St John's Wort - does it help depression - personal experiences please.?

Question

I have purchased some St John's Wort for my 17 year old daughter as she has signs of depression. The doctor won't prescribe her anti-depressants (which I agree with at the moment) but I was recommended St John's Wort. Does it work? Does anyone have any personal experience of it? How long does it take to 'kick in'?

Answer 1

I have taken it, it is OK.. However, your daughter does not need to take any kinds of meds. She is to young. My daughter had the same thing, I found someone she could talk to. It worked, and no medicine. Please think a long, long, long time, before you give her drugs of ANY kind. They, our children, have to say "NO" at school to all kinds of stuff. Anyway...try to find her someone she trust, and if that doesn't work, well nothing lost, then you can try St.John's Wort, which takes at bout a month.
Best Wishes

Answer 2

I would say a definite yes. I was on prescribed drugs a few years ago and at the end of the course I went onto the St John's Wort. I felt fantastic and have recommended it to loads of people. Some have come back and said it did nothing for them so I suppose it depends on your daughter. Worth trying though, just make sure that it will not interfere with any other medication she might be on. I have always found Holland and Barrett really useful for queries, they might even have an alternative. I know someone who swears by Bach Rescue Remedies too but I haven't tried them myself. They are a drop that you put under your tongue and you use them as and when needed. St John's Wort would take a few weeks to work. Good Luck, I really hope she feels better soon.

Answer 3

I've taken it a couple of times and it does seem to work but you have to take it for at least three months - six would be better - to get the real effect. My doctor recommended that I take it last year and I was impressed that he did that. He also told me that whatever it said on the bottle, to double the dose. I wasn't sure about that, but did it and didn't have any side effects this time.

Although it can react with some medication - especially the contraceptive pill and heart pills - there are few side effects and it is not addictive. I once experienced a racing heart, and it did stop after I stopped taking St Johns. You should treat it like any other anti depressive though - discuss with doctor; give it time to work and come off it slowly.

Have you thought about a SAD lamp for the winter?

Good luck!

Answer 4

Hi for a while I took St John's Wart and it kind of made me feel I guess a little bit happier than normal nothing to drastic though,my cousin tried it he is a very shy stay in the house kind of guy and WOW did it have a major affect on him he came home and told his mom all about work and was very noticeably happy were usually he would just go in his room and not really say much after getting off work so I guess what I am trying to say is that the affects are different for every one but I believe it's not a harm full drug all in all good luck.

Answer 5

Good that she is not taking anti-depressants,through my personal experience, once you start to take them, it is difficult to get out of them, not only for the dependency it might cause right now, but in the future; if she ever feels down, the first thought will be to get the anti-depressants again.
I did take St John's wort and it helped me a lot, it took around 3 weeks to start to work. As long as you read and look out for any side effects, your daughter should be fine.
Please make sure that there are no under laying problems that might be causing her depression. Good luck and I hope she gets better soon.

Answer 6

I gave it to my 14-15 yr old son's during a bout of depression. I can't say we noticed much change. Counselling was the most helpful once he realised it was OK to talk to someone. BUT remember if you do start her on anti-depressants you MUST stop the St John's wort. Apparently they do not work well together.

Answer 7

I tried it and found it to be of no use at all, but that does not mean that it will be useless for your daughter.
I would suggest you do a search on it and find out more about it before giving it to your daughter, it has side effects. If your doc wont give her antidepressants (quite right too at such a young age!), ask him to refer her for some type of therapy or councelling. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (BCT) is very good and can have fantastic results. It was that which helped me in the end and I had been on a huge dose on antidepressants. After the BCT I came off the drugs and have been fine since.
Good luck, I hope your daughter feels better soon.

Answer 8

It can provide benefits to most users but as already suggested the underlying cause of the depression should be investigated.

I have used it in the past and didnt really notice a difference however others did remark on a change. A common phenomenon!

I would give it at least a month before coming to a decision on discontinuing use.

Answer 9

It didn't work for me, but I know of others that it has worked for. I think you need to give it at least three months to show some real effects, it won't be immediate, but you can also try to help your daughter by providing her with a safe and secure place to talk through her issues. If she has come to you with her depression then I guess that you're a supportive parent anyway, just let her know that if she needs to talk you are there.

Answer 10

Saint John's wart did not help me at all, and it tends to cause really bad menstral cramps in some women, such as myself. There's another herbal anti-depressant, Kava kava, which pulls me out of depression really good, but it can only be taken for a few weeks due to liver problems it may cause.