Posted by willyee on September 6, 2006, at 0:39:40
In reply to Warning: Sam-E and akathisia, posted by clint878 on September 5, 2006, at 14:47:09
> About a month back I made a post about massive side effects I encountered after using Sam-E. I only took 200mg for five days and then discontinued, but I then had to deal with memory loss, confusion, restlessness, insomnia, and other issues.
>
> I thought I'd post a warning here that I believe the Sam-E caused akathisia. None of the other antidepressants had ever worked for me, and the sole one that had any effect was Sam-E. Now, I'm either "stupidly happy" or somewhat more depressed, but always restless and with poor concentration and memory.
>
> Unfortunately, 27 days later I can't seem to find anyone who can help me with this condition. The GP I'm seeing says that it was all a placebo effect and gave Remeron, which helps a little while the extrapyramidal symptoms resolve little by little.
>
> And I can't see a psychiatrist for another 10 days because they all either have no available appointments or don't accept my insurance. It does seem to be slowly improving, so perhaps a few months from now I will be fully recovered. In the meantime, my goal is to stay alive, sane, and keep my job, which seems to be getting easier, but very slowly.
>
> If I were you, I would stay away from herbal remedies. They might work, but if you encounter a strange effect like I did, there simply isn't enough research to determine what caused the problem, let alone to treat it. Most doctors have no idea and simply don't know enough to help. Stick with the well-tested and proven prescription medications.
>
> -Brantsam-E is far from a herbal or holistic substance,HOWEVER i agree its quite potent,its touted as being used in script form in some places and for good reason.
It also,least i know the brands ive seen actualy warn not to use if u have a maniac form of depression.It is as you said a very unstable nutrient,lots of people have probuably turned to it including myself at a point and like you my mood swang like a autmatic pendalum.sam-E i doubt is in any way placebo,and i wouldent recomend its use to anyone,as its a nutrient that really shouldent be played with as far as raising and lowering,its involved in a lot of the bodys process of all the chemicals and can make u go mad or at least feel like it,i remeber washing my entire car in 4 min on it,i felt like i was some form of super speed,yuck.
However i would not rule out all herbs which same is not,if u are willing to look up a herb a little,most of them are actualy subtle and can aid a drug,gotu kola,kava kava,valerian root,st johns wort are all herbs which usualy dont cause much distress .
As far as nutrients go,im also not in favor of the strong ones such as tyrosine,and phenylanine,these can have like sam-E major impacts on mood.
There are some nutrients however that are fairly safe,such as a lot of your b vitamins,vitamin c,l taurine,etc.
Main thing is people need to understand that they are like drugs,if they can pentarate the brain than they alter it and therefore taking mega doses is no longer natural,so if you go this route you need to understand what your taking and treat is as a drug.
There are groups which have tons of info on using natural methods including herbs/nutrients,but if something crosses into the brain,you then should no longer simply take it at will at any dose,or you will regret it,just my opinion from learning the hard way.
In fact,if im not mistaken,wasnt dlpa a amino which is a nutrient just banned somewhere because it can be used to create mdma,"x"
I dunno but my year i spent on strictly natural substances taught me quick that herbs and nutrients can lift and spiral mood as deep and serious as drugs,im sorry you had such a bad experieance with sam-E.One alternative that is milder is dmg,dimethyglycine,which is i forget how but in the samE chain,but much milder in onset and effect,i dident like it but it is a nutrient that like samE quickly crosses into the brain,and it was looked into to be patented as a drug.
To all who use herbs/nutrients/ be careful and spend some time on it as you would reading up on a drug.
Just my nickel
poster:willyee
thread:683390
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060901/msgs/683574.html