HealthBee

St. John’s Wort: The Herbal Way to Feeling Good by Norman Rosenthal, MD, is one of the best books I’ve found about self diagnosing depression and treating it with St. John’s Wort. Dr. Rosenthal is a senior researcher at the National Institute of Mental Health and a clinical professor of psychiatry at Georgetown University. I highly recommend you purchase this book if you cannot find it at your local library. (NOTE: For some reason the picture at Amazon shows the title being St. John’s Wort: The Miracle Cure for Depression…The correct title — which is also the title on Amazon is St. John’s Wort: The Herbal Way to Feeling Good. Not sure why the picture is different but it is the same book.)

The book starts off showing success stories of people who were diagnosed with depression. Many of these people took other prescribed medications, but decided to stop those mediations due to side-effects or because they just didn’t work. It also dedicates an entire chapter discussing various research studies that have been performed both in the US and in Germany, where St. John’s Wort is one of the most often prescribed drugs for depression. It also touches on some special type cases such as depression in the elderly and Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).

Part 2 is the nitty gritty of the book. It has a complete guide for people to self-diagnose depression, including explaining exactly what depression is, and giving several exercises to do to see if you have it. Following that is a set of guidelines for you to use to take St. John’s Wort for depression, including dosages, brand names to look for and a way to measure the effectiveness of the supplement. There is also a section on how to switch over from a prescribed antidepressant, to St. John’s Wort, or, if need be, how to use St. John’s Wort in combination with prescribed medications. Part 2 also has a chapter on frequently asked questions about St. John’s Wort.

The book ends with chapter showing how St. John’s Wort has been used through history.

All in all, I can say this is the best reference for self treating depression with St. John’s Wort I’ve found. Many other books shy away from self-diagnoses and/ or will not give straight answers about the dosages one should take. This books cuts through all that and gives straight answers. Well worth purchasing.

The target dosage in most of the antidepressant studies of mild to moderate depression has been 900 mg per day. Some people who are sensitive to the drug may be able to get by on 600 mg per day, and some people may need up to — but not more than — 1800 mg per day. For this reason, it is important to start off in small amounts and build up to the final dose over a period of about a week. For example, on days one and two, take only one 300 mg tablet, then on days three and four, take 600 mg, then on day five and beyond take 900 mg. If you are sensitive to side effects, you may need to go slower.

One of the best books I’ve found on the subject is called St. John’s Wort:  The Herbal Way to Feeling Good and can be purchased at Amazon.  You can read my book report here. 

Because herbal supplements are regulated by the Food & Drug Administration under a different set of guidelines than over the counter drugs and prescription drugs, it is important to check the label to insure the amount of active ingredient is proper for it to be effective. Check the label. For St. John’s Wort, the supplement must have a minimum level of 3% (0.03) hyperforin to be effective.

My personal brand preference is Perika St. John’s Wort by Nature’s Way, as I could not find the Kiva brand which is widely used in Germany. Interestingly enough, Perika is also made in Germany and is marketed in Europe under the brand name Neuroplant VO. And, Perika St. John’s Wort was tested in a German clinical trial and found to be more effective than Paxil with less side effects. Perika St. John’s Wort can be found in many drug stores and on the internet.

Kiva is another brand which is recommended in many references on depression, but I have not been able to find it.

Like many other antidepressants, it takes several weeks of taking St. John’s Wort to produce any effects; doctors usually say it’ll take around 4 weeks. From personal experience, I can say it took me about 5 weeks before I felt results. I took the recommended doseage of 900 mg for 4 weeks, and then when I didn’t feel a change, I upped the dose to 1200 mg (4 - 300 mg tablets) a day: two tablets in the morning, one at lunch and one at dinner.

After week 5, I felt a marked difference. I can’t really even describe the difference other than I felt good. It wasn’t like suddenly, I was happy all the time, but my body felt good, and things didn’t bring me down. More than anything, I wanted to do more things: I felt an urge to do things instead of sitting around the house. My productivity improved tremendously.

I do highly recommend St. John’s Wort if, in fact, you have been diagnosed as depressed. Be aware, however, that depression is sometimes a side effect of another ailment, such as low thyroid functioning, so it is important to talk to a doctor or therapist before you self treat.

NOTE: I am not a doctor. You should always seek the care of a doctor before taking any supplement, especially if you are taking other medications. This is information I have found from several sources, both online and from books and is the information I used to treat my own depression. Use at your own risk.

Since St. John’s Wort has been used extensively in Europe in the last 15 years, studies have shown it to be both safe and well tolerated when high quality brands are used in the dosages commonly prescribed.

Dr. Helmut Woelk in Germany monitored 3,250 mildly or moderately depressed patients being treated by 663 practitioners. Of all the patients monitored, only 2.4 percent reported side effects and only 1.5% stopped theri treatment because of side effects.

The most common side effects were:

• allergic reacions
• gastrointestinal irritations
• restlessness

Each of these side effects occurred with a frequency of less than 1 percent.

To alleviate the side effects, it is advised to “build up” to the full dose of the drug — that is, do not take the full dose of the drug when you first start taking it, instead, gradually increase the amount of St. John’s Wort until you are taking the full doseage. If, for example, your doseage is 900 mg, start at 300 mg for a few days, then increase to 600 mg and then to 900 mg.

Another special side-effect concern that has been raised is whether St. John’s Wort increases the sensitivity of the skin to sunlight in a harmful way. This side effect has been shown in skin reactions in cattle, but has not been shown to a troublesome degree in normal dosages in humans. It is advised, however, that if you are on St. John’s Wort, you should realize you are likely to redden or tan a bit more. You should consider wearing sunscreen when you are going to be exposed to sunlight.