Posted by Margie on April 09, 2002 at 04:29:43:
In Reply to: St. John's Wort? posted by Patty on April 08, 2002 at 11:28:46:
Hi: Dr. Swank mentions two antidepressants in his book> triclylics AD is one. St. John's Wort is mild. I cannot handle the regular Anti-Ds. They wire me up. So I take 300 mg. St.John's Wort daily. Make sure it is standardized so each capsule contains the same amount of active ingredient. It has been very helpful to me to simply brighten my outlook. A good friend takes it also and says it has changed her life.
Two warnings. It can cause you to sunburn more easily but I haven't noticed it. And it acts like a MAO inhibitor so before you take new meds your dr. needs to know about that.
I stopped taking it for a bit and could tell the diff.
I doubt Dr. Swank could be on top of every treatment/new medication for all the parts of the body since his field was neurology. I have an excellent chiropractor who is extremely knowledgeable in herbals and supplements. He encouraged me to try glucosamine for my aging joints. The recommended dose is 1500mg a day. You can take one that also has chondroitin in it, but I take only glucosamine. It is smaller in molecular size than the chondroitin in your body. Glucosamine is made from chondroitan in the body. I have had no ill side effects and I can squat down and get up easier. So yes, it has helped me. It didn't make my body work like I was 20, but I could tell a diff.
Are you aware that Valium is a causitive factor for depression in many people? I can take Valium 3 days and turn into a severely depressed person. When it gets out of my system, I return to normal. You may want to wean yourself off it, stay off it for 3 weeks and then take it again and see if the depression comes back.
Today my neuro gave me a script for a different one called Xanax. He said they are like cousins, but are different enough that I might not have that side effect. Lorazepam is another. There are a ton of them to try. We have enough without a pill adding more to deal with. Hopefully if your dr. is willing to write small scripts you can try different ones until you find one that doesn't cause depression. Good luck