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rhodiola rosea for depression, has anyone had good results with it?

I am running out of options.I tried st johns wart, it upset my stomach. Been taking 5htp but had palpatations the last few days and although have two books on 5htp and researched it well, my sisters worries over the articles about possible heart complications have put me off it.
My research showed rhodiola rosea as another antidepressant herb and I have bought some and am just waiting for it to arrive.
Also was looking for cats claw and my research showed it has many alternative names, one of them being devils claw, is this true or have i wasted my  money?

Thanks xxx
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Avatar universal
Devil's claw is a completely different herb than cat's claw, and neither is for depression.  Devil's claw is an anti-inflammatory, and cat's claw has many tonic  and anti-bacterial properties.  Rhodiola is an adaptogen that is mostly used to increase endurance in athletes.  If you suffer from anxiety as well, it can be stimulating, so be careful about that.  The traditional treatments for pure depression are to stimulate the person, so it might help, and it might not; it's not an anti-depressant in the direct way HTP and St. John's Wort are.  HTP does take some time to work.  Another anti-depressant herb is SAMe.  Another anti-depressant is DLPA, but this can also be very stimulating; it's a form of phenylalanine, an amino acid involved in the production of norepinephrine.  Another anti-depressant amino acid is tyrosine, which is involved in the production of both GABA and norepinephrine.  I don't personally know of any heart complications associated with 5-HTP.  Your body produces it naturally from tryptophan to manufacture serotonin, in concert with B6 and other co-factors, and generally the body will only use it to make what it needs and break down the rest.  But there might be some research out there I'm unaware of.  Given it's much weaker than the effect ssris have, it's hard to see why there would be heart problems since I don't know of any associated with ssris, but that doesn't mean there aren't any.  But if it's giving you heart palps, you should probably give it a pass anyway.  Good luck in your search.  
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Avatar universal
Sorry, SAMe isn't an herb.  A good overview of this is Natural HIghs by Hyla Cass, a psychiatrist at UCLA.
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180749 tn?1443595232
Another alternative to help with depression is pranayam (breathing exercises).Start today and you will feel the benefit in days.Do it with concentration and with eyes closed.
Build up your timing gradually.If you feel tired or dizzy, stop and resume after one minute.
Anulom Vilom –
Close your right nostril with thumb and deep breath-in through left nostril  
then – close left nostril with two fingers and breath-out through right nostril  
then -keeping the left nostril closed  deep breath-in through right nostril
then - close your right nostril with thumb and breath-out through left nostril.
This is one cycle of anulom vilom.
Repeat this cycle for 15 to 30  minutes twice a day.
Children under 15 years – do 5 to 10 minutes twice a day.
You can do this before breakfast/lunch/dinner or before bedtime or in bed.Remember to take deep long breaths into the lungs.You can do this while sitting on floor or chair or lying in bed.
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