St. john's wort for Depression User Reviews (Page 5)

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

"2 weeks ago I had a very intense panic attack with vomiting probably cuz 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 (40mg) but then I increased it to 3x200mg a day, and a few days later I decreased to 1x200mg. 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 future."

• RosieHM
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 4, 2023

"I have started St John’s Wort 3 days ago, just 1 tablet a day that is 370mg. I’m petite so started out on a low dose, the packet says to take 1 or 2 a day. I’ve had horrible intrusive thoughts for about a month, thought that now that life is pointless etc, and I can’t work, I cry a lot and generally feel anxious and depressed. The triggers are not clear-cut. I’m only 3 days in but today has been the best day I’ve had for about 3 weeks. I’ve felt a bit spaced out, and I think it’s affected my sleep a bit, but I had a good period today where I felt happier, and my intrusive thoughts of suicide lifted a bit. I’ll come back on to review again when I’ve been on it for longer, but I’m hopeful. I don’t want to take an SSRI, but if this doesn’t work I’ll have to."

• RosieHM
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 9, 2023

"I’ve come back 9 days on to say I’ve stopped SJW now. Since I started taking it I did feel calmer for the first few days (a little woozy but it wasn’t in a bad way) but sadly it gave me terrible insomnia. I am really very low but the one thing I was doing was sleeping, giving me respite from my intrusive thoughts. Sadly I had multiple nights in a row where I only slept for 1-2 hours. I persevered and got some Zopiclone from my GP but even with Zopiclone I only got 5 hours sleep for the past 3 nights. I plan to try 5HTP next and if that doesn’t work sadly I’ll have to go down the SSRI route. It’s worth noting that I had no other negative side effects, a mild headache the first few days but very mild. If I carried on it may have helped my mood but I’m afraid sleep for me is major!"

• Hotst...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 14, 2022

"Taking a very low dose about .25 ml of SJW for 8 weeks now and I feel it has reduced if not completely reduced my seasonal blues this fall and winter (when the time changes). I am sensitive/allergic to most SSRI pharmaceutical meds, so I decided to give SJW a try and am a fan. I will continue until the spring, which is when my SAD stops. Highly recommend to those sensitive or allergic to medications."

• D88
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 4, 2022

"I overcame complex PTSD with EMDR treatment and finally got off my prescription meds in the last year that I’d relied on for a decade. So, when seasonal affective disorder hit me hard this year, I was reluctant to take any prescribed medication. I find SSRI side effects of having no emotions and low sex drive too much to face again. My GP suggested St Johns Wart. I was scared to try because I read it can make you anxious, and very cynical as I’ve never found herbal remedies helpful whatsoever. However, from the 2nd day, I noticed a significant improvement in my mood, and the heavy brain fog (which was affecting my ability to work) was gone. Even a colleague commented that I seemed back to myself. It’s been about 8/9 days and my mood has remained stable. I feel normal again. It really does work - I NEVER thought I’d say that! I've noticed it can make you a little jittery sometimes, but it’s better than feeling depressed, anxious and suicidal."

• Helga
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 24, 2021

"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."

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

"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 20mg, to 15mg ,to 10mg ,to 5mg, then down to 2.5mg, and still felt good. My reductions carefully spread out over 5 months--- doc said " well if you are down to 2.5mg 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."

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

"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 SNRI (venlafaxine) had not helped. I felt like placebo effect at first and within two weeks I realised they weren’t helping but kept trying over all 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 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 easy, but felt more tired in the mornings and more anxious"

• Justk...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 14, 2017

"I have anxiety & have suffered with it for many years. My friend suggested SJW so I grabbed a weeks worth of capsules from her to give it a try. I had some severe side effects from this & didn't actually see much in improvement of my daily life. I had trouble getting to sleep, slept for 10+ hours every night even with work the next day. It kept me from caring about waking up for my job. This was mainly due to the anxiety dreams I had every night which is something I had never had before. They are different from nightmares, & they can probably even cause panic attacks if they become bad enough which could lead to nightmares I'm guessing. I stopped taking them after the 4th day & was immediately back to decent sleep & able to wake up for work"

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

"Been taking St johns wart maximum strength 1 pill per day 1200mg 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 doctors prescribed antidepressants before but had to discontinue because of unwanted side effects. For me St Johns Wart seems just as effective as a prescribed anti depressant. It works well just made me happier and calmer with no side effects to report. Some people can not take SJW due to drug interactions with many prescribed mediations, 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

"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 w/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 whatsover. 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 w/a lot of anxiety and it made her anxiety worse)."

• rodrif
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 29, 2021

"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

"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 was16, now I’m 42 . I always try to do things that makes me happy when I’m low mood , but this time I could not function. I bought SJW a year ago and didn’t gave a try .Today is my second capsule 142 mg from Holland&Barret. I feel that low mood is going far way from me, I hope the days to come will be better .The only worry I have is the weaning off …"

• Kathe...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 5, 2022

"I have had depression and anxiety for over 20 years and tried quite a few different anti depressants. The side effects are sweating, piling on weight, terrible insomnia, can’t orgasm, keratosis pillaris to name a few. At the time I just thought it was my body until I’d go off them and realise a certain side effect would go away. I never feel happy and after losing someone very close to me this past year I’ve been getting worse. I thought I’d try SJW but am on thyroid medication so I need to keep an eye on levels incase it’s affected by the SJW. So far I don’t think it has. It took a couple bottles of the blackmores brand to feel a noticeable difference. Only side effect has been the difficulty in having an orgasm and slightly numb. It was bothering me so I cut back the past few weeks to 2 tablets a day and I feel way too emotional and very angry."

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

"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 & I feel so much better! Don’t hesitate to buy if you need help regulating your emotions."

• LOLA
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 26, 2022

"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."

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

"I started taking St. Johns Wort three weeks ago in capsule form at 500mg 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 with disassociation 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."

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

"The first time I tried St John's Wort I tried a high dose capsule and experienced nothing. The second time I picked 2 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."

• Nurse
• April 24, 2017

"Started taking this about 2 weeks ago. Honestly feel like it is helping. Felt like I could punch a wall before starting this med but feel much calmer now."

• Wicks
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 31, 2019

"It made me have wierd hot flushes. Severe panic attack and blood pressure shot up to 190/140. For me it was terrible."

• Saman...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 11, 2021

"Helped brilliantly. After several days of use, can feel like a human, have small joys back to life. I’m glad I didn’t try anything more serious for treating anxiety/ depressed mood."

• Rm8882
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 3, 2020

"Take it in tea form, it helps right away!! Pills didn't help at all"

• Ms A
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 20, 2020

"St. John's Wort works extremely well to lift the fog of depression. I'm surprised it's still OTC given that it works so well. I've been recommending it to everyone. It's been a life changer."

• Joe...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 18, 2020

"St. john's wort definitely takes the edge off my depression it is better than wellbutrin and I don't have to waste time going to the doctor."

• Ganesh
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 8, 2019

"Natural medicine for depression"