Posted by Racer on January 30, 2008, at 16:49:34
In reply to Sam-e as an adjunct to an AD, posted by bulldog2 on January 28, 2008, at 14:38:33
In many places, it's sold as an anti-depressant in its own right. I buy it at Costco, which sells the Mood Plus brand for about $40 for 90 200mg tablets. I take it BID, on my pdoc's advice, and it has certainly kicked up the juice on my Wellbutrin/Concerta combo. My pdoc cautioned, though, that it can affect homocysteine levels, and prescribed Metan-X to counter that effect. He also said what Jamal Spelling said: it's been known to trigger mania.
Obviously, I am an outlier on these things: I suffer from severe recurrent melancholic depression with comorbid anxiety disorder, and have had at best mixed results from conventional antidepressants. My husband, who has primarily an anxiety disorder, with mild to moderate depression mixed in, also takes SAMe, which he finds much more tolerable than the conventional antidepressants his doctor prescribed for him. (Then again, he was getting the prescriptions from his GP, whom I was not impressed by. In fact, he used to be my GP, until I fired him for cause.) He's not sure how much it helps, but at least as much as the Wellbutrin his GP prescribed -- that's right, Wellbutrin for an anxiety disorder, go figure [rolls eyes]. He thinks it's helping enough to keep taking it.
So, yes, it can be very helpful. Do be aware, if you're bipolar or have any bipolar symptoms, that it's worth being on the watch for manic symptoms, and do consider discussing homocysteine levels with your doctor. If you start taking it along with other antidepressants, let your doctor know -- it will affect other medications you're taking.
Hope that helps.
poster:Racer
thread:809368
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/neuro/20080114/msgs/809757.html