Prozac and St. John's wort?

Question

I took one capsule of Prozac (20mg) Friday morning..I then decided I want to try the natural medicine first, so I want to take St. John's Wort. Can I take it on Monday morning or it will interefere with the prozac ? Keep on mind that I only took 1 pill of prozac and that was 3 days ago

Answer 1

If you took ONLY one pill and ARE NOT going to continue to take the proazac then it should be okay to take the St. john's Wort. The problem arises when they are taken in CONJUNCTION with each other. Although studies have yet to definitively prove that taking a TCA (tri-cyclic antidepressant) with St John's Wort could lead to problems this is what I found on RXList:

http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/alt/stjohn_ad.htm

"While studies suggest fewer adverse effects compared with conventional antidepressants, there have been several recent reports suggesting important drug interactions with OCs, warfarin, cyclosporin and theophylline. Hypericum-containing products appear to induce hepatic enzymes of the cytochrome P450 group. In each of the reported cases, the patient has been female, though more women than men take hypericum extracts. Levels of the coadministered agent were reduced in each case report, and all such agents are metabolised by the P450 enzymes. Four in-vitro studies indicate hypericum extracts are capable of inducing and approximately doubling cytochrome P450 activity. In one study involving human volunteers, area under the curve for phenprocoumon was markedly reduced when patients were pretreated with hypericum extract compared with placebo. In another similar study serum digoxin levels that were previously stable fell increasingly with number of days on coadministered hypericum extract. Last year there were reports of central serotonin excess in five patients taking SSRIs as well as hypericum extracts. Patients were elderly and in each case symptoms such as altered mental status, tremor, GI upset, headache, myalgia and restlessness were serious."

Answer 2

i attempted the two, so desire right here is helpfull: St John's Wort has been shown smart for gentle melancholy - if it helped you until eventually now, it is properly worth attempting it lower back. provide your self a time minimize for a fashion long you will use it - say 5 weeks - and then overview the way you're feeling. while you are not extra advantageous, end the St John's Wort, wait a mutually as and then think of on the subject of the Prozac. while you're disturbing approximately element effects, ask your GP to offer you liquid Prozac - that's what I did. It potential you could build the dose up very slowly to be sure you're feeling ok, and minimises the possibility of unsightly element effects. be conscious: verify with your physician how long after scuffling with St John's Wort it is secure to take Prozac; you won't be in a position to take the two on the comparable time and that i've got a feeling there could be particularly an area between the two. Prozac can soak as much as six weeks to truly start up working; it enables a lot of human beings and is properly worth a attempt. If for any reason you're taking it, and then end it, do no longer take something devoid of checking with your physician first. If Prozac does not help, there are a number of different anti depressants; a lot of human beings could attempt a number of, so nonetheless it is troublesome, attempt to no longer difficulty approximately that, it incredibly is a difficulty-loose situation.

Answer 3

Ok, My mom was on prozac and started taking St. Johns Wort. I works great and the interactions are none as far as I know, in fact she was able to lower her prozac dosage. I'm on Zoloft and I take St. Johns Wort also. It's a mood evener more than a mood upper, so it's great for BiPolar disorder and won't over hype you when mixed with an antidepressant.

Answer 4

Yes you can start the St. John's Wort tomorrow but just be sure to let your doctor know that you are doing this.

Answer 5

Should be fine st john wart was great for me but eventually my body seemed to get used to it and i needed a stronger one.Eventually i needed the prescribed antideppresants from my doc anyway.have a word with him about your change of heart.

Answer 6

It should be all right, as long as you don't take more Prozac and you have only taken one pill.

If your doctor prescribed Prozac, though, you really might need it. You should call him/her and see what they say about your plan.

Be well!