Hey everyone
I haven't been diagnosed with depression...I'm not even sure I have it. But sometimes I just get a really overwhelmed feeling...like there's no point to life and nothing has meaning. I think I just feel so much stress that I start to think it isn't worth it.

I'm not like this all the time, which makes me wonder if it's a form depression or a result of too much stress or just the existentialist in me ANYWAYYYYY...I was wondering if anyone has tried st. john's wort and found it to be helpful. I was thinking of trying it next time I start to feel kinda down. Thanks for listening to the venting lol. I just joined the forum, but I'm already hooked! So helpful!

Hi Ellakay

I have never tried OTC meds/herbs for my depression so I can't help you on the St. Johns Wort...sorry

The feelings you described sound pretty hard.... have you ever considered talking to your doctor about your depression?

I'm glad you like it here

I have considered it, but it's not really severe enough to interfere with my life most of the time....so I woulnt want to take any medication or anything like that.

I really just think I have an anxious/worrying/overly analytical/thinking kind of personality hah. Sometimes it gets the best of me. Thanks for the welcome

Ellakay,

For the record, I have not been diagnosed as depressed (because I'm stubborn and haven't talked to my dr. about it), and I am NOT a doctor or involved in the medical profession in any way. But I feel kind of like you described... it's just too much stress and my own personal view of life. Also, I was afraid that if I started taking mood-altering drugs, I just wouldn't be myself anymore.

But anyway, due mainly to my fiancé's (who is also NOT a doctor, but who IS depressed) conviction that I am, in fact, clinically depressed, I started taking an OTC "mood enhancer," SAM-e on the recommendation of another diagnosed depressed friend. The box said it could take a few months to kick in, but I noticed a difference in just a few days. I still feel like myself, and I still have my ups and downs, but my downs don't last very long at all anymore, and I actually feel more comfortable and less stressed with my life. Even my fiancé says he notices a difference.

However, SAM-e is a little expensive for my budget (I'm poor, and planning a wedding!), about $20 a box, for a 10-12 day supply, though it's almost always on sale at my local grocery store buy one get one free, and NatureMade has a great coupon system. Anyway, my last venture to resupply, it wasn't on sale at all, so I decided to try the St. John's Wort, which is noticably cheaper (about $5.50 for a 20-25 day supply).

I have found a few problems with it.
#1, the pills are HUGE. The SAM-e pills are fairly small, about the size of an aspirin, but the St. John's Wort are the size of a large multi-vitamin. I don't like taking large pills (I even buy specifically smaller multi's), so this is a deterrant for me.
#2, even in this huge size pill, you have to take it 3 times a day, after a meal. That's a little inconvenient for me, and more often that not, I end up not taking them at all. Not very effective if you don't take it.
#3, and this one is probably just some idiosyncracy of me, but I get a lot more headaches than I did with the SAM-e. I have a LOT of headaches anyway, pretty much every single day, so I try to pay attention to what I change in my diet/lifestyle. The SAM-e helped my headaches a little, but the St. John's Wort either provokes them or just makes them seem worse in comparison.
#4, I did take the St. John's Wort faithfully for the first week or so after I got it, and I didn't notice much improvement in my moods over my "normal" state. I don't know if that's because St. John's Wort is less powerful, or I wasn't adjusted to it in that short amount of time, or perhaps it just didn't work well with my system, but the SAM-e produced a much more noticeable effect, and fairly quickly.

If you are considering taking an OTC anti-depressant, I would strongly recommend the SAM-e over St. John's Wort. Or you could start out with St. John's Wort, and if it's produces negative effects or no effects, you could switch to SAM-e.

Again, I am NOT a health professional, and all of this information is from my own personal experience.

People react to medications differently. I would caution you to read information about both drugs, including all of the possible side effects and ingredients, before taking either one of them.

I hope this helps!
~Elisha

Oh yeah, and St. John's Wort smells and tastes funny. Not bad, exactly, but citrusy and herby and mediciney. I hate taking pills I have to taste.

I used to take SAM-e for arthritis and the best price I found by far was at Costco. This may have changed, but it's worth checking out if you decide to go that route

Btw, I now take high doses of fish oil (lots cheaper than SAM-e) and it really helps my arthritis. Funnily enough, it's also recommended for depression! Must be a connection there somewhere?

I used to get very stressed and had insomnia where thoughts would race around my head for hours (usually doom and gloom type). I quit drinking caffeine and it helped dramatically. Not saying that's your problem - just a thought. Hope you feel better soon

Omega-3 is also recommended as an adjunct for mood disorders - I take some ungodly amount for that, as well as cardiovascular support (my family tends to drop dead in their 50s from massive heart attacks). I don't really consider it part of my medication profile - if I had to choose between my lithium and my Omega-3 I would dive on the lithium every time. However, it seems to have a supporting effect.

Now having said that, I had to find the enteric coated or specially processed Omega-3 supplements because I couldn't handle the fish burps. I found a couple of option - several manufacturers make enteric coated supplements that dissolve in the intestines rather than the stomach, and there is a manufacturer called Nordic Naturals who makes the supplement in several forms that don't cause fish burps.

You came to the right site, there are a lot of great people here!

I've taken St. Johns Wort and it didn't help me, but it did however, help my cousin. My mom went to the GNC store and talked to the guy there and he recommended a few things (sorry can't remember what) that did help her.

Also maybe talk to your dr? I was prescribed Wellbutrin XR and it helped me. I know its up to your dr because everybody is different.

I also take Fish Oil pills. Infact about a year ago I was diagnosed with HIGH cholestrol (I've had it all my life) was on a low cholestrol diet at the age of 16! But anyways, by changing my diet and exercising and taking the fish oil pills, I dropped from cholestrol levels of over 200 down to 190 (in one month)! My dr was amazed!

It doesn't do diddly for my arthritis, but I've heard it does help a lot of people for that, among lots and lots of other things!

Great posts !!!! thanks everyone.

I used to take omega 3, 6 years ago when I was on a low carb diet and just recently started researching it again. Its amazing how many different ailments they claim to help. I am looking into brands and gonna make my decision this week. I used to take twin labs, so we'll see.

I've done a lot of research about Omega 3 supplements and they vary a lot in quality. The more expensive ones are made from small oily fish, which means that they have less contaminants such as mercury, pcb's, etc. than large fish (which get a higher concentration in their bodies because they live longer and are higher on the food chain). Since I take a high dose every day, it's important to me that there as few contaminants as possible. Here are two brands that I use. I have a friend who is also a Dr. Naturopath and she told me that Metagenics is the "gold standard" of Omega 3 supplements. I don't by them from her, so she has nothing to gain by telling me that.

http://www.totaldiscountvitamins.com...t/mtgframe.htm Metagenics EPA-DHA 720 - I don't get 'fish burps' from these, but they don't get discounted very often so at the moment I'm using these: http://www.lef.org/newshop/items/item00625.html

Make sure that you are checking reputable sites when you do your "research" on these products. As far as I have ever been told there is no research based studies that some of the above mentioned products do anything.
There is something called a placebo effect....and of note some OTC/herbal products do have contraindications with other meds and conditions. Just something to think about while you make your decisions.

L

Well I got my information from an internal dr. who swears by omega-3. She said they are SO good for you! After I heard that is when I started taking them and my cholestrol went down!

Both my regular doctor and my naturopath recommended Omega 3 (fish oil). My cholesterol has fallen from 225 to 193 within a six month period since I started taking Omega 3. I'm just a 'study' of one, but it seems to be working for me and my arthritis pain is a lot less (after trying many other natural remedies that didn't work) hence no 'placebo' effect. I believe there have been many studies done on St. John's Wort in Europe and it is more widely used for depression over there.

That being said, it's best to be careful when reading any claims on a website that is actually selling a particular natural remedy as there are lot of false and outlandish claims out there. It is best to read studies by independent authorities or universities.

Penny - I had a drop in my cholestrol too, haven't experienced the arthritis relief, yet but I need to be more consistent on taking it too.

I didn't get any pain relief till I started taking very large doses (6 x 720mg capsules per day). You should only take large doses under a doctor's supervision as it can cause bleeding or stroke if you take large doses with other blood thinning medications or other supplements that thin the blood.