St Johns Wort

I'm considering taking some St Johns Wort to see myself through a stressful period (moving house !) has anyone had any experience of taking this and it causing afib or PACS ? (I'm an ablatee)

Stimulant herbs I have tried include ginkgo and that was a PAC disaster. I think ginseng and St. John's fall into the same category so I'd advise caution.

Heather: Take a look at L-Theanine as an alternate stress reliever. It 's sort of a low power benzo without all the bad things. [doctormurray.com]

The Suntheanine tablets are chewable and seem to take effect faster. [www.suntheanine.com]

Gordon

Heather - be sure you are optimizing your magnesium intake. When you have a solid base of intracellular magnesium, you are far less likely to have PACs.... providing that you also have the proper ratio of potassium to sodium. (Refer to CF 72). An ablation doesn't remove the body's requirements for the essential minerals/electrolytes that work to keep the heart rhythm steady.

For stress and relaxation, I rely on L-theanine which is an amino acid that is well-known to be very useful.

Another useful and effective stress-reliever is PharmaGaba...also a chewable form. [doctormurray.com]

Good luck with your move.

Jackie

What about prescription gabapentin? It gets used off-label so much. I got it from my sleep doc. It's pretty harmless as far as the heart is concerned.

It's better to start by using some of the natural products that do not have the side effects of Rx drugs such as gabapentin...which is definitely not benign.

Jackie

Gabapentin Side Effects.
Commonly reported side effects of gabapentin include dizziness, drowsiness, sedation, fever, fatigue, viral infection, ataxia, and nystagmus. Other side effects include diplopia, peripheral edema, tremor, blurred vision, amblyopia, irritability, and xerostomia. [www.drugs.com]

Less serious side effects may include: dizziness, drowsiness, weakness, tired feeling; nausea, diarrhea, constipation; blurred vision; headache; breast swelling; dry mouth; or. loss of balance or coordination. [www.rxlist.com]

Thanks All will give the Suntheanine a whirl !

I have experimented with St. John's Wort over the years. It only works for 2-3 days for me. I didn't notice anything different with my Heart. It's not a stimulant like Caffiene, or Amphetamines.