St. John's wort may be good solution for mild depression.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)

Q. I have clinical depression and am interested in switching from Paxil to St. John's wort. I have been taking Paxil for five years and don't like the side effects, but I get sick when I try to take a different SSRI antidepressant. My teen-age daughter started having symptoms of depression, so I put her on St. John's wort. It really helped her, and I'm thinking it might help me. But Paxil is very habit-forming and hard to stop taking. Is there a way to switch to St. John's wort and is it a reasonable alternative?

A. Since you appear to be experiencing intolerable side effects with Paxil, work with your physician to see if switching to a different antidepressant might …