Does st johns wort really treat mild depression?
In Germany St.Johns Wort is the first line treatment prescribed by doctors for mild to moderate depression, but as others have said you must give it time to work even a proprietary prescription only antidepressant can take up to 4 weeks before it is at its most effective level in the body. However if you do decide to try the St.Johns Wort and are taking other drugs prescribed by your GP you should discuss it with him/her first as it can affect the action of other medications.
A number of studies have shown St. John’s Wort (SJW) to be about as effective as standard antidepressants (i.e. SSRIs) in treating mild to moderate depression, without the side effects you may get with the SSRIs. In fact, there was a report out just last week citing studies that said SJW was effective in treating major depression, too (although I haven’t studied that info yet). I have suffered from bouts of mild depression on and off myself, and several times took SSRIs. They worked quickly, but the side effects were too much for me to deal with long-term. About a year ago I started taking SJW and found the effect to be roughly the same as the SSRIs (but obviously not a scientific sample there – just my experience!). There are a couple of websites (denoted below) that you may find useful. Hope that helps, Patricia C.
