St. John's wort

[jannieC]

Does anyone have any experience using St. John's wort? I bought some yesterday and began taking it last night. I'm having some uh...trouble...with my state of mind since quitting smoking (8 days ago-NO CIGS!) so I thought I'd give this a whirl. The only thing I'm really interested in is how long it takes until you begin feeling effects. The reason I'm not looking this information up online is because I *don't* want to read all about side effects, etc. I know that traditional anti-depressants usually take a couple of weeks, and was curious if St. John's worked the same way. I hope not, as I fear I may hurt someone while waiting for it to work.

[GODDESS6]

my ma takes it everyday, i would have to ask her, but i wanna congratulate you on the 8 days no ciggs!!! ~i am starting my 3rd , hubby has chickened out so far & is smoking outside ~

[DavidMn]

Originally Posted by jannieC

Does anyone have any experience using St. John's wort? I bought some yesterday and began taking it last night. I'm having some uh...trouble...with my state of mind since quitting smoking (8 days ago-NO CIGS!) so I thought I'd give this a whirl. The only thing I'm really interested in is how long it takes until you begin feeling effects. The reason I'm not looking this information up online is because I *don't* want to read all about side effects, etc. I know that traditional anti-depressants usually take a couple of weeks, and was curious if St. John's worked the same way. I hope not, as I fear I may hurt someone while waiting for it to work.

You keep that no-smoking thing up!!!! Good for you

[SuzeQuze]

It does take weeks to work, much like anti-depressants. I don't think there really are a lot of side effects to it. I took it in the past and did not notice anything negative about it. Below is a blurb from Dr. Weil's site.

St. John's wort is an herbal remedy that has long been used in Europe as a treatment for mood disorders. Standardized extracts have shown an effectiveness equaling Prozac in the treatment of mild to moderate forms of the disease. It should not be taken with anti-retroviral medications, birth control pills, or antidepressant medications, especially SSRIs like Prozac or Celexa. Try 300mg of an extract standardized to 0.3 percent hypericin, three times a day. It's full effect will be felt in about eight weeks.

http://www.drweil.com/u/HC/HCA211/

Also, don't be alarmed by "8 weeks". You will probably feel relief in about 2. You may want to just make an appointment with your doctor. Maybe he/she can help you with something safe to take the edge off right now. Remember, quitting smoking is harder than quitting heroin so asking for help is not "weak"!

[Raeven Skye]

When my hubby quit smoking, he used Valerian root as well. I've found it to be more helpful than SJW.