Posted by Bill L on December 11, 2000, at 9:08:17
In reply to How long did it take for SAM-e to start working?, posted by mist on December 9, 2000, at 14:07:59
I have taken SAM-e for 2 years. I take it with 20 mg of Celexa. This combo works very well for me. I used to take SAM-e with Prozac but they are both activating and I felt too hyper.
I think that you are correct that it works on both dopamine and serotonin. It might also work on norepinephrine. I have "double depression"- dysthymia plus uni-polar depression. SAM-e gives me a feeling of well being (including confidence). That might be the dopamine effect- I'm not sure. But SAM-e alone still leaves me with too much anxiety and low level depression. The Celexa takes care of those symptoms.
The SAM-e doses people need range from 200 to 1600 mg when SAM-e is taken alone. If you take it with another AD, then you would probably only need a lower dose.
I take 300 mg (one and a half pills) of Nature's Rx. That brand is only available by mail order- from the internet. Most people take NatureMade which is sold at Walmart, K-Mart, Target, and most other stores. The best prices are at wharehouse clubs such as BJ's and Costco.
For me, Nature's RX works better than NatureMade. But I have read other posts where people said that NatureMade worked better. So I do not feel comfortable recommending one brand over the other. As I mentioned, most people take NatureMade.
Richard Brown is a psychiatrist at Columbia University. He wrote a book on SAM-e called "Stop Depression Now". He uses SAM-e in combo with a variety of antidepressents on his patients. He also uses it alone on some patients. He cautions against combining SAM-e with MAOI's. Also, don't take it if you are bi-polar.
In any event, check with your doctor before taking SAM-e, especially with other AD's since there is the risk of serotonin syndrome.
SAM-e should be taken with vitamins. I take a multi vitamin/mineral called Centrum A to Zinc. Dr Brown recommends 800 mg folate and 1,000 mg B12 when taking SAM-e. I tried that but it made me feel too hyper so I cut back to the multi.
SAM-e should take effect withen a few days but it may take longer to play around with the dose to find the right amount. If you take too much, you may have trouble sleeping.
> May I ask how long it took for the SAM-e to take effect? Also, does your wife take B vitamins with it? I have also heard that you should start with 200/mg twice a day. (It's great that a smaller dose works for your wife.) Does she get the Omega 3s from flaxseed oil? Thank you for any more information you can provide. It's always great to know about something that works for someone--there's hope!
>
> > My wife suffers from recurrent depression and has never been willing to take AD's. She tried St. John's Wort which was somewhat helpful but gave her side effects - so she stopped. She started taking a combination of Omega-3 oils(2grams/day) and SAM-e 200 mg/ day and she has not had a serious bout of depression since. It's been amazing. Most articles we found said that people often need 400 Mg or more of SAM-e but she's very small - and it is pretty danged expensive so she started low. And it seems to have worked. Yay! I hope it is as helpful to you as it has been to her. Good Luck. Jay.
poster:Bill L
thread:50260
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20001130/msgs/50389.html