so many people claim st. john's wort as a miracle drug and sing it's praises and seem to take great pleasure in the fact that it is natural. firstly, let's not forget that in pill form it is still manufactured, and secondly, natural does not equal harmless. it is just as important to discuss taking st. john's wort with a doctor as it is to discuss taking prozac or paxil.
last year the british medical journal recommended it as first choice of treatment for mild to moderate depression and have more than thirty trials documented which confirm its efficacy.
but as with all drugs it has its downsides and its risks. one doctor from monash university says, "anything that has the ability to change your physiology enough to improve your health also has the potential to harm". i do worry about the dangers of this because st. john's wort sits innocently on the shelves in supermarkets these days and unfortunately the average person thinks that if something doesn't need a prescription, it's safe.
one must also always be very aware of the implications of cross reactions. never take st john's wort in conjunction with any other medication. always speak to your doctor first. st john's wort can react dangerously with drugs such as warfarin or digoxin, which are prescribed for heart conditions. it can also react dangerously with theophylline for asthma and anticonvulsant drugs for epilepsy. it activates enzymes in the liver which causes them to metabolise the medicines at a faster rate, making them less effective.
it also interacts with triptans for migraine, overloading the brain with serotonin. this can lead to nausea, coma and even renal failure.
the therapeutic drugs administration now warns australians not to self-medicate with st. john's wort if they are already on prescription medication although i do wish they would print warnings on the label.
the other problem is that depression is a potentially life-threatening affliction and needs to be assessed first to eliminate any organic causes. what you may think is depression may be just a resultant affliction from something such as chronic fatigue syndrome, or thyroid imbalance. in this way, depression is not something you can self-assess.
information from the reader's digest, and my own brain.