Am switching temporarily from SSRI (sertraline) to St John’s Wart. I have been needing a lower dose than 50 mg/day of SSRI.

Blackmores St John’s Wort is 1800 mg/tablet (0.99 mg hypercin derivatives per tablet) and they recommend 3 tablets per day. That’s 5400 mg/day

But

“black dog institute” says no more than 900 mg/day.
WebMD says 0.3% hypericin content, 300 mg three times daily
Mayo Clinic says 900-1,800 milligrams of St. John’s Wort extract daily by mouth.

So?

This doesn’t answer the question, but it is useful information for this thread:

http://summaries.cochrane.org/CD000448/st.-johns-wort-for-treating-depression.

mollwollfumble said:

Am switching temporarily from SSRI (sertraline) to St John’s Wart. I have been needing a lower dose than 50 mg/day of SSRI.

Blackmores St John’s Wort is 1800 mg/tablet (0.99 mg hypercin derivatives per tablet) and they recommend 3 tablets per day. That’s 5400 mg/day

But

“black dog institute” says no more than 900 mg/day.
WebMD says 0.3% hypericin content, 300 mg three times daily
Mayo Clinic says 900-1,800 milligrams of St. John’s Wort extract daily by mouth.

So?

I always needed less than 30 mg of St John’s Extract. I think it is variable dosage per person. No more than, is getting way up in the too much bracket.

mollwollfumble said:

Am switching temporarily from SSRI (sertraline) to St John’s Wart. I have been needing a lower dose than 50 mg/day of SSRI.

Blackmores St John’s Wort is 1800 mg/tablet (0.99 mg hypercin derivatives per tablet) and they recommend 3 tablets per day. That’s 5400 mg/day

But

“black dog institute” says no more than 900 mg/day.
WebMD says 0.3% hypericin content, 300 mg three times daily
Mayo Clinic says 900-1,800 milligrams of St. John’s Wort extract daily by mouth.

So?

If I were to guess, I’d say the manufacturer has a vested interest in getting you to use more of their product. As for actual dosage, 900mg seems to be a dosage.

And this is a reliable source:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/329.html

Dosage stuff is down near the bottom.

The dosages depend on what else is in the product. I took 900mg/day as according to black dog as their website have some great studies to back it up.

Is this switch arising from medical advice?

> Is this switch arising from medical advice?

No, the exact opposite. I used up the last of the previous “use only as necessary” prescription and don’t want to pay to go back to the doctor without a really good reason. Easier if I can use an over the counter equivalent. Over the counter may or may not end up more expensive overall.

Thanks for that advice. I’ve noticed that the effects wear off much more quickly than seratonin. I’ll try half a tablet (900 mg) twice daily and it it still wears off too quickly try half a tablet three times daily. I didn’t check whether the tablets have a lower concentration of active ingredient (hypericin).

mollwollfumble said:

I’ve noticed that the effects wear off much more quickly than seratonin.

Seratonin is a neuro-chemical, not an ingredient of some medication.

mollwollfumble said:

> Is this switch arising from medical advice?

No, the exact opposite. I used up the last of the previous “use only as necessary” prescription and don’t want to pay to go back to the doctor without a really good reason. Easier if I can use an over the counter equivalent. Over the counter may or may not end up more expensive overall.

Molli,

It’s an old adage that ‘any doctor who treats himself has a fool for a patient’.

‘Pennywise and pound foolish’ is an equally old adage.

Varying your medication on your own say-so may end up more expensive than you imagine.

Results of dosing experiment.

Nowhere near as strong as sertraline, either in terms of peak effect or duration of action. Maximum duration of action of St John’s Wort is about 3-4 hours, as opposed to more than 24 hours for sertraline. To get the same effect from St John’s Wart as from sertraline it would cost, at the very minimum, five times as much.

mollwollfumble said:

Results of dosing experiment.

Nowhere near as strong as sertraline, either in terms of peak effect or duration of action. Maximum duration of action of St John’s Wort is about 3-4 hours, as opposed to more than 24 hours for sertraline. To get the same effect from St John’s Wart as from sertraline it would cost, at the very minimum, five times as much.

Even though St John’s Wart grows as a weed?

morrie said:

mollwollfumble said:

Results of dosing experiment.

Nowhere near as strong as sertraline, either in terms of peak effect or duration of action. Maximum duration of action of St John’s Wort is about 3-4 hours, as opposed to more than 24 hours for sertraline. To get the same effect from St John’s Wart as from sertraline it would cost, at the very minimum, five times as much.

Even though St John’s Wart grows as a weed?

You should buy shares in blackmores morrie ;)