St John's Wort

PlayGirl

Hi all,

I've recently been prescribed Lexapro by my doctor to help with moods, but after researching it online I was definiitely put off as the side effects etc seem quite severe.

I have also researched St John's Wort I would really like to try it, as it seems to have considerably less side effects, and although it is also an antidepressant it is more herbal/natural and it just seems like a better option.. I'm under no illusion that it is in any way less intrusive then Lexapro would be

I did mention SJW to my doctor when i went to see him, however it was slightly dismissed. After asking my pharmacist he said it is very rarely prescribed and he has seen it once in 10 years.

I'm really just looking on advice or anyone elses experiences with either lexapro or sjw, or to be pointed in the right direction on where to ask for advice on which to take, as my doctor didn't exactly seem unbiased.. I do not particularly want to self medicate, but at the same time Lexapro for me is a last resort.

Thanks

locum-motion

PlayGirl wrote: »

... I do not particularly want to self medicate, but at the same time Lexapro for me is a last resort.

Thanks

You can't self-medicate with SJW anyway; it's prescription only.
The reason it's prescription only is because of various severe (potentially fatal, actually) effects it can have if taken with certain other medications. By having it on prescription only, your health carers can make sure that you're not taking any of the other relevant drugs before giving it to you.

You need to return to your doctor and/or your pharmacist, preferably when they're not mad busy, and tell them that you'd like a fuller explanation of why they think SJW isn't appropriate for you, and why Lexapro is.

Nobody here can comment in any specific way on your case, and even if they did, only a fool accepts medical advice from complete strangers that they cannot know anything about. (I am a pharmacist, but you have know way of knowing if that statement is true. I could be a random psycho, claiming to be a pharmacist, for all you know)

Generally speaking, though, the lists of side effects that appear in the product literature accompanying any medicine are very scary to read, and they can be very off-putting, when usually they don't need to be. Loads of really rare stuff will be listed (as in, a side effect that might only happen to one in every 100,000 people who take the drug will still be listed.)

With any drug, if you're worried, talk to your pharmacist about what might happen in terms of side effects, so that you can recognise them if they do happen, and what you should do if they do happen.

With all medicines (and this includes herbal ones such as SJW), there is a potential benefit and a potential risk. One needs to weigh the two of them up against each other. If the potential benefit outweighs the potential risk, then you take the drug, If not, you don't. However, the public typically don't have the knowledge to weigh them up and make that decision for themselves. That is why society has evolved is such a way that physicians and pharmacists exist; to do the weighing up and make the decision for you.

sam34

op, as per the charter we don't offer advice on personal medical situations. speak to your doctor or pharmacist again.