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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 12 of 12. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Paul on Long Island on May 17, 2006, at 18:58:59
Hi, I just wanted to ask a question. I've posted several times for different subjects, so some of you may know my "story". I was on prozac for many years, then decided last fall to go off it to try to lose weight and possibly have a sex life. I wasn't on anything for several months. But then at the end of the year, a good friend passed away unexpectedly and it seemed like from there on, one bad thing after another happened. The doctor put me on Lexapro, because it's supposed to have a much lower incidence of the side effects, Hah! Three days into it, and I couldn't stop eating. At that point, Emsam had just been approved. I decided to go off the Lexapro and last as long as I could with the idea of going on Emsam when it was actually available. I should point out here that I suffer from depression (usually mild), anxiety (varies in degree) and OCD. When I went on the Emsam, I was only mildly depressed. Within a couple of days, I got profoundly depressed. I would have crying jags. I felt like everything was hopeless and pointless. I did NOT feel that way before the Emsam. My anxiety level went through the roof. THe doctor tried to convince me that I probably was already in a downward spiral and the Emsam just hadn't started working yet. That was bull. The Emsam very clearly caused the symptoms. After suffering through for two weeks, I went off it. I waited in very rough shape the two weeks I needed to, and then started Prozac again the other day. So far, it hasn't kicked in yet. My question is this: Has anyone else had this kind of experience or anything similar with Emsam? I keep wondering if because I do well on the SSRI's I was less likely to do well on the Emsam. It seems by the postings, that the people who do very well on Emsam are those who didn't respond well to SSRI's. Anyone care to share? Paul
Posted by blueberry on May 17, 2006, at 19:56:26
In reply to My Experience with Emsam...anyone else have this?, posted by Paul on Long Island on May 17, 2006, at 18:58:59
I would just like to comment that yes I have, and others have, experienced profound deepening of depression on certain antidepressants.
Posted by lymom3 on May 17, 2006, at 20:13:11
In reply to Re: My Experience with Emsam...anyone else have this?, posted by blueberry on May 17, 2006, at 19:56:26
Cymbalta was the one that did that to me...demon drug. Doing pretty well on Emsam.
Posted by Jakeman on May 17, 2006, at 20:13:24
In reply to My Experience with Emsam...anyone else have this?, posted by Paul on Long Island on May 17, 2006, at 18:58:59
Paul,
I have not tried Emsam but I appreciate your informative report. I hope you post more.
Warm regards, Jake
Posted by Phillipa on May 17, 2006, at 20:23:47
In reply to Re: My Experience with Emsam...anyone else have this?, posted by Jakeman on May 17, 2006, at 20:13:24
Well I haven't tried EMSAM yet but do poorly on SSRI's and SSNRI's. Hope your right as that would mean maybe EMSAM might work. Love Phillipa ps write and let me know about the prozac.
Posted by ZeitGuest on May 17, 2006, at 20:40:00
In reply to My Experience with Emsam...anyone else have this?, posted by Paul on Long Island on May 17, 2006, at 18:58:59
I'm on Day 14 of EMSAM. So far, I haven't experienced any major effects, good or bad. It may be making me a bit more irritable -- just like Wellbutrin did. (And Wellbutrin did nothing BUT make me irritable.)
I'll give EMSAM at least 6 weeks before I throw in the towel, or patch, as it were. Took that long for Prozac to start working, and only after I boosted my dose from 20 to 40 mg. Since I tend not to respond to meds at low doses, I fear that the 6mg EMSAM patch might not be enough for me.
Posted by crabwalk on May 17, 2006, at 22:11:15
In reply to Re: My Experience with Emsam...anyone else have this?, posted by ZeitGuest on May 17, 2006, at 20:40:00
Paul,
Yes, the first thing emsam did was give me crazy anxiety, which lasted about 3 or 4 days. Then it gave me terrible, terrible depression. I'd been depressed before, at times pretty badly, but this was different than any depression I'd ever felt, and I think it went hand in hand with the intense fatigue it caused. Fortunately, after about two weeks these nasty effects subsided.
Unfortunately, it's hard for me to say if it is helping me because my situation is so confounded. The major problem I have is that ssris made me sexually numb and dysfunctional, something that has lasted since I quit them over a year ago. This has made me very depressed and my hope was that emsam would somehow restore my sexual feelings. That hasn't happened yet and it looks less likely that it will, although I'll give it some more time. Another problem is that I had terrible insomnia before emsam, and it has either not changed or gotten slightly worse, so I am very poorly rested all the time and it's hard to tell if emsam is causing any fatigue. I think it is my poor sleep that is the biggest problem with regards to feeling worn out all the time though. No sleep and no ability to feel pleasure (sexually and in most other respects) will probably make you feel sh*tty no matter what a drug is doing for you. I feel like if these two problems were corrected, emsam would actually be helping me a lot. Of course you could argue conversely as well...
One positve thing emsam has done is to restore my appetite to almost normal. I had bad lack of appetite and digestive problems before. It's strange that this happened, I was ready for emsam to make things worse. It is nice to be able to enjoy food again, though I still don't get excited about it like I used to.
Right now, it's looking like I will have to try something else to try to reverse what ssris did to my sexuality. I think others without this problem would have better luck on the patch.
Posted by notfred on May 18, 2006, at 11:26:17
In reply to My Experience with Emsam...anyone else have this?, posted by Paul on Long Island on May 17, 2006, at 18:58:59
Has anyone else had this kind of experience or anything similar with Emsam? I keep wondering if because I do well on the SSRI's I was less likely to do well on the Emsam. It seems by the postings, that the people who do very well on Emsam are those who didn't respond well to SSRI's. Anyone care to share? Paul
On almost every AD I have tried they make me feel
worse the first few weeks. Cry at the drop of a hat. However, if the AD is going to work, at 6 weeks or so all this changes. I have learned, for me, initial effects for AD's (in the first few weeks) are no indication of how the AD will effect me long term. I just have to wait at least 6 weeks.If I stopped every AD that made me feel bad at first, I would of never found an AD that works !
For me, AD's have worked well for over 20 yrs.nf
Posted by paul on long island on May 18, 2006, at 12:50:38
In reply to Re: My Experience with Emsam...anyone else have th, posted by notfred on May 18, 2006, at 11:26:17
> Has anyone else had this kind of experience or anything similar with Emsam? I keep wondering if because I do well on the SSRI's I was less likely to do well on the Emsam. It seems by the postings, that the people who do very well on Emsam are those who didn't respond well to SSRI's. Anyone care to share? Paul
>
>
>
> On almost every AD I have tried they make me feel
> worse the first few weeks. Cry at the drop of a hat. However, if the AD is going to work, at 6 weeks or so all this changes. I have learned, for me, initial effects for AD's (in the first few weeks) are no indication of how the AD will effect me long term. I just have to wait at least 6 weeks.
>
> If I stopped every AD that made me feel bad at first, I would of never found an AD that works !
> For me, AD's have worked well for over 20 yrs.
>
> nf
>
>
>Hey NotFred. Thanks for the input. I usually respond very quickly to antidepressants if they're going to work. I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a very patient guy. Luckily, in this case, I do usually respond quickly. I've tried many antidepressants over the years for a combination of depression, anxiety and OCD, and while many of them didn't necessarily give me the relief I needed, Emsam is the ONLY medication I've ever taken that made me feel that horrible. I've never felt such a profound depression, and the anxiety was awful. I guess if I didn't already know that prozac would work, if I was just willing to put up with the side effects, then I might have made a longer effort in the hope that the horrible feelings would go away. But when you know something else will work, and you've gotten to the point where you can barely function, it's time. For those that don't tend to respond super-quickly to medications, then I would wholeheartedly say they should stick it out, within the advice of their doctor, of course. Paul
Posted by sweetnlow on May 19, 2006, at 17:08:15
In reply to Re: My Experience with Emsam...anyone else have th » notfred, posted by paul on long island on May 18, 2006, at 12:50:38
Here is my brief medication reaction history:
1. SSRIs: Anxiety and paranoia to the point of going crazy if I took one more pill. True torture.
2. Wellbutrin: Nothing. Period.
3. Serzone. Nothing. Period.
4. Parnate. Brutal, unremitting fatigue for entire ten weeks of trial.
5. Nardil. A miracle drug for me almost from the start (but intolerable weight gain).
6. Ensam. Day 4 and I'm already luvin' it.
Posted by merry_dove on May 22, 2006, at 17:20:59
In reply to My Experience with Emsam...anyone else have this?, posted by Paul on Long Island on May 17, 2006, at 18:58:59
I was reading some other posts about the success some have had with Emsam and I was getting all excited - then I found this thread. I have atypical depression and currently take Cymbalta. It "helps" the depression but I'm basically just existing. I experience no pleasure, avoid all social activities, have chronic fatigue and struggle to get through each day. BUT I have been WORSE!! My dr. suggested I try Emsam but I am scared to death. Is it possible that it only works with people who have atypical depression? How do people manage to hold jobs during changing medications? I barely manage to work part-time as it is. Any and all help greatly appreciated.
Posted by Phillipa on May 22, 2006, at 19:50:33
In reply to Re: My Experience with Emsam...anyone else have this?, posted by merry_dove on May 22, 2006, at 17:20:59
I feel the same way. My only comfort is it is a patch and you can see it and take it off if the side effects are too bad. I heard just heard theat med only is in your sytem 2-9 hours. Oh the lastest is directly from the originator of the patch you can cut them in half just wash your hands well. And make sure you have a benzo. Love Phillipa
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