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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 6 of 6. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by alaninla on June 8, 2006, at 9:58:13
I don't know if I happened to be on a downswing when I started the patch and the antidepressant effect just hasn't kicked in yet, or if the EMSAM is making me worse. I started with 30 days of 6mg samples from my psychiatrist, and am now at day 3 of my first filled prescription of 30 6mg patches. My psychiatrist wanted to keep me at 6mg until he sees me on June 27th. He said all the trials for EMSAM had been done at 6mg and that the data was encouraging. I now feel like he should have raised me to 9mg or 12 mg at day 30, because I am feeling terrible now. I'm smoking like a crazy (normally 0-4 cigs a day, now a pack a day), my weight is dropping, my appetite is almost non-existent, I feel very fatigued, and my sleep has been awful. I have been on EVERY antidepressant, mood stabalizer, etc. there is in the last 15 years. My only substantial success was on Parnate, but it eventually stopped working. I even underwent ECT treatment at one point--with ZERO results. I'm sorry for rambling on, but I'm new here, and desperate for feedback from other's on EMSAM. Has anyone had to wait 5 weeks or longer to feel results at 6mg??? Has anyone graduated to the 9 or 12 mg patch with positive results after nothing at 6mg? And if so, how many weeks were you on 6mg before having your dosage raised, and when did positive effects kick in at the higher dosage? Thanks.
Posted by Last Chance on June 8, 2006, at 12:34:52
In reply to EMSAM: Day 33 at 6 mg feeling worse....HELP!:(, posted by alaninla on June 8, 2006, at 9:58:13
HI - I am not positive, but I seem to remember trials of 20 and 40, or 6mg and 12mg - I don't have time now to look up, but I believe that the positive results took place at both doses, slightly better at the higher. Several posters, myself included, are feeling better by removing the patch in the evening, whatever the dosage, and getting more sleep. Emsam is not working great for me, yet, I remain optimistic. Good luck to us all - I really appreciate everyone's posts especially with lots of details about dosing, side effects, positive and negative responses. Richard
Posted by Phillipa on June 8, 2006, at 20:30:00
In reply to Re: EMSAM: Day 33 at 6 mg feeling worse....HELP!:(, posted by Last Chance on June 8, 2006, at 12:34:52
Look for posts by Robert David. Love Phillipa
Posted by christophrejmc on June 8, 2006, at 20:34:51
In reply to EMSAM: Day 33 at 6 mg feeling worse....HELP!:(, posted by alaninla on June 8, 2006, at 9:58:13
> I'm smoking like a crazy (normally 0-4 cigs a day, now a pack a day),
I don't smoke anymore, but I did when I first tried selegiline orally a few years ago. I can't imagine how you can do it.. smoking on selegiline was painful for me, it gave me terrible headaches, increased pulse, nausea, and it made the cigarette taste horrible. Is it possible that the smoking is contributing to some of the side-effects?
I'm on EMSAM right now (first week at 6mg) and even walking by people smoking makes me sick to my stomach.
-CJMC
Posted by Ripley Snell on June 9, 2006, at 7:40:35
In reply to EMSAM: Day 33 at 6 mg feeling worse....HELP!:(, posted by alaninla on June 8, 2006, at 9:58:13
Hi. I have manic-depression, so maybe it's all a little different for me. Furthermore, I've been with the same (excellent) pdoc for 14 years, so I get a lot of trust and freedom. He gave me two scripts, one for the 6mg EMSAM patches and one for the 12mg.
I took the 6 mg for two days and got bored. Nothing was happening, and I'm a fast responder. So I started slapping two of the 6mg patches on my legs at the same time . . . hurray! Insomnia the first night, but now much more energy and quite improved mood. Because it's effective, in part, it's triggering some hypomania--yesterday I was in a great bookstore and managed to buy $500 worth of books . . . I'm irritable .. . .I'm talking really fast (just look at the length of this post!) So I'll either have to lower the EMSAM to the 9mg strength or raise my anti-manic drug Seroquel (quetiapine). Always a balancing acf, but I like when I'm weighing silver and not iron filings :-)
If you've got the guts and are willing to follow the MAOI diet for a while, try 12mg per 24 hour period. You could get a new prescription or just use two patches.
(This is the telling of an anecdote and is not in any way intended to be medical advice.)
Best wishes, Snell
Posted by Ripley Snell on June 9, 2006, at 7:41:39
In reply to EMSAM: Day 33 at 6 mg feeling worse....HELP!:(, posted by alaninla on June 8, 2006, at 9:58:13
Hi. I have manic-depression, so maybe it's all a little different for me. Furthermore, I've been with the same (excellent) pdoc for 14 years, so I get a lot of trust and freedom. He gave me two scripts, one for the 6mg EMSAM patches and one for the 12mg.
I took the 6 mg for two days and got bored. Nothing was happening, and I'm a fast responder. So I started slapping two of the 6mg patches on my legs at the same time . . . hurray! Insomnia the first night, but now much more energy and quite improved mood. Because it's effective, in part, it's triggering some hypomania--yesterday I was in a great bookstore and managed to buy $500 worth of books . . . I'm irritable .. . .I'm talking really fast (just look at the length of this post!) So I'll either have to lower the EMSAM to the 9mg strength or raise my anti-manic drug Seroquel (quetiapine). Always a balancing act, but I like when I'm weighing silver and not iron filings :-)
If you've got the guts and are willing to follow the MAOI diet for a while, try 12mg per 24 hour period. You could get a new prescription or just use two patches.
(This is the telling of an anecdote and is not in any way intended to be medical advice.)
Best wishes, Snell
This is the end of the thread.
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