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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 3 of 3. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Silvia on February 7, 2000, at 22:08:24
I've been taking Trazadone for almost 2 years and now my doctor has me taking Prozac as well. I cannot afford to pay for all these medications, especially since Prozac is about $90 for 30 pills. I was thinking about slowly cutting back my meds, first the trazadone then the prozac and then start taking SJW. I have heard many conflicting reasons for taking or not taking SJW. I do have cronic depression and am slightly bi-polar. The problem is that the financial strain of these meds is causing a different kind of depression. Any advise would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.
Posted by Cam W. on February 8, 2000, at 7:28:21
In reply to St John's Wart Question, posted by Silvia on February 7, 2000, at 22:08:24
> I've been taking Trazadone for almost 2 years and now my doctor has me taking Prozac as well. I cannot afford to pay for all these medications, especially since Prozac is about $90 for 30 pills. I was thinking about slowly cutting back my meds, first the trazadone then the prozac and then start taking SJW. I have heard many conflicting reasons for taking or not taking SJW. I do have cronic depression and am slightly bi-polar. The problem is that the financial strain of these meds is causing a different kind of depression. Any advise would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.
Silvia - I am sorry to hear about the med prices where you live. If you live in the U.S., have hope, your government is starting to recognize generic drugs (& Prozax should be genericized soon, as it is here in Canada). In Canada, name brand Prozac costs about $62.00 CDN/30 and the generic versions are about $45.00 CDN/30. If your doctor would be alright with this, get him/her to write out a prescription for a larger quantity of Prozac (90 to 180 days instead of 30 days). That way you save on dispensing fees. It is more money up front, but a big savings to you in the long run. As for using St.Johns wort, with having mild bipolar depression you may not want to change from Prozac to SJW as the "manic switch" rate of Prozac is low (3.8%) and with SJW it would be hard to predict, depending on which brand you bought. The amount of ingredients in the different brands of SJW varies greatly and to get a standardized dose you would have to pay for the expensive versions (the brands that do some testing of their product), so you may not be any further ahead using SJW. Find out what others say. Good luck - Cam W.
Posted by JohnL on February 9, 2000, at 3:01:42
In reply to St John's Wart Question, posted by Silvia on February 7, 2000, at 22:08:24
At www.hypericum.com the author suggests the best way to transition from prescription to SJW is to first get up to a full dose of SJW for a few weeks before tapering off the prescription med. From my own experimentation this is not always possible, because SJW just doesn't mix well with some meds. I found it horrible with Paxil, OK with Zoloft, and rather nice with Prozac. What you might consider is adding the SJW and keeping the Prozac. If you have sleeping problems, other meds can help that are dirt cheap. Like Xanax for example. To cut down on the cost of Prozac, reduce the dosing schedule to once every two days or once every three days instead of daily.
If you want to go completely natural, use the SJW and add Kava Kava and/or Valerian herb for sleep if needed.
The phramaceutical grades of SJW are the brands Kira or Movana. The standard dose of 3 pills a day is rather low. Controlled studies had the best results with doses up to 9 pills a day.
In any case, if the Prozac is helping you, it might be wise to keep some on board, perhaps in a reduced dosing schedule. For me it mixed well with SJW. JohnL
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