DOSE:

1800 mg

oral

St. John's Wort

(daily)

BODY WEIGHT:

215 lb

I began taking St. John’s Wort in 1996 or so after reading or doing research on the substance. There are no restrictions on it in the States, and I had read that it had been in use for decades in Europe, so I gave it a try.

I began with a dose of 300mg 3x/day. From what I had read, the effects would not be felt for a few weeks to a month. I started to notice some effect after about two weeks, with the full effect kicking in after the fourth week. Generally I felt more relaxed, as I was prone to anger and outbursts. With St. John’s, I felt more in control, or more specifically, that nothing seemed to bother me too much. So while I may have been previously very excitable, I was now very mellow and much more relaxed.

I continued to take St. John’s daily for years. Around 2000-2001, I upped my dose to 600mg 3x/day. I don’t recall why I felt it necessary to up the dose. This continued for several more years.

In 2006, I stopped taking St. John’s Wort. I just wanted to see what would happen, aside from the fact that I missed ‘discount week’ and failed to pick up a bottle. It took a few weeks of not taking it, but after some consideration, I realized that I had become more irritable or cranky. It was only after a month that I thought about it and mentioned it to someone. They insisted that I go back to taking it; if that was the reason I was being such a bitch. So back to it I went, and the effects were again felt after about two weeks of 600mg 3x/day.

I stopped taking St. John’s Wort in early 2009. My feeling is that it just makes me too flat. While it may seem to have helped relieve some of my excitability issues, it also leaves me rather listless. I didn’t seem to have much enthusiasm to do much of anything. So while I wasn’t flipping out about normal, everyday nuisances, the normal, everyday joys no longer seemed to bring me pleasure. I wouldn’t say I was a zombie, but I just didn’t seem to care very much for anything, positive or negative.

I’ve noticed that since I’ve stopped taking it, I’m not getting all cranked up about stupid stuff and dealing with everyday situations more effectively. And, I have a better appreciation for the little things. I am finding pleasure once again since stopping the St. John’s.

This may be an extreme case; I don’t know to what degree people take St. John’s for an extended period of time. I think that for the short term, it does produce benefits. Taking it for an extended period may cause feelings of apathy. But as always, YMMV.

Exp Year: 2008	ExpID: 81600
Gender: Male
Age at time of experience: 40
Published: Dec 31, 2016	Views: 3,877
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St. John's Wort (142) : Retrospective / Summary (11), Therapeutic Intent or Outcome (49), Health Benefits (32), Various (28)