Posted by Donna Louise on June 20, 2006, at 13:46:22
In reply to Re: Are Family Doctors prescribing EMSAM?, posted by jealibeanz on June 20, 2006, at 13:14:16
> I know there's nothing wrong with being an informed patient, but there are just so many sensitive and personal issues when dealing with anxiety and depression. It makes it so much harder to be assertive with symptoms and treatment.
>
> I thought EMSAM doesn't have anything to do with SE at the doses currently available, only at very high amounts. I'm put off by serotonin because I suspect that it may have something to do with the weight gain side effect. I know that it has been reported on EMSAM, but it wasn't reported on Wellbutrin, which made me gain quite a bit. I am completely clueless as to how/why it actually occurs. Does it have something to due with the liver? stomach? brain? metabolism? I just don't get it!
>
>I am rife with anxiety and depression. I know exactly how it feels. (Currently I am not as the EMSAM is working for me.) So I do understand it is hard to be assertive but you can do it.
It is confusing about the EMSAM dosage. It says 6mg but that is not the same as 6mg orally as the transdermal delivery system skips first pass metabolism, 20 mg worth (or there abouts) actually gets in the blood stream. Orally, it is metabolized much more in the liver and therefore you have lower levels of the parent compound (selegiline) and much higher levels of amphetamine metabolites. They have a diagram of it in the info sheet that comes with the rx, on line too.
So, the 6mg patch actually delivers an amount that is no longer MAO-B selective. It does catabolize MAO-A too which allows higher levels of seratonin. But I do not believe there is much of chance of weight gain on EMSAM although anything is possible. Someone reported an actual statistical weight loss.
Hope that is not just more confusing.donna
poster:Donna Louise
thread:647686
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060617/msgs/659246.html