St. john's wort and Nausea: What Users Say

• can...
• October 14, 2019

For Depression "I would recommend St. John's wort to anyone wanting relief from mild to moderate depression symptoms if it doesn’t put you at risk of interacting with another medication you are taking. A couple of other points: I started taking three per day (900mg) which was too much. I reduced it to one a day at lunchtime taken with food, and some days I have one at lunchtime and one 1-2 hours before bed. The only side effects I have noticed are dizziness and nausea when taken on an empty stomach (which is not recommended anyway), and one time I experienced a slight buzzing behind my left ear— it was a one-off odd sensation. Other than this, I have found the benefits of this to far outweigh any side effects. I would recommend starting low and seeing how it affects you. Highly recommend this, it has saved me from going to get back on SSRIs. I had been researching what ones to go back on with the least number of side effects but was so deterred and I am glad I came across this instead."

• Bad...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 12, 2018

For Depression "I wanted to try this as an alternative to SSRIs. I have been taking it for a little over a month, and it's causing me severe stomach upset, nausea, and vomiting. I can barely eat. I have to stop taking it altogether. It's also made my anxiety worse. I'm disappointed because I wanted it to work."

• Pur...
• October 19, 2015

For Depression "I have been feeling down and anxious, and my GP prescribed me an antidepressant for severe depression. I have been on a different medication before and found that although I felt more stable, I was reduced to a zombie. So, I decided to try St. John's Wort after reading good reviews. I started on 325 mg once a day in the morning. Day one - I felt amazing! I thought, hey, if this is a placebo effect, I don't care! Day two, I started to feel shaky and spaced out. My partner said he noticed that I became intense on worries and seemed worse. Day three, I took it, and all day, I have had that same fuzzy brain zap feeling that you get with prescribed AD, nausea, brain fog, insomnia, ear ringing, and light sensitivity. I would not say it has less side effects."

• mil...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 22, 2025

For Depression "It's so wonderful. It's taken away that undercurrent low mood. I was studying at medical school, failed my exams, and had to resit a year. I took a huge blow to my self-esteem; coupled with never seeing the friends I'd made in the years before (they had gone away on placement but I hadn't), replaced social time with more study. I'd cry most days and started to avoid all interactions with loved ones. I felt sad, unable to smile or crack jokes. I had a weight on my shoulders. I realized something had to change. I took St. John's wort after speaking to a nurse friend. After two weeks, I woke up and felt... good. Happy without reason. I could face the world again. With that ability, I started building a gym habit and started socializing. My life completely changed. St. John's wort isn't a miracle-it's science. A stopgap to help you help yourself. I feel like myself again. Side effects: nausea, especially when drinking alcohol, so drink slowly. I treat it as a supplement."

• 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."