That's interesting, since I just read an article showing St. John's Wort having no effect on depression. I thought Paxil was more for anxiety than depression anyway.
The article notes that previous studies had indicated that there was no significant effect of St. John's Wort on depression and that this study was the first to contradict those. Also, at the bottom, it notes that this study was conducted by a company that sells St. John's Wort, so the results should be taken with that in mind.
Paxil is indeed used as an antidepressant, just like the other SSRIs. I have several friends here who could tell you quite a bit about their experiences with Paxil, I'm sure.
St. John's Wort is chemically from the same family as Paxil. There had been clear proof that it worked well for mild to moderate depression, but little proof that it worked well for severe cases, though it was commonly used for those as well in Europe, especially Germany.
St. John's Wort essentially has the same side-effect profile as low-dose SSRI's. Which is to say, safer than amitryptyline etc., but far from side-effect-free.
St. John's Wort is chemically from the same family as Paxil.
I did not know this. That's neat information.
I don't know much about St. John's Wort. I had a friend in college recommend it to me; she had high opinions of herbal remedies. I never tried it, though.
I'm currently on Paxil. It's probably not the best thing in the world, considering how I feel about Glaxo Smith Kline and corporate pharm and the psychiatric industry in general...
But it seems to have helped. I never tried the Wort, though.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
branchandroot![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2005-02-11 07:10 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-02-11 08:17 pm (UTC)Paxil is indeed used as an antidepressant, just like the other SSRIs. I have several friends here who could tell you quite a bit about their experiences with Paxil, I'm sure.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-02-12 10:47 am (UTC)St. John's Wort is chemically from the same family as Paxil. There had been clear proof that it worked well for mild to moderate depression, but little proof that it worked well for severe cases, though it was commonly used for those as well in Europe, especially Germany.
St. John's Wort essentially has the same side-effect profile as low-dose SSRI's. Which is to say, safer than amitryptyline etc., but far from side-effect-free.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-02-13 05:42 pm (UTC)I did not know this. That's neat information.
I don't know much about St. John's Wort. I had a friend in college recommend it to me; she had high opinions of herbal remedies. I never tried it, though.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-02-12 02:06 am (UTC)But it seems to have helped. I never tried the Wort, though.
I'm curious, now.
A.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-02-13 05:46 pm (UTC)The makers of my remedy, too!
I have specific feelings about Big Pharm, myself. It's scary to think of how much money those companies bring in each year.