Posted by RobertDavid on May 20, 2006, at 20:56:17
In reply to Re: Is EMSAM Not The Med People Thought It Was? » Glydin, posted by Phillipa on May 20, 2006, at 18:24:06
I don't think anyone would or should expect that EMSAM is going to be a cure all, a med for everyone, we're all so different. Why do SSRI's work for some and not others? Why does Nardil work for some and Parnate others?
In my opinion it's a good option for those that have failed to respond to other anti depressants (me). And if someone has never tried an MAOI before and wants to, EMSAM would seem to be a good candidate as a first try because if it works you won't have to deal with the food restrictions (20mg dose) and perhaps a lower side effect profile of weight gain and loss of libido.
My guess is that it will work best for those with depression (with or without anxiety) and probably not as well for those specifically with GAD. Perhaps it will be helpful for those with SAD, but it's really to soon to make any conclusions.
For me, it has significantly improved my mood, energy and mental clarity. My anxiety was already controlled to a large extent (though not 100%) with klonopin, but klonopin alone was missing the benefits I am getting from EMSAM. I suspect it's the combo that's the key to my success to this point. The only way I'll be able to determine if it will be effective for my primary disorters (SAD/GAD) as mono therapy is to taper off konopin and see where I land.
But if it turns out to just be a good blend for those like me that find that benzos agrivate depression, zap your energy and mental clarity then it will truly be a fabulous way to get the benefits of a benzo for anxiety and still feel good, with energy, not anxious or depressed. That's what I have been searching for all these years, something to blend with klonopin to treat my depression, but nothing till EMSAM has worked for me.
So my plan is to ultimately try to very slowly go down on klonopin and see how much coverage EMSAM gives me for both SAD & GAD. And though I have sucessfully dropped from 2mgs klonopin to 1.5mgs without increased anxiety I'm going to level off here for several months before dropping again. I'm in no hurry and per my doctors advise I should just enjoy feeling good for a while as I haven't for so long.
So in my opinion, EMSAM will have it's place in a doctors arsenal of treatment options. Just where it lands and who will be the best candidates to try it is just to soon to conclude.
For those that EMSAM and it does the trick, I'm very happy for you, as I wish everyone could have a similar response that that I have had. And for those that flop on it I truly hope you find the answers in your journey to get well as I know first hand how much how much it sucks to be stuck with any of these crappy disorters.
I think it's healthy for those considering trying any med to hear the positive and negative experiences individuals have as long as they have an understanding that everyone is different and responses will be different too. Agian, it's just trial and error with all these meds. Good luck to everyone. Rob
poster:RobertDavid
thread:646242
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060520/msgs/646361.html