19-11-2016, 15:43
(This post was last modified: 19-11-2016, 15:57 by surferjoe2007.)
Interactions with an SSRI are weird, because most of the herbs or supplements that "interact" with the SSRI enhance the effectiveness of the SSRI or are SSRI's themselves. What they're afraid of is an overdose. Which is odd because they can't actually say that the natural substance is an anxiety treatment because it hasn't undergone extensive drug testing as one. But they can still say it has potential SSRI effects for the purpose of interaction.
SSRIs show poor effectiveness, close to placebo, but are also very low in side effects. It's hard to show any effectiveness with Saint John's Wort extract too but it still comes out ahead of the drugs. Also even less side effects. It's worth a shot since the risks are extremely low and the overall effect is mild. Make sure you get an extract standardized to 0.3% hypericin for correct strength. 1800 mg is used in studies but you may use as little as 300 mg. If you want to use with other herbs then you can use a lower amount to stay on the safe side. That's still better than taking nothing and the risks are next to nothing.
You may also want to take 5-Hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP), a serotonin precursor. Info on it here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9727088 . You can search for more studies on it at the same site. It's also listed as something to not take with SSRI's due to "interaction" with them, which is even funnier. You're afraid of overdose, but if so why would I not rather make my own serotonin so it's safer and eventually get off my SSRI meds? But if you take 5-HTP then likewise take less SJWE just to be safe. A few studies at pubmed.gov show greater effectiveness from combining an SSRI with 5-HTP, but it's still not that great (nor are any treatments in general).
SSRIs show poor effectiveness, close to placebo, but are also very low in side effects. It's hard to show any effectiveness with Saint John's Wort extract too but it still comes out ahead of the drugs. Also even less side effects. It's worth a shot since the risks are extremely low and the overall effect is mild. Make sure you get an extract standardized to 0.3% hypericin for correct strength. 1800 mg is used in studies but you may use as little as 300 mg. If you want to use with other herbs then you can use a lower amount to stay on the safe side. That's still better than taking nothing and the risks are next to nothing.
You may also want to take 5-Hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP), a serotonin precursor. Info on it here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9727088 . You can search for more studies on it at the same site. It's also listed as something to not take with SSRI's due to "interaction" with them, which is even funnier. You're afraid of overdose, but if so why would I not rather make my own serotonin so it's safer and eventually get off my SSRI meds? But if you take 5-HTP then likewise take less SJWE just to be safe. A few studies at pubmed.gov show greater effectiveness from combining an SSRI with 5-HTP, but it's still not that great (nor are any treatments in general).