

Answer 10

call your doctor and ask only they know if it is safe or not.