St John's Wort Withdrawal symptoms

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jam
joined 30 Jan 2007
12 posts

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Posted by jam, 22:49 10 March 2007

Hi all

Just wonder anyone had any bad experience coming of sjw?

seem alot websites saying not good use sjw with lamp even britebox said so.

And if was doing damage to your eyes would you necessarily know?

guess worry about long term eye damage and photosensitive

been on and seems to help but don't want be dependent on it and hoping lamp will replace the need for it

things not been so good of late, been using the lamp now since feb and have found energy levels have gone up, and feel more alert.

been on sjw it for 4 - 5 years and since I've come down a pill

I 've been feeling terrible.

feeling anxious, tense, stressed,

finding hard to deal with college work with relationships.

asked Girlfriend for space and leave me alone for a while
and am hiding away and canceling everything i can

worse I've felt in ages and only thing has changed is reducing the sjw
I like to come off it and just use lamp and avoid the light sensitivity issue

May go see Gp though they may but me on Anit depressents while I come off sjw

maybe that's not a bad idea if these are the withdrawal symptoms

my sister on about seeing a homeopathic though am not sure plus they want me to stop my asthma treatment with steroids

anyone else had an problems comming off sjw?

or found an alternative thats ok with lamp?

jamski

Linda
joined 15 Dec 2004
997 posts

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Posted by Linda, 08:19 11 March 2007

Hi Jamski,

I belong to a list where people go to get help with coming off their antidepressants safely.

What you have been experiencing are typical withdrawal symptoms. They mean that you are coming off your drug too quickly.

You can ease this by going back up to your original dosage and waiting a little while until you feel OK again. Then make a cut of no more than 10%. Wait 2 weeks or longer, until you feel OK again, and then make another cut of 10% or less of the previous (not the original) dose. Continue to do this, letting your body be your guide. You will probably experience some mild withdrawal effects. If they become too troublesome, then go back up to your last dosage and stabilise, then make your next cut smaller. You can get a pill splitter at a chemist's, or you can dissolve your pill in liquid (water, club soda, alcohol, whatever works) and use a syringe, which you can also get at a chemist's, to take the amount you need, and discard the rest.

It's particularly important to come off a drug slowly if you have been taking it for a long period of time. It is quite a shock to your system. Good nutrition is also very important while you are withdrawing.

I was only on my antidepressant for 6 months, then came off cold turkey. It is now almost a year on and I am still experiencing some significant problems due to withdrawal. I know other people who are having worse trouble than me, i.e. neurological damage. These drugs are serious business, as is withdrawing from them, and SJW is an antidepressant and should be treated as such.

I hope this helps Jamski. I've had trouble with jobs/employment because of the lingering effects of cold turkey withdrawal. Tapering too quickly, or not at all, just isn't worth the risk.

Kindest regards,
Linda.

Julie in Sussex
joined 21 Jan 2003
541 posts

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Posted by Julie in Sussex, 22:32 11 March 2007

Hi Jamski

If SJW has been working for you, why stop? Viewing its use as being 'dependent' on it might be a huge thought in your mind, but it is your way forward and you are coping with life by using it after all.

I use SJW and 5-htp and I certainly don't view myself as dependent on them, no more than I view the fact that I eat and drink water every day as a dependency. As the old saying goes "if it ain't broke, don't fix it", worth thinking about.

I can now look back over my many years of treatment for depression, all the prescribed drugs I have agreed to try, even having ECT, and nothing has worked as well for me as SJW, 5-HTP and Light Therapy. If that is called a dependency, I don't have a problem with that, but it's not the way I see it.

worried
joined 2 Jun 2009
1 posts

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Posted by worried, 22:27 2 June 2009

i am having general anesthetic next week and the nurse told me i need to stop my sjw straight away and go cold turkey till after the op, i take a low dosage but am very worried, i am very sensitive to tablets as i also have M.E. please could someone suggest either something else or if i should ignore the nurse? Linda G

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