![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Meri-Tuuli on April 5, 2006, at 11:09:27
Hey there,
Well, I have to say that SJW is a remarkably potent herb.
I have been taking 300mg/day standarised to 0.9% Hypercium Kira brand (and nothing else, except a multi) and I stopped taking it on the 22nd March, because I wanted to try other stuff and I am really paranoid about mixing meds.
The first day off it, I swear I felt a brain zap. Then was fine for a couple of days, then went really bad! Anixety shot up and had a panic attack whereby I ended up in ER, and have also been feeling really depressed, thoughts of suicide etc etc.
So I clearly underestimated SJW power -- exactly how does it work? I understand that some sources say it inhibits the reuptake of sertonin, dopamine and GABA, and others sertonin, noradrenline and dopamine and GABA. But anyone know any more than that??
I am now taking 500mg tyrosine in the morning on an empty stomach. Seems to be doing something, but clearly, that could be a placebo effect!! Although I have to say my concentration and mental clarity are vastly improved.
Posted by tealady on April 5, 2006, at 18:50:17
In reply to Anyone know how exactly how SJW works?, posted by Meri-Tuuli on April 5, 2006, at 11:09:27
Sorry , I tried SJW once but I can't remember much about it..except anxiety at the end? I think?. I can't even remember if that was while I was still on it or not! I know I decided I didn't like it anywhere near as much as SAMe.
I know I posted on here about it at one stage...With the tyrosine, that helped me for a while too.. but it builds up in you after a few days to weeks and usually leads to getting cranky or aggressive once it builds up in most people. It's a thin line too between therapeutic and getting aggro for just about everyone too.
Are you taking tyrosine by itself now or are you back on SJW at the same time?
Thanks,
T
Posted by tealady on April 5, 2006, at 19:15:30
In reply to Anyone know how exactly how SJW works?, posted by Meri-Tuuli on April 5, 2006, at 11:09:27
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20031218/msgs/294024.htmllooks like it was somewhere in Nov 2003 I started on SJW.
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20031218/msgs/293922.html
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20031218/msgs/294024.htmland first go came off here.. and noticed after 3 days off..
I know I reordered some more and took for a longer time the second time..I was on it again in January04 it seeems and with tyrosine at the time
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20040110/msgs/301513.htmlEEEk I was tapering off from here way back then.. take a while to go don't I?
not sure what happened after that re the SJW.. I thought the anxiety got bad.. but looks like it could have been a combo of things..
maybe in the original SJW threads you might find some more info. I think Lar posted about it before that.. maybe back in Aug03?..try google?
T
Posted by blueberry on April 5, 2006, at 19:19:08
In reply to Anyone know how exactly how SJW works?, posted by Meri-Tuuli on April 5, 2006, at 11:09:27
I agree with you completely. SJW is powerful stuff. I had the best 3 months of my life on it, before I ruined it and pooped it out by smoking mj every day.
Anyway, I tapered off of 600mg in one week. Too fast. A few days later, oh my, I never knew what anxiety was but all of a sudden there it was like a freight train inside of me. And then, a panic attack that lasted 2 hours. Scared me to death. A small dose of zyprexa shut it down. But the next morning, panic attacks came back again. Scared me so bad that I, just like you, ended up in the ER. Amazing an herb had the power to do that.
At the time, I looked up the symptoms of benzodiazepine withdrawals. There were 30 listed. I swear I had every single one of them and in a big way. I was absolutely terrified what was happening to me.
SJW inhibits the reuptake of GABA, serotonin, norepinephrine, dopamine, and glutamate, all about equally. And it has affinity for the benzo receptors. If you suddenly stopped a serotonin med, anxiety and panic would be viscious. If you stopped a dopamine med too fast, anxiety and panic and tremors. Same with norepinephrine meds. Not to mention GABA meds! Stop SJW too fast, and guess what, we get all of that combined at once! Yikes. No telling how the glutamate part works in there too.
SJW works by somehow blocking sodium channels. I don't know what that means. But it seems to me, that in addition to everything else, if these sodium channels have been blocked and are suddenly reopened, look out.
Your experience was frightenly similar to mine. I hear so-called experts on the web say all the time to "take breaks from SJW" if you take it longterm, or that if it doesn't work just stop it.
Yeah right.
Posted by linkadge on April 7, 2006, at 18:51:03
In reply to Re: Anyone know how exactly how SJW works? » Meri-Tuuli, posted by blueberry on April 5, 2006, at 19:19:08
It is effective, but it needs to be discontinued slowly like other antidepressant treatments.
Linkadge
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Alternative | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.