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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 7 of 7. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by john berk on July 28, 2005, at 19:41:35
Hi! i am taking 20 mgs. of prozac for depression and ocd, i can't tolerate higher doses suggested for ocd, and was wondering if anyone is taking sam-e to boost their ssri' effects, and if it is safe to do so.
i would like to try 400 mgs. a day in the morning. any and all feedback would be much appreciated!! thanks....john berk
Posted by med_empowered on July 28, 2005, at 19:41:35
In reply to sam-e with prozac?, posted by john berk on July 26, 2005, at 17:39:25
hi! You should probably talk to your doc first. SAM-e is great for a lot of people, but it can cause mania in those with bipolar disorder, and anti-depressant SAM-e combos aren't very well studied. You could try tapering the Prozac and then using SAM-e, or see if your doc could work out a dosing plan for you.
Posted by blueberry on July 28, 2005, at 19:41:35
In reply to sam-e with prozac?, posted by john berk on July 26, 2005, at 17:39:25
SAMe and prozac can be combined, but it is wise to start at the absolute lowest dose and maybe go just every other day or so for a couple weeks and then start increasing in small steps. I found SAMe stimulating mixed with my prozac. It was helpful to me, though hard to explain how, just overall. If you're not careful, there's no telling what might happen, good or bad. Some doctors would go along with it, but some wouldn't. If you go low and slow, that should allow you to avoid any adverse reaction or catch any possible adverse reaction early. I could not afford to keep buying it.
Posted by Declan on July 28, 2005, at 19:41:35
In reply to Re: sam-e with prozac?, posted by med_empowered on July 26, 2005, at 18:03:08
I've taken 400mg SAMe/d for ages and it's been OK. Recently I started 10mg/d Parnate with it first thing in the morning. Day 1 was great, but by day 3 I was feeling agitated (rather than anxious ie benzos didn't help much).
When I cut out the SAMe the agitation went away.
Linkadge suggested that SAMe was fairly dopaminergic in effect. I had wondered if I was getting too much seratonin in some agitating receptor subtype. I thought this because Parnate had an immediate seratonin feel as well as the dopamine feel that I am more familiar with from deprenyl.
I've no idea how this might apply to Prozac (I've never taken it), but I thought you might be interested anyway.
Jessers1128, (is that name right?), was going to use SAMe with Cymbalta, I think. I dunno how it has gone with her.
Declan
Posted by john berk on July 28, 2005, at 19:41:35
In reply to Re: sam-e with prozac?, posted by Declan on July 26, 2005, at 19:05:58
thanks so much, blueberry, med_powered, and declan, your advice was terrific, i was ready to jump right in tomorrow with 400 mgs., but now i will start very slowly, and be quite careful.
i beleive your right declan, i do remember reading a post by linkadge that mentioned sam-e having an dopaminergic effect, i do have to be careful of the over-stimulation, i do have some sleep issues and ocd of course!! thanks again guys....john
Posted by jessers11581 on July 31, 2005, at 12:23:26
In reply to Re: sam-e with prozac?, posted by Declan on July 26, 2005, at 19:05:58
> I've taken 400mg SAMe/d for ages and it's been OK. Recently I started 10mg/d Parnate with it first thing in the morning. Day 1 was great, but by day 3 I was feeling agitated (rather than anxious ie benzos didn't help much).
>
> When I cut out the SAMe the agitation went away.
>
> Linkadge suggested that SAMe was fairly dopaminergic in effect. I had wondered if I was getting too much seratonin in some agitating receptor subtype. I thought this because Parnate had an immediate seratonin feel as well as the dopamine feel that I am more familiar with from deprenyl.
>
> I've no idea how this might apply to Prozac (I've never taken it), but I thought you might be interested anyway.
>
> Jessers1128, (is that name right?), was going to use SAMe with Cymbalta, I think. I dunno how it has gone with her.
>
> DeclanHi! Yes, I've been taking 400 mg. SAM-e in conjunction with 30 mg. Cymbalta, and so far so good. I'm considering adding another 200 mg. SAM-e, but it's so expensive! Does anyone know whether it's alright to use non-Nature Made brands? I've been buying Spring Valley SAM-e from Walmart. It seems pretty much identical to the Nature Made and is quite a bit cheaper. I haven't noticed any difference in the effects, so I'm assuming it's okay...Please let me know if you think otherwise. Thanks!
Posted by Declan on July 31, 2005, at 16:06:45
In reply to Re: sam-e with prozac?, posted by jessers11581 on July 31, 2005, at 12:23:26
The enteric coating is important, so you want to make sure that's OK. There's a brand in Australia that had tablets falling apart in the bottle. Hopeless.
I was using LEF brand, which was fine.
It sure is expensive. Compared to Parnate, for example.
Declan
This is the end of the thread.
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