Natural supplements for depression?

Former Member

Hello there. I suffer from moderate depression and I have been given some Prozac by my local GP and I'm not going to take them purely because of bad press. I'm wondering if I can get a Natural supplement to take instead of a pharmaceutical medicine? (Not 5HTP or St. Johns Wart) I know most natural supplemnets have not been tested as well as pharmaceutical medicines so I'm abit stuck as what to do.

Former Member

OK, Prozac doesn't suit everyone but it does suit some people. Good factsheet here:
http://www.thesite.org/info/drugs/the_drugs/prozac.html

If you are moderately depressed, you could benefit strongly from counselling, healthy eating (cut down on caffeine and too much junk food and refined sugar, which can all worsen your mood), and gentle regular exercise (even 30mins of brisk walking most days will have a mood-lifting effect).

If you don't want to take Prozac, there are many other antidepressants that may help you. Herbal remedies may help some people with mild depression, but if your depression is moderate or severe then they are much less likely to be of use.

How about going back to your doctor and asking for a different drug? You have every right to do this. Most importantly, make sure your name has been put down for some counselling.

Former Member

5-htp replaces seratonin (sp) its natural and can be found at holland and barratts, check with them for advice and maybe speak to your GP too.

Former Member

I was thinking of taking 5HTP but I've heard some stuff about it from the Dr. Ray Sahelian webite.

Former Member

I've done 5htp on a semi regular basis in the past but it really was only to attempt to combat that damage I was doing to my brain in other ways. Seemed to help a little, not sure though, it gives you really really strong dreams too, which I didnt like, my sleep was interupted and I just ended up really tierd.

As for SJW, I did think that it made me happier when I took it in the past, but as I've said before on this topic it took away my sex drive totaly, which is or isnt a problem, depending.

Former Member

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Former Member

Originally posted by girl with sharp teeth
because somebody once committed suicide whilst on prozac (probably prescribed because they were suicidal in the first place), then on the packaging it has to say that it "may cause suicidal tendancies."

people love nothing more than scaremongering.

i know 3 people who tried to commit suicide after being given prozac. 2 were only mildly to moderately depressed before they started taking it.

i am still suffering side effects from the seroxat (paroxetine) i stopped taking 5 years ago.


IMO anti-depressants are horrible, damaging things, and i only take them when there is no other choice.

Former Member

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Former Member

Originally posted by girl with sharp teeth
were they really? in my experience, people with mild depression aren't put onto drugs like prozac, so maybe their depression wasn't quite as mild as you think.

prozac is one of the world's most over-prescribed drugs. my old boss was given it after a divorce. my cousin was given it after she broke up from her boyfriend. my friend was given it to deal with 'exam stress'. my sister-in-law was given it to help with insomnia and backache.

these are not people with mental problems. none of them were suicidal. they were just ordinary people who had bad luck. and instead of letting them work through their problems, the doctors dish out prozac like it's some kind of cure-all-ills pill. which it isn't. and in a lot of cases, it causes more problems than it solves.