St. John's Wort, Depression, and Hot Flashes

Many people, both men and women, take the herbal treatment St. John's Wort for mild-to-moderate depression. In the case of menopausal women, it is a safe, more natural alternative compared to hormone replacement therapy when depression is one of their symptoms. Like some of the other alternative medicines being used to relieve menopausal symptoms today, St. John's Wort comes from a flower and is considered very safe to use.

The difference between mild-to-moderate depression and more serious depression is the number of symptoms a person experiences and for how long. See the resource listed below for more information on the signs of depression.

What Do the Clinical Trials Tell Us?

There have been several clinical trials suggesting that St. John's Wort is effective in relieving mild-to-moderate depression, yet, according to a report published in the Journal of American Medical Association, it was no more effective than the use of a placebo in these cases. The report blamed the results on the poor design of those studies.

There have been a few trials of combination therapy using St. John's Wort and black cohosh. When women were randomized to either treatment or placebo, results showed significant improvement of menopausal symptoms, especially hot flashes, for women in the treatment group compared with the placebo group.

In addition to treating mild to moderate depression, a new study conducted at the Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in Iran suggests that St. John's Wort can help relieve hot flashes. The study consisted of 100 women approximately 50 years old who had been experiencing at least one hot flash every day. The study revealed that in a group of randomly assigned women, those taking St. John's Wort experienced significantly fewer hot flashes than the women who took a placebo. Not only did it help reduce frequency of hot flashes, but also reduced their intensity.

Typically, trials use 300 mg of St. John's Wort given three times a day, which is the dose that offers a therapeutic effect. It's important to remember that this herb is not effective for more serious depression, which should be treated by your healthcare provider.

St. John's Wort is readily available over the counter in most pharmacies, supermarkets, and natural food stores. It can be taken in two separate forms: liquid or pills, and comes in tablets, capsules, tinctures, and even tea bags.

Side Effects and Concerns

By itself, St. John's Wort is not considered especially dangerous. The most serious side effects typically consist of dizziness, gas pains, and fatigue. However, the most trouble is associated with its ability to negate the effectiveness of other drugs. For example, it often has a negative interaction with antidepressants. It has even been reported to interfere with birth control pills and some heart disease medications, reducing their effectiveness.

For this reason, it is important that you discuss St. John's Wort with your doctor before taking it. If you experience any allergic reactions, increased blood pressure, or upset stomach while taking it, contact your doctor immediately.

Everyone's situation and body is different. Only your healthcare provider can evaluate your specific situation and prescribe an appropriate plan for dealing with your specific needs.

HotFlashNetwork.com (HFN) is a health, wellness, and lifestyle website where women will find searchable access to a broad and varied spectrum of content and resources regarding the diagnosis, treatment, and survival tips for managing their Hot Flashes and other disruptive symptoms of Menopause. HFN's primary mission is to educate and empower women by providing a filtered resource of significant, diverse, and relevant content and product information without opinion, recommendation, or bias.

Most importantly, through the website, the HFNewsletter, the HFN Forum, Facebook, and Twitter communities, site visitors are able to connect with a global network of like-minded women who face these similar challenges and garner support from sympathetic women all over the world who understand exactly what they're going through.

Please visit us at: http://www.hotflashnetwork.com/

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Stay at Home Mom's View on Facing Depression

Depression: its devastating effects

Depression is a mental disorder that affect so many people in today's world. It's really sad to see this "disorder" start to arise in today's society everywhere.

Depression can be overcome...

I know that men,women, older women, and mothers fall also victim to depression's claws making it so hard on the surrounding family members. We are told so many times that we cannot do something, or we dream about something and there is always someone who wants to make sure we are put down and we don't achieve our dreams. Sometimes what we have worked so hard for falls apart, we might suffer the loss of a loved one, or even suffer a tramatic experience.

We need to stand up to these people,to these circumstances and sometimes to these evil thoughts (like: suicide, negative thoughts "I can't" ) which in my personal opinion are caused my Devil himself who's only true pleasure to is to destroy God's precious creation. We cannot let depression aka "the spirit of oppression" get away with our happiness... that is not acceptable. We must come out of this with victory in our hands, with a smile on our faces and with the memory of the strife we went through because that will remind us how important it is to fight back and be bigger than ourselves. We must realize me can beat depression or anything with God by our side that is the honest truth people.

The Bible says this, " For thus says the Lord of host, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are in your midst deceive you, nor listen to your dreams which you cause to be dreamed. For they prophesy falsely to you in My name; I have not sent them, says the Lord." (Jer. 29:8-9) Then Ron Phillips writes in one of his amazing books, " If God has given you a dream, you can almost count on someone coming along to speak gloom and doom over it!... Refuse to listen to DREAM KILLERS."

Dream your dreams, if you feel you're facing depression seek professional help, but I personally can say professional help did NOT change me, what changed my life was God and growing closer to him. It was with Him that I knew ANYTHING is possible. In the Bible it reads, " Seek and Ye Shall Find". I have complete faith that the dreams Ihave dreamt have been sent to me by God and I will make them happen they will bear fruit as that is God's plan and my plan. I want to touch people's lives, not only financially in the sense that I know of a great BUSINESS of BLOGGING AND MAKING MONEY will help significantly, but I want people to know they are not alone! Many of us have been through this dark tunnel, where our bedrooms without light seem to be a haven, where money never seems to be enough, where our loved ones are gone.

This can be overcome; you must go out and LIVE! God wants you to go out and live, your family wants you to LIVE! Nothing is more beautiful than happiness beaming from your heart and glow coming out of your eyes... be happy! Screw depression and all the evil doings of the DEVIL, HE IS DEFEATED in the NAME of the LORD our GOD.

You can do anything! Have faith in yourself!

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