St. john's wort User Reviews & Ratings (Page 5)

• Dot...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 18, 2018

For Depression "I started taking SJW from December, and it has helped me with the depression and anxiety, and I was feeling so much more positive and never once felt down over the seasonal period. I take 1x370 mg tablet in the early evening. The only setback is my sleep pattern has changed considerably, and I find myself unable to sleep until 2:30 a.m., and when I finally get to sleep, I can't get up in the morning as early as I used to. I find myself staying in bed longer - not feeling depressed or thinking of negative things - and I felt I am not in any hurry to get up like I used to."

• Lis...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 11, 2022

For Depression "I'm in my mid 20s and have recently started suffering from terrible depression. After reading the reviews on St. John's Wort, I thought I would give it a try, as most were positive. Unfortunately, this only made me feel worse. Since starting to take these, I have had severe anxiety, constant sickness, and a bad stomach. I wanted to give them a chance, as I know some medications can make you worse before you get better. After two weeks of persevering, the anxiety has become unbearable and made me unable to function, so I have decided to cease taking them today. I'm really upset this didn't work for me, especially as it's a herbal remedy. Please be cautious when taking this medication."

• Hub...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 15, 2022

"Terrible side effects for me. The whole body hurts, just wanna sleep all the time, my eyes are sensitive, my muscles hurt, being touched hurts, dehydrates you, gives really bloody hemorrhoids, gives nightmares, headache, dizziness, confusion, felt high one night (I was laughing at anything people would say to me and could move my body much), nausea, almost vomit and so on. It was terrible for me, and stopping it was even worse. Since I took it only three days (side effects started like 45 minutes or one hour after the first pill), it did not make my anxiety level lower."

• Irf...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 6, 2024

For Depression "I had been on Desvenlafaxine and anti-anxiety medications for some time, mainly because of my tendency to overthink, especially about my relationship. This habit would send my anxiety skyrocketing, leaving me feeling physically unwell, unable to sleep, and losing my appetite for a long time. It doesn't help that my partner has to be overseas for months at a time. With my pharmacy background, I knew the precautions. While there’s no stigma against these medications where I’m from, our lecturers always emphasized using them with care. For a long time, I avoided them. But eventually, I decided to give them a try—and I’m glad I did. In less than a week, I felt a significant change. The constant unease disappeared. Perhaps “euphoric” would be too strong a word, but I felt balanced and genuinely myself again. I regained my motivation and passion and, most importantly, my anxiety no longer fueled unnecessary tension with my partner. Would I continue taking it? Absolutely."

• ani...
• June 11, 2017

For Depression "I have dealt with moderate to severe depression on and off since my early 20s (I'm now almost 40). I have tried several antidepressants and found Zoloft was the only med that worked, so I remained on a dose of 100 mg for almost 10 years. I did try to wean myself off on 3 separate occasions, as I no longer wanted to be on pharmaceutical drugs, but every time I had terrible withdrawal symptoms. I finally decided to try St. John's Wort instead. I have been on 900 mg daily for close to 1 year. St. John's Wort was helpful in combating the withdrawal symptoms I continued to have even weeks after discontinuing the Zoloft, but I continue to have mild depressed mood with irritability. I am going to stop St. John's Wort and try 5-HTP."

• 300...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• March 24, 2023

"Do not take this herb. It is not meant to be taken for long-term use. The withdrawal symptoms that I experienced were heart palpitations. I do not recommend this to anyone. There should be a warning label on the bottle."

• Tro...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 27, 2017

For Depression "Two weeks ago, I had a very intense panic attack with vomiting, probably because of lots of stress and worries around me, and after that, I had constant anxiety, and my mind was a racing mess. Then I started taking St. John's Wort. At first, I took an extremely small dose (40 mg), but then I increased it to 3x200 mg a day, and a few days later, I decreased to 1x200 mg. For the first 9 days, I felt no considerable difference, but on the 10th day, I subtly became more relaxed (but not too much), my mind was not racing as much, and I am more optimistic. Also, appetite decreased. Not sure if it's from St. John's Wort or just my mind changing on its own. Will see how things go in the future."

• Hel...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 24, 2021

For Depression "I have been taking SJW for about 2 weeks. I started to feel better within a couple of days. I have a 7-month-old baby, and my mood had been getting increasingly worse - really irritated by every small thing, very angry at my partner (who is awesome), feeling overwhelmed with a low mood, exhausted (despite sleeping a lot), and struggling with motivation. With SJW, all of these things have subsided, and I feel way more calm and able to handle the day. I have more mental clarity and generally feel happier and more up. I also have way less fatigue and don’t dread everything! I haven’t noticed any side effects at all yet. I am breastfeeding and am a little concerned about that and need to talk to my doc. The postpartum period really knocks you about physically and emotionally, and it feels like with SJW I’ve got my old self back, and it has reset everything."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 21, 2022

For Depression "I used a good brand from Holland and Barrett on offer, and after reading the reviews, I was excited as SSRIs (citalopram, sertraline) and even SNRIs (venlafaxine) had not helped. I felt like a placebo effect at first, and within two weeks, I realized they weren’t helping, but I kept trying overall for six weeks. I felt constantly tired, more anxious, and had extreme sensitivity to sunlight. Without sunglasses in the sun, I could barely open my eyes. After a week of not taking them, I feel normal function anxiety again, so they weren’t for me. I did feel a slight bit more optimistic and also fell asleep more easily, but I felt more tired in the mornings and more anxious."

• Fee...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 28, 2017

For Depression "I had intense panic attacks with heart palpitations and vomiting because I was under a lot of stress. Went to several doctors, and all they did was prescribe me meds for schizophrenia, which I refused to take (because I have an anxiety disorder and not schizophrenia). Instead, I tried St. John's Wort, but unfortunately, I haven't noticed that it helped me much. I am still very anxious and tense and think negatively about everything. At times, I feel relaxed for a short period, but that's probably more due to my body naturally calming down on its own. In fact, 2-3 hours after taking a large dose (400 mg), I would feel slightly more anxious than usual. So I stopped taking it."

• Dar...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 9, 2018

For Depression "So I had depression/anxiety for over 25 years. Finally got off medication last year because I changed my diet and had done pretty well with it. My doctor keeps trying to pin every ailment I have back on my depression, so I thought I’d give St. John’s wort a try, despite not having cyclical depressive/anxiety thoughts. Just going by my physical symptoms...after three days, I was in full-blown panic mode, with deep depression, thoughts I have not had for the past year. So IDK, I guess it wasn’t my depression...like I told my doctor, but he wouldn’t listen. So I can’t say this works. I would have thought I would have gotten some help for just generally feeling like rubbish and not really happy."

• Ash...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 13, 2017

For Depression "I am a 27 y/o female, have been battling depression and anxiety for a few years now. As I transition into a nurse, I decided that enough is enough, I can't keep living my life with this anxiety and unhappiness. St. John's Wort works okay. I didn't notice a huge change in my mood. I was a little happier, but not much. The anxiety was still the same. The biggest change I noticed was that it made it easier for me to talk to people. I have social anxiety really bad. The reason I decided to stop taking it is because one night I had super bad anxiety, so I took a Xanax, and it COMPLETELY CANCELED OUT the effect of my Xanax. I went into a full-blown panic attack and had to call into work. This drug has a lot of interactions with other meds. I will be going on an SSRI."

• Sha...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 2, 2023

"I have had anxiety since I was in my teens until recently. A friend recommended St. John's Wort, and I have been taking three 300 mg capsules each day for 2 weeks now, and the difference is crazy. After just a few days, I could see a huge change in how I usually feel. I have felt a lot more relaxed and more motivated. I haven't felt this good in years. I also haven't had any side effects from them yet, which is what I was worried about. Highly recommend it to anyone else who experiences anxiety like me."

• Sol...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 14, 2017

For Depression "Been on SJW over 2 weeks now for depression, still anger, arguing, sullen. I'm afraid that I am just a bad person and this can't help. I've been on Cipralex for over 7 years, put on too much weight so gradually reduced them from 20 mg to 15 mg, to 10 mg, to 5 mg, then down to 2.5 mg, and still felt good. My reductions carefully spread out over 5 months---doc said, 'well, if you are down to 2.5 mg, just stop cold turkey as that's a nothing dose.' I believed him and stopped. That was 5 weeks ago and ALL MY DEPRESSION has come back even worse-crying nonstop, confrontational about everything, arguing, swearing under my breath when I have never sworn before, which made me turn to SJW, but they are not working for me as they seem to be doing for everyone else."

• Ama...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 17, 2021

For Depression "I have been taking St. John’s Wort for three weeks now, 3 times daily, and can’t believe how much better I feel! It has helped me with my depressive and anxious symptoms, and I feel so much better! Don’t hesitate to buy if you need help regulating your emotions."

• gan...
• April 9, 2019

For Depression "Terrible side effects. I started first with St. John's Wort tea bags three times a day, and after a week of using, I switched to pills. I used 300 mg pills twice a day for just two days, and at the end of the second day, I was in full-blown panic mode. I also had dizziness, dry and itchy eyes, headache, disturbances in blood pressure, and vivid dreams. Stopped taking pills right away, but it took about three weeks for the symptoms to completely fade away. Would never recommend using it on its own, without consulting a doctor. This is not a safe natural remedy."

• Bbo...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 27, 2023

"I've only been taking it for about 2 weeks now and already feel a good amount of improvement! I started freaking out recently over things that were so dumb but still raised my anxiety. I've had little bits of anxiety here and there my whole life, and it just recently got worse where I've been having it a lot. But I finally have better control over my anxiety after 2 months than I did before taking St. John's wort! My uncle recommended it to me, he said it saved his life, and it really has been working so far! He says it takes about 4-8 weeks to fully kick in, so hopefully soon I'll be back to my normal self!"

• rod...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 29, 2021

For Depression "St. John’s Wort taken for mild depression and anxiety under the supervision of my psychiatrist. Taken for 1 week before discontinued. Unfortunately, it made my prostate flare up pretty badly and interacted with my esomeprazole, so I got pretty bad reflux for a whole week. Also, vivid dreams (not the worst I’ve had on the SSRI-induced list, but something to expect). Caused no other noticeable side effects except some abdominal discomfort for the first 4 days before abruptly going away, and some daytime sedation (again, not the worst I’ve experienced compared to something like Remeron). I’d rate it 5/10. Mild side effects, but at the same time, it’s hard to take this medicine if you pretty much take anything else prescribed-too many interactions. I have a feeling this medicine works best for those who solely take this and this only."

• Klo...
• July 25, 2021

For Depression "I got a feel of emptiness, feel unhappy, cry, and felt sorry for myself. Never been on medication, had a short time of depression when I was 16, now I'm 42. I always try to do things that make me happy when I'm in a low mood, but this time I could not function. I bought SJW a year ago and didn’t give it a try. Today is my second capsule, 142 mg from Holland & Barrett. I feel that low mood is going far away from me, I hope the days to come will be better. The only worry I have is the weaning off …"

• her...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 10, 2021

For Depression "I started taking St. John's Wort three weeks ago in capsule form at 500 mg 2x a day, and I have noticed a huge difference in my mood. I have had depression for my whole life, and I have tried different meds to treat it, but all of them worsened my condition. I finally found someone on Etsy who sells organic SJW capsules and decided to try them. I noticed a huge difference around the third week. I wanted to wake up, I was more positive, it was like a huge fog had lifted. I felt I could smile, talk to people, and I felt alive again. I suffer from dissociation, and that got so much better as well. I am so thankful for SJW, and I cannot recommend it enough to those considering taking the more natural route for healing."

• Tom...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 22, 2022

For Depression "Been taking St. John's wort maximum strength, 1 pill per day, 1200 mg for one month now, to help with my mild depression and gloomy winter days. I have noticed my mood slightly improve, and I do feel slightly calmer overall, also eating and sleeping better. I have returned to swimming in my local pool, not been in a fair while. For me, it took 10 days before any effect on my mood was noticed, but I understand it can take up to 3 weeks for some people. I have taken doctor's prescribed antidepressants before, but had to discontinue because of unwanted side effects. For me, St. John's wort seems just as effective as a prescribed antidepressant. It works well, just made me happier and calmer with no side effects to report. Some people cannot take SJW due to drug interactions with many prescribed medications, check with your doctor. If you have underlying health problems that you regularly take prescribed medication for, unfortunately, there is a high chance you will not be able to take SJW."

• SJW...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• December 14, 2021

For Depression "I have been using St. John's Wort (SJW) for years to help me with PMS symptoms that have become challenging as the years go by. My symptoms right around the ovulation period are more emotional in nature and include irritability, uncharacteristic emotional responses, anger, and other disruptive emotional symptoms. Up to 3 pills per day are allowed, but I am fine with one capsule taken in the AM. I take SJW all of the time, but really only need it for the time just before my menstrual cycle. When my anger, irritability, or my overly emotional responses are more intense, I have taken 2 pills (AM/PM before bed). I tried taking SAM-e as recommended by my gynecologist, but that was absolutely no help whatsoever. I would recommend SJW to anyone who is safe to use it (if you take antidepressants, you can't take it; also, understanding the nature of your symptoms helps, too. I recommended it to someone with a lot of anxiety, and it made her anxiety worse.)"

• chr...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 13, 2023

For Depression "The first time I tried St. John's Wort, I tried a high-dose capsule and experienced nothing. The second time, I picked two small leaves off the plant, and my whole day turned around. Herbs that are not properly harvested, not properly dried, turned into a powder, shoved into a capsule, and finally sit on a shelf for a year before they are sold really don't have a lot of medical properties left."

• LOL...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 26, 2022

For Depression "Used for mild anxiety and very mild depressed feelings at times. I've had most of this since childhood, sometimes I have episodes when it gets worse. I started taking this, and I felt a little dizzy at first dose. The second dose after that, I felt fine. I feel much better and genuinely surprised that I feel things are going well in myself. I've noticed if I have a drink, I feel more affected by the alcohol, and this happens a lot quicker."

• Ano...
• May 16, 2022

For Depression "My dad doesn't believe in modern medicine and even trained in a herbal medicine course. So, he took St. John's wort to help with some health conditions (he ate with reasonable cholesterol and did things to stress himself by not learning healthy ways to deal with his emotions as a 'grown adult'). This herb is the WORST for blood pressure. It gave my dad high blood pressure to the point where all of his kidneys and heart got scarred. He now has literal stage 5 kidneys, with one only working 10%. If he didn't come to my mum and admit the herbs he had been taking, which she found out by force, he would have been dead within a month. I am 19 and my dad would have been dead before I finished my first year of university. I am resentful and adamant about sharing this. Most of you adults finding remedies on the internet thinking you're savvy, but you DON'T know what you're talking about."