St John's Wort revisited

You said: after years suicidal til breakfast and coffee

Could you explain?

Forgive me Punkey

After years of an experience where I'm so anxious or depressed as to be suicidal from the time I arise in the morning until later after I've consumed my breakfast and downed a cup or two of coffee, when this daily habit has taken effect,…..

http://www.fordham.edu/campus_resources/enewsroom/archives/archive_208.asp

Googling "'St. John's wort' cataracts" will result in many references about the possible relationship.

P.S. I cannot be bothered with making coffee first thing upon awakening, so I have a thermos of (cold) coffee made the previous day. It lifts my mood quickly, rather than wait for coffee (hot) to be made.

Wow Foof, thanks for that link, I might have to reconsider. Do you suppose they might now switch it to prescrip

Yea Foof I'd considered replacing my 4-cup maker with a 12- but I've fooled myself into supposing it tastes best fresh

Unless you are now a doctor, kindly stop being an advertisement for some over the counter item which you have found to be of benefit to you.

Sure, it may well have worked for you; but, it will not work for everyone and your carrying on about how much cheaper it is, and how it is so advantageous to use instead of a trip to a mental health professional, may cost someone out there, their life. Maybe even a few someones.

Who knows, maybe the person suffering from real depression might decide to off themselves. Or maybe they will first dispose of those who offend them. That could be just about anybody, including dozens of innocents.

You want that blood on your hands dale?

Real depression, not that 'feeling low, feeling blue, feeling half-dead' before coffee, needs professional help. Talking through matters, discussion. Yes, even actual medications which may well indeed cost more than St.J's Wort. When it comes to life and death...which is what depression is at times for many people, there is no substitute for proven treatment.

Further, there are many who feel like crap upon waking, and feel this for a few hours and then snap together, without coffee, or your herbal supplement.

Read the attached website information on this item.
http://nccam.nih.gov/health/stjohnswort/sjw-and-depression.htm

Among other things:

Combining St. John’s wort with certain antidepressants can lead to a potentially life-threatening increase of serotonin, a brain chemical targeted by antidepressants. St. John’s wort can also limit the effectiveness of many prescription medicines.

Psychosis is a rare but possible side effect of taking St. John’s wort.

St. John’s wort is not a proven therapy for depression. Do not use St. John’s wort to replace conventional care or to postpone seeing your health care provider. Inadequately treated depression may become severe and, in some cases, may be associated with suicide. Consult a health care provider if you or someone you know may be depressed.

And some life threatening issues associated with popping the St.John's:
Taking St. John’s wort can weaken many prescription medicines, such as:

Digoxin, a heart medication
Warfarin and similar medications used to thin the blood.
Some HIV drugs including indinavir
Some cancer medications including irinotecan
Cyclosporine, which prevents the body from rejecting transplanted organs

Then again; perhaps you have a vested interest in a local mortuary, crematorium, cemetery or funeral home so it would serve you well to get people to take something which might harm them.


So, yeah, it's nice you find popping your pills is helpful; yet, truth is they are working for you and you should keep your gibberish directed towards that instead of going on about how much money can be saved. However, it's a disservice to many, so, please stop.

Thank you Stur for that report. Again I wonder if they won't now make it prescrip

Highly unlikely that it'd now become a prescription item. (though we never know what lurks in lobbyists for pharmaceutical corporations minds)
It's been touted as a help for some years now, so the plus and minus factors are readily known to the FDA.

Again, who can tell what the future holds?

I didn't know all that, Sturgis, and also Foofie. I might have read some cautions about it, but forgotten, since it's not my own interest.
I've never been clinically depressed but have friends who deal with it - in what I think of as the right way. Like everyone, I have doldrums about situations I feel trapped in, blue indigo, but those are realistic downs and I usually work out of them, tap on wood.

I've rarely been jolly on wake up, bounding out of bed to start the day-o. Unless, unless - I was about to catch a plane or train and go have travel fun. That was always a great mood picker upper. Re coffee, I just like it, part of the morning ritual.

Incidentally Stur, what's your take on 5-htp