The prozac of herbsWe are witnessing a burgeoning of interest in herbal medications, as well as evidence of St John's Wort at work for men and women with a wide variety of different problems and in different situations. Some are taking it on their own, others at the recommendation of herbalists and practitioners of alternative medicine, and yet others, in numbers almost certain to increase, as part of the regimen set out for them by their doctors. What kind of people are using the herbal remedy? What sort of ailments are they treating with it and to what effect? These are some of the questions I have sought to answer in this chapter and the next. As research has shown, St John's Wort can be effective in the treatment of major depression. Yet, just as with anti-depressants, its use and value very likely extend far beyond the confines of that single clinical syndrome. As the stories in this chapter illustrate, St John's Wort, though mild in its side-effect profile, has powerful and far-reaching beneficial effects which makes it the gentle giant of our herbal pharmacopeia. Its value in the treatment of less severe problems - the heartaches, stresses and ailments of everyday life - are chronicled in the chapter that follows. Although I have changed the names and some identifying details to maintain the privacy of those described, the essential elements of their stories are authentic. For the benefit of sceptics, perhaps it is fitting that our first story should be that of a man who was successfully treated for his depression without his knowledge. Meet Sam, a depressed solicitor, Sylvia his concerned wife, and her close friend, Louise, a woman of great resourcefulness who happens to be a patient of mine. *4\75\2* Anti-Depressants/Sleeping Aid «Generic Tadalafil» |