Posted by Tomatheus on March 18, 2013, at 0:50:40
In reply to SAM-e and SSRI together, posted by Prefect on March 17, 2013, at 23:59:05
Prefect,
I have not personally taken SAM-e with an SSRI, but I wanted to make you aware that a study was done that evaluated the effectiveness of SAM-e as an add-on treatment to serotonin reuptake inhibitors. The study's participants were described as SRI nonresponders who continued to take their SRI medications along with either 1,600 mg/day of SAM-e (800 mg twice a day) or placebo. The respective response rates of the groups treated with SAM-e and placebo were 36.1 percent and 17.6 percent. The respective remission rates of the SAM-e and placebo groups were 25.8 percent and 11.7 percent. Here is a link to the study:
http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/article.aspx?articleID=102383
And here's a link to a related editorial:
http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/article.aspx?articleid=102409
So, even though I've never taken SAM-e with an SSRI (I have taken the supplement with tranylcypromine, a combination that is not recommended, but that's another story), SAM-e augmentation of SRIs has been studied. The study, in addition to finding SAM-e augmentation of SRIs to be more effective than placebo augmentation of SRIs, found SAM-e to be both well tolerated and safe when combined with SRIs.
I've taken a few different brands of SAM-e in the past, probably having the best results with the GNC brand, although it's hard to make comparisons as far as effectiveness is concerned because I took the GNC brand before the onset of my psychotic symptoms and the other brands after the onset of my psychosis. I do wonder if taking SAM-e with tranylcypromine, which I found to be partially effective for my chronic fatigue or vegetative depression, might have played a role in triggering my psychosis. At the same time, I have yet to hear of SAM-e alone or in combination with an SSRI being something that can increase the risk of developing psychosis, so although I wouldn't recommend taking SAM-e with an MAOI for a few reasons, it would be my best guess based on looking over the study that I linked to above that taking SAM-e with most SRIs (although I'm not entirely sure about Luvox because I don't think any of the participants in the study were taking that medication) should most likely be safe.
Anyway, I know that my response probably wasn't exactly what you were looking for, but I figured that I'd make you aware of the study that I linked to above. I wish you luck with getting more responses from others who have tried SAM-e with an SSRI.
Tomatheus
Dx: schizoaffective disorder
Treatments: Abilify & vitamin D3
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