H.W.
3munchkins,
I remember your post from a week or so ago. You were pondering using antidepressants because of the extreme anxiety you are suffering from.
First, I'm going to give you hug, and then I'm going to do what a good friend would do and tell you-- it is time for you to get some real help in dealing with this. I hear a lot of fear in your posts-- fear about taking something 'not natural', fear of taking something which could help but may (unknown, right?)*may* exacerbate the stomach symptoms.
I'll say this as a woman who very much wanted 'all natural' in my life: there are limits to what can be done with supplements and herbs. I know this firsthand. When I tried treating some problems related to reproductive health naturally, I didn't get the response I needed. Before I hit my limit I was in pain 50% of the time, taking an immense amount of Advil and feeling horrible. I was ready to get a hysterectomy when a new gyn suggested a birth control pill. While I'd been opposed to this previously, all I could think at that point was 'why not? It can't be worse than this.'
Things got better. So improved, now that I rarely have symptoms.
I posted the last time about my own dealings with anxiety and my own aversion to going on medication. I was opposed to it for a long time, my husband really discouraged it. We were both afraid-- afraid I might change, I might be a 'zombie', afraid of side effects (which were slight and went away after a month-- and no, no zombie/shut down feelings). I have IBS myself; going on an antidepressant/anti-anxiety medication turned a lot of things around.
My concern for you is that your quality of life is being dramatically diminished at this point and yet you are letting your fear trap you into NOT taking a medication which, cognitively, you know could really help you. I'm NOT a big "woohoo! better living through chemistry" person, but when I read that you are afraid you won't be physically capable of working because of anxiety symptoms, it seems very clear that there is something deeper blocking you from helping yourself. What I hear you responding to with the St Johns Wort is purely anecdotal, right? I'm sure the person who told you this has an entirely different body than you do. In fact, most comments about medications online are anecdotal and NOT based in any sort of controlled study.
This may seem like tough love and please know, I am not wanting to hurt your feelings or beat up on you. That is not my intention. I just want you to really consider WHY you are so opposed to taking a medication which might be able to give you (as a whole person, body and soul and spirit) peace of mind, clarity and alleviate some awful suffering. IBS and digestive issues, I know firsthand, can be horrible. Years ago I was dealing with some of this stuff and had ultrasounds, bloodwork-- nothing showed up. It was my body responding to the chemical imbalance in my brain and it was hell. Years later, when it started up again, I got the treatment I needed and have felt so much better.
So, all this to say, I would strongly encourage you to look at what you are opposed to, afraid of, and to look critically at why you are choosing to only value 'natural' remedies. I've been in this same boat and it is miserable. While we do go for natural first (I still rely mostly on diet for dealing with my IBS), as someone once said, "you don't get a trophy for not taking medication". I know this is hard to hear, and I don't want to pressure you,-- honestly, though, my best friends were the ones willing enough to tell me what I didn't want to hear when I *did* need to hear it. I truly hope you can move forward and find some peace. You need to take action, today. Staying stuck in fear is not helping you. Again, I'm giving you a hug because I have been in the thick of it and I know it's hard-- seriously, examine your beliefs about medications and try to understand that your head is getting in the way of what you need to be doing, be it trying St Johns wort or a bonafide medication. Life is too short to stay stuck willingly.
H.