St Johns Wort

[jesmond]

my brother in law has taken 300mgs of these for over 10 years, but recently he was in chemist and saw a diffrent brand which said on the box that they should only be taken for 6 weeks, now he thinks hs been wasting money and that like some antibiotics he could now be immume, so should he come off them gradually or just completely stop. thanx in advance

[Buenchico]

From the NHS website:
"Consult your doctor if your symptoms do not improve after six weeks or if they get worse during treatment with this medicine."

http://www.nhs.uk/medicine-guides/pages/MedicineOverview.aspx?medicine=St.%20Johns%20wort

If your BIL believes that he still needs some form of treatment he should seek an alternative from his GP.

[Sqad]

I cannot think of any medical condition that would benefit by the introduction of St John's Wort.

[slaney]

Good advice from Buenchico - he should ask his GP for advice.

Sqad, results of metanalysis in Cochrane database here...
http://summaries.cochrane.org/CD000448/st.-johns-wort-for-treating-depression.

[boxtops]

I certainly feel that taking anything for 10 years without a clinical review is not a particularly good idea. He needs to talk to his GP. If they have been having a good effect, he might not benefit by stopping them suddenly.

[Sqad]

slaney......seems fine if you are German, but no better than placebo if you are not.
Not impressed.

[slaney]

Not all that enthusiastic about it squad, but the summary didn't say exactly that:o)
"While in studies from other countries St. John's wort extracts seemed less effective" Less effective not "no better than placebo"

[slaney]

Sqad - this new iPad thing keeps on thinking I 'm wrong!

[LazyGun]

I had always understood that St. Johns Wort was thought to be one of the few "alternative" remedies that actually had a degree of scientific support for its use :)

As others have already mentioned, probably a good idea to go see the GP, and as a rule taking a medication for 10 years without clinical guidance is probably not the best idea...

Interesting about herbal medicine and Germans though- Mistletoe as a treatment for cancer seems to have a following over there, despite there being little evidence and few if any clinical trials that i know of...

They are also big fans of homeopathy and anthroposophical medicine, again treatments with little clinical evidence or scientific plausibility that support their efficacy

[jesmond]

thanks all, i will advise him to see his gp then its up to him