Posted by JohnL on November 12, 1999, at 2:41:15
In reply to High-dose St. John's Wort?, posted by anita on November 12, 1999, at 1:01:11
> Has anyone found that a dose higher than the standard one (900mg) worked when the standard dose didn't?
> I'm not sure I'm feeling any better after 6 wks on 900mg, and am wondering if I should give it another chance at a higher dose, say, 4-6 pills/day.
> Anyone know anything about this?
>
> thanks,
> anitaHi Anita. I think I've read every clinical study done on St Johns. Actually I might have missed some, but I've read dozens, maybe hundreds, of St Johns studies. What is interesting is that in several clinical studies a dose of 2700mg was used. That's nine pills a day. The LI160 formula (Kira here in USA). And I remember 1800mg being used as well.
Personally I've gone as high as 1800mg. I noticed some side effects at that dose. For example, a little bit speedy during the day, sweating in my sleep. I know side effects are clamimed to be nonexistent, but they prevented me from going up to 2700mg like I wanted to.
I believe our standard USA dose of 900mg is way too low. Another study made a comparison that implied 300mg St Johns is equal in efficacy to 10mg of a TCA. If that comparison is accurate, then 9 pills a day would certainly be more in a therapeutic range than 3 would. Sunlight sensitivity is the only formal warning of high doses of St Johns, but even then it applies only to certain ethnic groups and very fair-skinned people. In actuality, the only creatures ever sunburned by too much St Johns were cows who grazed on it all day and took in much more than we possibly could by dosing. Must have been some happy cows! :)
Anyway, the answer to your question is Yes, you can take St Johns all the way up to 2700mg. I like it best at 5 pills a day (1500mg). Gotta have the good stuff though...Kira, Movana, or Perika.
poster:JohnL
thread:15057
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19991108/msgs/15060.html