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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Franz on January 10, 2008, at 18:02:06
Hello. I started to take 300 mg S. J. Wort at night. I tried SJW before with not very good results, but I am interested.
One of the reasons I take it only at night is that in the morning I have to take a low dose levothyroxine and I read SJW affects thyroid hormones in a way I could not make it clear. Maybe it does not matter if I take it with T4 because SJW has a long half life.
The first days I took it at bedtime I first felt more relaxed but alert and then a mild sedation.
Is this a sedative oer stimulating herb?. From when I tried it at 2 or 3 caps/day I believe it was sedating.
Maybe I sould take it with lunch?.
Posted by bleauberry on January 11, 2008, at 18:29:57
In reply to Reaction to S. J. Wort, posted by Franz on January 10, 2008, at 18:02:06
I have spent hours looking through the archives of posts at sjwinfo.org, which is a forum for st johns wort users. There are a few common trends that are evident:
1. Some people are stimulated by sjw.
2. Some people are sedated by sjw.
3. Either way, the time of day the dose is taken can make a massive difference. Some do bad if taken in the morning but wonderful if taken at night, and vica versa.
4. Some do best with the entire dose once a day while others do better with the dose spread out.
5. Some people feel aweful on high hyperforin brands and better on cheap brands, while others get no benefit from cheap brands but do great on hyperforin brands. Apparently whether the brand favors hyperforin vs hypericin makes a huge difference and varies from person to person.
5. Experimentation in all of the above things is needed.
6. While some people feel benefits immediately, others feel nothing for 12 weeks and suddenly feel good after a long wait. As with antidepressants, it really takes a solid 3 months to judge true effectiveness.
7. A minority of people get worse on sjw no matter how they experiment with it. That includes me.
8. If someone gets better on sjw and then later it feels like it is pooping out, lower the dose. Really. There are so many people that raised the dose and got worse. There are many people who lowered the dose on their way to weaning off it after it pooped out who discovered that all of a sudden it was working great again. Logic says raise the dose if it poopouts out. Real life experiences say do the opposite.
9. Doses vary widely. One person may do best with 300mg once every two days. Someone else 1800mg every day. Most people are in the 600mg to 900mg range. It should be noted though that it is not uncommon for people to do well at much lower doses.I am not schooled on how sjw interplays with thyroid. There are studies showing it interplays with cortisol. Hard to tell exactly what it does to cortisol. There is a direct connection between cortisol and thyroid. They are intertwined. I think trying to predict how sjw would affect cortisol or thyroid might be tricky. Bottom line, it will take some experimenting, and there is no way to predict anything.
Posted by Franz on January 12, 2008, at 19:06:07
In reply to Re: Reaction to S. J. Wort, posted by bleauberry on January 11, 2008, at 18:29:57
Thanks a lot bleauberry.
I did find sjwinfo.org in my searches, looks informative.
> There are studies showing it interplays with cortisol. Hard to tell exactly what it does to cortisol.SJW is supposed to lower cortisol via inhibition of IL6
Posted by Franz on January 18, 2008, at 9:19:28
In reply to Re: Reaction to S. J. Wort, posted by Franz on January 12, 2008, at 19:06:07
After a week of only 300 mg at night I still feel tired from SJW.
Sould I take it every other day or quit?.
Thanks
Posted by bulldog2 on January 29, 2008, at 15:46:42
In reply to Reaction to S. J. Wort, posted by Franz on January 10, 2008, at 18:02:06
> Hello. I started to take 300 mg S. J. Wort at night. I tried SJW before with not very good results, but I am interested.
>
> One of the reasons I take it only at night is that in the morning I have to take a low dose levothyroxine and I read SJW affects thyroid hormones in a way I could not make it clear. Maybe it does not matter if I take it with T4 because SJW has a long half life.
>
> The first days I took it at bedtime I first felt more relaxed but alert and then a mild sedation.
>
> Is this a sedative oer stimulating herb?. From when I tried it at 2 or 3 caps/day I believe it was sedating.
>
> Maybe I sould take it with lunch?.I would not take it with thyroid because it could affect metabolism of t4. I personally would not take it with any prescription meds for that reason.
This is the end of the thread.
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