St.Johns Wort contraindications

Lorraineagain

Member
Messages
8
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
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Red Peppers, Pine Nuts and negative people.
Hi everyone,
I'm new to this forum so forgive me if you already know about this.
My latest HBA1c has gone up from 5.8 to 8.9 and my cholesterol is high.
When I told the nurse I had started on St.Johns Wort for low mood she went mad.
Apparantly it interacts with diabetes medication and affects the liver... this explains why I've been feeling lightheaded, tired and shaky even though my sugar levels have been 14!
Metformin works on the liver and taking SJW which also works on the liver, it stopped the Metformin working on my sugar levels and really upset my system. The doctor also said there is no clinical evidence that SJW helps with mood and told me not to waste my money.

I knew it stopped the contraceptive pill working but I had no idea it stopped the Metformin! I have 3 months to work hard to get everything back to normal...
 
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ButtterflyLady

Well-Known Member
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3,291
Type of diabetes
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Tablets (oral)
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Acceptance of health treatment claims that are not adequately supported by evidence. I dislike it when people sell ineffective and even harmful alternative health products to exploit the desperation of people with chronic illness.
Hi everyone,
I'm new to this forum so forgive me if you already know about this.
My latest HBA1c has gone up from 5.8 to 8.9 and my cholesterol is high.
When I told the nurse I had started on St.Johns Wort for low mood she went mad.
Apparantly it interacts with diabetes medication and affects the liver... this explains why I've been feeling lightheaded, tired and shaky even though my sugar levels have been 14!
Metformin works on the liver and taking SJW which also works on the liver, it stopped the Metformin working on my sugar levels and really upset my system. The doctor also said there is no clinical evidence that SJW helps with mood and told me not to waste my money.

I knew it stopped the contraceptive pill working but I had no idea it stopped the Metformin! I have 3 months to work hard to get everything back to normal...
Hi and welcome to the forum, and thanks for letting us know about this interaction.

SJW also interacts with antidepressant medication. It's generally advisable to check with your GP before taking any herbal or alternative health products, because of things like interactions or toxicity. I also like to see proper evidence that something is effective and safe before I spend my money on it.

I do think the nurse was unprofessional for "going mad" about it. It's not helpful and it suggests she doesn't quite understand how HCPs are required to treat patients, ie with respect. You made an innocent mistake, you didn't know SJW would do harm.

Your high sugar levels will be making you feel lightheaded, tired and shaky, I think. It probably won't take the full 3 months to get your levels down and to feel better. Metformin helps but reducing your carb intake usually has a bigger effect on blood sugars. @daisy1 has some more info about this that she can post.

If you find you are still having issues with low mood, you could discuss this with your GP. It might improve as your blood sugars come down, but if not, your GP may be able to refer you for counselling, or perhaps suggest medication. Before I become diabetic I took SJW for a while, but then asked for medication, which helped me a lot.
 

daisy1

Legend
Messages
26,457
Type of diabetes
Type 2
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Tablets (oral)
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Cruelty towards animals.
@Lorraineagain

Hello Lorraine and welcome to the forum :) Here is the information we give to new members and I hope that by following the advice on diet and carbs your levels will come down better. Ask as many questions as you want and someone will be able to help.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you’ll find over 150,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.
There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:

  • Reduce your carbohydrate intake
  • Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates

Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes-and-whole-grains.html

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)
  • Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

  • structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
  • self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to bloodglucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.
 

Bluetit1802

Legend
Messages
25,216
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
There is a large poster up in my surgery warning us to tell the doctor immediately if we are considering taking SJW as it interacts with most medications.


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