Hi All,
OK, I have been doing a bit of research on St John's Wort.  Namely,
purchasing a book titled:
Hypericum & Depression   by Harold H. Bloomfireld, MD  Mikael Nordfors, MD
and Peter McWilliams.  It is a good book with LOTS of references and studies
on SJW.  To clear up a few misconceptions about SJW being an MAO inhibitor
(where did that come from?)  the book states on page 76 :

"Do not take hypericum while taking mono-amino-oxidase (MAO) inhibitors such
as Nardil or Parnate.  It appears that hypericum works at least in part as a
serotonin reptake inhibitor (SRI).  COmbining an SRI with an MAO inhibitor
can produce a dangerous rise in blood pressure. ..."

So, from this it appears that SJW is not an MAO, but rather more like an
SRI.  In its studies and research section it states that there are vitually
no undesireable side effects and if a person has any, they disappear
completely when stopping the SJW.
There have been NO reports of overdose with SJW.  THere have been no known
interactions or severe interactions reported from millions of treatments.
THe book states there have been no interactions with alchohol.   On
pregnancy and lactation the book states:

""No data available.  As Winterhoff et. al. have demonstrated that hypericum
extract inhibits the pituitary secretion of prolactin (70), there might be a
theoretical possibility of problems with the production of breast-milk
during lactation.  If this happens one can simply lower the dose or stop
taking the hypericum.  Besides being a hormone necessary for the production
of breast-milk, prolactin also has an inhibiting effect on the menstrual
cycle and on the libido (sex drive). A lowering of the prolactin does not
pose any risk for the infant.

On Serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitory effect:

" In a recent study Perovic et. al. have demonstrated a
serotonin-reuptake-inhibitig effect of the hypericum extract in vitro (69).
(Low serotonin levels in the synapses between the nerve cells are believed
to be one of the primare causes of clinical depression.  Inhibiting the
reuptake of serotonin in the nerve cells raises the concentration of
serotonoin.  Miller et. al. have demonstrated that hypericum a;so inhibits
norepinephrine uptake (67). "

Okay, enough of all this talk.  There is a lot more in this book.  It
discusses what type of SJW to take and proper dosages.  I have read most of
it, but I must confess the section with all the medical studies is confusing
to me, probably bc I have no medical degree and don't understand all the
jargon.  But, to my untrained brain, the information in the book says that
SJW should be OK with BF.  In fact, I am taking it myself
and am finding no problems with my milk supply, PJ has exhibited no signs
off trouble with it, and I am finding that this stuff works the way it is
s'posed to.  Having realized that I was suffering from mild depression again
(which runs in my family, and I have fought it for years) and having no
medical insurance or Dr to whom I could go to seek help (w/o bankrupting my
family) I decided to try this first (after doing MUCH research on it).  It
is indeed a very helpful herb/drug.  THere are none of the side effects I
suffered when on prescrip anti-depressant drugs in the past.  Which is very
nice.
There is a website that is being constantly updated.  The address is:

http://www.hypericum.com

Good reading!
Jay
Jay Simpson, CLE
Sacramento, CA
"No Miracles performed here, just a lot of love and hard work."