I didn't even think about the possibility that taking St. Johns Wort could have such profound side effects!!!
I am a 44 year old male and I had been taking this supplement for almost an entire year in order to attempt to improve a mild to moderate depression that I was experiencing. The St. John's Wort didn't seem to help to improve my mood very much until I had been taking the supplement for at least 2 weeks. Around that time, I began to feel very abnormally manic happiness. What I mean is that I felt like I was Leonardo DiCaprio in the movie "The Titanic" and I was standing on the front of the ship shouting "I'M ON TOP OF THE WORLD!!!!!"
Anyway, It was a nice change from the doom and gloom that I had been experiencing, so I continued to take the pills. The mania lasted for several months and it seemed great for awhile. The manic high eventually wore off, however, and I believe that was when the other side effects began to kick in.
I recently stopped taking this stuff only a few weeks ago because I was beginning to become concerned that ingesting any chemical for a prolonged period of time could have a negative effect on the body. Also, I was beginning to have problems related to impotence and I read an article that Prozac can have that type of a side effect. I was only speculating that St. Johns Wort could possibly have similar effects because I also read that Prozac and St. John's Wort are very similar compounds.
Over the past 6 months I have been experiencing problems with insomnia, headaches, anxiety, anger, aggression, and fatigue. I haven't thought too much about the idea that it could be caused by a dietary supplement like St. John Wort until I came across this thread. I have been feeling like I have been riding a mid-life crisis roller coaster. I have only begun to feel better since I have stopped taking St. John's Wort.
I started taking Valium for the anxiety. I took some Motrin and other even stronger pain killers for the headaches. I started taking Melatonin for insomnia to help to regulate my circadian rhythm. I was also taking Ginsing and trying some other over the counter supplements to try to improve my problem with fatigue. The list of supplements and medications seemed to increase exponentially as I continued to experience further problems which I would try to resolve with some other supplement. I felt as though I was literally stuck in some sort of warped paradoxical loop.
Then one day, I was talking to a friend and they told me how they were taking a ton of medications and they wanted to stop, but they didn't know how to stop. It occurred to me that I was doing the same thing and that the only way to stop is to just stop taking everything. So I threw everything out a few weeks ago. After 2 weeks, I began feeling "normal" again.
I suppose that I have learned the hard way that it is important to use caution when taking these supplements. Thank you for all of your posts here. The information is greatly appreciated.
= new reply since forum marked as read