# sensitive hands and feet from St. John's Wort



## CindyinMontana (Nov 10, 2009)

St.John's Wort really helps keep my DP manageable but I think it may be the reason my hands and feet recently feel super sensitive. If I stub my toe or jam my fingers it hurts much more than it used to! I also think being in the sun has something to do with the sensitivity because this only started happening since I've been outside a lot. Does anyone else have this issue?


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## ValleyGirl (Nov 10, 2017)

I thought you had recovered.


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## Brando2600 (Apr 22, 2010)

Whoa hold up! Your not taking St.Johns Wart along with Anti-Depressants are you? Thats not a good thing to do!


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## CindyinMontana (Nov 10, 2009)

I thought I recovered too. I am still doing really well but I have to stay on top of my vitamins and health or the DP resurfaces. Glad to see you back on here tinyfairy. I was feeling awesome and then I went to a three day silent meditation retreat back in May and "it" came back. I may never say again that I am 100% recovered...but if I can be 90%ish recovered that is OK with me. If I stay on top of my maintenence program, I have more good than bad.

I thought I didn't need the vitamins anymore and I stopped taking everything while I was on vacation last month. That was a huge mistake because the DP hit me hard everyday for the whole 2 weeks and I was on the verge of a panic attack pretty the entire trip. I didn't realize it was the lack of vitamins until I got back and started taking them again and then everything was manageable again. But now the hand and feet sensitivity. Better than DP but I am afraid my body is telling me something. I am not taking any medications by the way, thanks for your concern Can St. John's Wort be toxic long term?


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## CindyinMontana (Nov 10, 2009)

I copied and pasted the following discussion I found online about people experiencing sensitive hands and feet after taking St. John's Wort. Apparently, it can happen. Mine started after my band played a show on a super sunny and hot stage and I think I developed it from the mixture of sun exposure combined with the sjw. The others in the following article also got the sensitivity after being in the sun. I am going to lower my dosage for awhile and stay out of the sun. I can't risk going off of it and having the DP become unmanageable again. Also, it takes a couple of months for the sjw to work again if you go off of it and I don't want to have to start over. I will let you know my progress.

View Full Version : pins and needles feeling with sjw
samcor
3rd July, 2007, 03:44 PM
I have been taking Amoryn and Seredyn for about 3 weeks now. I initially had headaches, diareha, fatigue, confused state. That lasted until just recently. The headaches are gone and the fatigue is much better. I still have the stomach upset and have a new symptom. Whenever I'm in cold water or something hits my skin I feel a pins and needles feeling, especially in my hands and feet. It is slightly painful. It almost feels like a burning sensation. I've read that this is sometimes a side effect of sjw. Has anyone had this happen to them? My mood is starting to get better so I hate to stop but don't want to have any long term damage.
samcor
4th July, 2007, 01:20 PM
I have been researching about this pins and needles effect. I've read that in very few cases, patients taking sjw have experienced acute neuropathy to sun exposed areas. I am wondering if this is what has happened with me. I spent much of the last week at the beach when my sister in law was visiting. I used a hat, sunglasses and SPF 50. I never got a sunburn but do have quite a tan from my days at the beach. I'm wondering if the sun exposure caused this feeling. Should I stop taking sjw? Has anyone else experienced this?
Yorkshire Lass
11th July, 2007, 02:13 AM
I have been taking Amoryn and Seredyn for about 3 weeks now. I initially had headaches, diareha, fatigue, confused state. That lasted until just recently. The headaches are gone and the fatigue is much better. I still have the stomach upset and have a new symptom. Whenever I'm in cold water or something hits my skin I feel a pins and needles feeling, especially in my hands and feet. It is slightly painful. It almost feels like a burning sensation. I've read that this is sometimes a side effect of sjw. Has anyone had this happen to them? My mood is starting to get better so I hate to stop but don't want to have any long term damage.
I was really interested to learn that someone else has this sensitivity to cold feeling especially in hands & feet. I have been taking SJW for about 6 months now and my mood is mostly good. I feel so much better with the SJW and I didnt think this cold sensitivity could be due to the SJW but on holiday swimming in cold water became a real problem with the pins and needles and even holding cold drinks started it off. It became quite painful so I decided to try coming off the SJW and see if these symptoms went away which they did after I had been off the tablets for a couple of weeks but my depression returned with a vengeance so I am back on SJW now and so far no pins & needles, burning or sensitivity to cold but maybe that is because I take a slightly lesser dose than before (sometimes less is best) as long as it still works. I would like to know where I can get more information about this unusual side effect. And at least I know it is a side effect from the SJW (probably a build up of too much SJW). I would appreciate your comments. Thanks. Susan
samcor
11th July, 2007, 11:40 AM
I just did a google search for "pins and needles feeling st johns wort". I also searched using "acute neuropathy" which is what it is called when you have that feeling in your hands/feet. It is a sudden onsent of nerve damage. It is reversible but only after stopping st johns wort. I also noticed an improvement in my modd but the pins and needles feeling became so painful that I had to stop. Here is a link that you might want to check out http://37minutes.com/neuropathy/ I have an appt with a therapist who specializes in using supplements for anxiety/depression. I am going to get more info from him and find some other alternatives. I'll post again once I have more info.
a251390
20th August, 2007, 04:24 PM
I am also having similar problems, which I believe are due to sun exposure and St. John's Wort. Last week I found a research letter that had been published in the midical journal The Lancet ('Acute neuropathy after exposure to sun in a patient treated with St John's Wort', Geoffrey M Bove October 1998) which led me to believe St. John's Wort was the cause of my problems.
This is my own experience:
I had been taking St John's Wort (300 Mg tablets from HBC Protocols) for several months. I was taking four a day. On June 30 2007 I went sea kayaking on a sunny day with my body covered in a wet suit, long sleeve shirt and large hat, with only my hands exposed. After about 20 minutes I started getting a strong pins and needles feeling on the backs of my hands. I dismissed this as a problem related to the kayaking action, and a previous 'frozen shoulder' problem from which I was recovering. After an hour of kayaking I then spent some more time in the sun wearing a short sleeved shirt. This problem with my hands still continues today. It is aggravated by a change in temperature (cold water or a steam room) and by touching, and on my arms it sometimes feels like cold rain is hitting me when I walk. Around July 21 I doubled my St. John's Wort dosage. On August 12 I went to the beach on a sunny day. After sitting in the sun in a short sleeve shirt, bathing suit, and sunblock for about half an hour I went in the water (Rhode Island). The water was cold and I very quicky developed the same intense pins and needles in my knees and the tops of my feet. My feet and knees also turned bright red like sunburn. The color went away after an hour or so, but I continue to have the pins and needles sometimes randomly, and sometimes due to an obvious stimulus on knees, legs, and tops of my feet. I went to my Dr last Tuesday August 14 and he took some blood, did an EKG, and did a quick neurological test for my reflexes, etc. We are waiting on the blood tests. On Wednesay I came across references to Dr. Bove's 1998 case study, and so I have discontinued the St. John's Wort.

I emailed Dr Bove and told him about my symptoms and asked him if the 1998 case had any longterm problems. This was his answer:

"Your case does sound exactly like the one I had ... She did in fact recover 100% and there has been no recurrence. I hypothesized that the issue was demyelination, and remyelination occurs within 6-8 weeks. I expect that you will get better within that time frame if it is your problem."

I have done some research on neuropathy and the only thing I have found that might help the healing is Alpha Lipoic Acid which people have used for diabetic neuropathy. ALA is simply a super anti-oxidant. I have started taking 100mg twice a day.
Yorkshire Lass
22nd August, 2007, 02:28 AM
Thanks for your comments. I think we can be certain that this is definately attributed to St John's Wort. I now take just 2 SJW at night (the full dose being 3) and hopefully no pins & needles or reaction to cold. Cutting the dosage may mean the SJW doesnt relieve the depression in some people but I am fine at the moment. I am pleased there is no lasting damage which gives me confidence to continue as I am but I think you will agree with me that this side effect is an established one and should be listed as such. I hope you find some other help for your depression.


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## Tanith (May 29, 2008)

So does St. John's Wart help? I tried it for about a month but didn't notice any difference so I stopped taking it.


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## oh boy (Feb 6, 2011)

Hey, any who might read...

I found this site because my hands have been suddenly sensitive to cold and have pins and needles feelings. I googled the sensation and immediately found it's a side effect of St. John's Wort. Soooooo frustrating because I do think it might be helping my depression, but when I see that it's also causing "nerve damage," "neurological issues," and "demyelination" - which is also an effect of MS - makes me really nervous. I hope that there's no long term effect from taking this stuff. I don't know what to do. Keep taking it? Or not? Depression or fingers that feel like I'm making a snow ball with my bare hands?

Any alternatives to St. John's Wort?


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## Kitr (Jul 7, 2009)

I'm taking John wort again. I'm on around 0,75-1,3mg of hypericin which is usually low dose. The standard dose is around 2.7mg of hypericin.

John wort doesn cause any nerve damage or anything. Where did you find that? It doesnt mix well with other drugs thats true but getting nerve damage from it is just not true.

Well alternatives to john wort are 5htp,Sam-e and maybe some others.


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