Curiosity and the Answer.....

[CGrausso]

Right now I am taking Sertaline HCL 50mg and was wondering if I could substitute St. John's Wort for it?

[nursegirl6572]

I agree with the above posters.  If the Zoloft is working, there's no need to make changes.  Something like St. John's Wort HAS been helpful for some people, but I'm a firm believer in "if it's not broke, don't fix it.".

If the Zoloft is NOT working as well as you'd like it to, then you need to discuss that with your doctor.  You may either require a higher dosage (which is normal, from time to time), or a differene med all together.

Definitely don't make ANY changes without first speaking to your doctor.  You also don't want to take an "herbal/natural" type supplement in addition to your prescribed antidepressant without consulting your doctor.  there are actually some significant risks involved with that.  "Natural" or "herbal" does not equal "safe".

Update us when you can!

[4Maddie44]

Depends how bad your depression is.  I would advise you to stay on Setraline, as remar above says. St John's Wort not proved effective for depression, although it has been advertised as good for mild depression.  Don't stop you anti-depressant without consulting a doctor.

[remar]

From what I know, St Johns Wort can help some people with mild depression. I think it's best to talk about this with your Dr if you're wanting to get off of your meds. You may need to taper and your Dr can help with the tapering schedule.