why does it work sometimes and sometimes it doesn't?

[aniT]

Let me preface this by saying DH has an appointment with a therapist tomorrow.

When he came to me last week and told me he was having problems I looked up herbs that were supposed to help. Lemon balm was one and I have it in the back yard. So I made him some tea and the difference that night was light night and day! However tea from the same jar didn't work so well the next day at work. I also think he was trying to stretch it out to make it last longer because my plants were babies and I used most of them to make a tincture and the tea. I visited a friend on Sun. and she gave me some of her lemon balm and some tinctures. Skull Cap, St. Joans, and Valarium. (sp)

The skull cap only last a few hours and gives him a slight headache.

Last night we tried the St. Joans and it worked for 12 hours!! It didn't start wearing off til he was on the train to work. I told him to sip the tea to get to work then take some more St. Joans when he got there. This is what he did, and he ended up taking the St. Joans at 8:30ish. He just now told me (at 10) that it's not working as well. He only took half a dropper so I told him to take a full one and let me know how he feels after the meeting that he was on his way too. We haven't touched the Valarium.

So.. why is it some of this stuff works so well the first time he takes it but not as well after?

Oh I ordered a lemon balm tincture that should be here today since what I got from my friends was yellowing and didn't work very well. We need to get through today and tomorrow before his appointment tomorrow evening. I hope the therapist will be able to give us some more answers as she is more inclined to prescribe herbs than pharmaceuticals anyway. (and dh wont take them.)

Thoughts, opinions?

[punkrockmomma]

Could it be a placebo affect. I hate to say that, but in my experience a lot of herbs seem to take longer then just one dose for them to work. You have to take them consistently, like you do an SSRI, and then after a while of building up in your system is when you notice the best affects. I know this is something I experience a lot with herbs and meds. They seem to have some affect at first, and then nothing, and then after taking them 4 to 6 weeks is when I notice the real benefit. I think sometimes people who are in these situations are so desperate for something to help them that they can cause this to happen. I know this probably isn't what you want to hear, I could be wrong though, so anyone else with better or more experience please chime in.

[aniT]

The doctor seems to think that because DH's body is so pure (he wont take drugs of any kind ever. refused pain meds after surgery) that it kicked in right away. We had no answer as to why it sometimes works and sometimes doens't though.