Has anyone had any experience of st john’s wort... - Thyroid UK

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Has anyone had any experience of st john’s wort and if so do you have a brand recommendation?

Noelnoel profile image
9 Replies

Thanks

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Noelnoel
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RedApple profile image
RedAppleAdministrator

Noelnoel, St Johns Wort is not recommended for people taking various prescription medications, including thyroid medication.

From the PIL of an Holland&Barrett SJW product images.hollandandbarrettima...

Do not take this product if you are taking any of the following medicines:

thyroid hormone: Thyroxine

Noelnoel profile image
Noelnoel in reply toRedApple

RedApple

Thank you very much but it’s not for me. I will though pass on the warning

humanbean profile image
humanbean

Whoever is thinking of taking St John's Wort is presumably taking it for depression and/or anxiety?

There is an alternative which they might be interested in - 5-HTP. I wrote about it in this reply to someone else :

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

I've been taking 5-HTP for about ten years now, and it hasn't caused me any problems. But I do take an extremely low dose (50mg. four days a week).

Noelnoel profile image
Noelnoel in reply tohumanbean

Thank you humanbean

Yes she is but she’s had a glaucoma op and cannot take conventional anti-depressants. Not sure why. Also, St. John’s wort is looking as though it may have similar side-effects so 5-HTP may be the answer. She’s a scientist and well informed but doesn’t know so much about alternatives to convention

Stourie profile image
Stourie in reply toNoelnoel

St. John’s wort is another name for Prozac or fluoxetine. Jo xx

helvella profile image
helvellaAdministrator in reply toStourie

Jo,

No - really, it is not. They are very, very different to each other, although what they have in common is that both can be used to treat depression.

This is quite an in-depth overview of St John's Wort:

nccih.nih.gov/health/st-joh...

And this is the UK's NHS page about Prozac/Fluoxetine:

nhs.uk/medicines/fluoxetine...

Noelnoel profile image
Noelnoel in reply tohelvella

Thank you hellvella, I was waiting for someone someone else to chip in before answering Jo as I was unsure

Stourie profile image
Stourie in reply tohelvella

I apologise for my wrong information. Jo xx

Noelnoel profile image
Noelnoel in reply toStourie

Thanks Stourie, hellvella has posted a couple of interesting links

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