Expert: Norman Solberg - 8/25/2009

Question
I've been down lately and someone suggested taking St. John's Wort would help. I was doing my research on it and ran across some article that said it would mess with my birth control, it this true?

Answer
I think it may be true, but I'm not sure anyone knows exactly how much effect it can have.  There have been reports of more bleeding on the pill and some pregnancies occurring, when used at the same time as St. John's Wort.  I suspect that if you aren't using one of the very low dose pills (20 or 25 mcg estrogen), you may be ok, but I don't know that for sure.  Some recommend that you use a backup or switch to a different method of birth control while on St. John's Wort.