info needed please - SAM-E (Serosame)

[ducktail]

My husband's uncle is a naturopath. He claims to have treated many patients trying to get off a/d's (including paxil), with the above mentioned Sam-e, also called Serosame. He said I could switch from paxil straight to this sam-e without any problem. Naturally I am skeptical. I have done a little bit of research into it, but so far can only find advertisements. Anyone heard of this stuff??

Kelli

[angels]

Originally Posted by ducktail

Naturally I am skeptical.
Kelli

As well you should be. And, once again, you have come to apparently the only web site in the world that has got a'holt of the facts vs. marketing prose.

SAMe does have an excellent reputation in Europe for treating depression. I can't quite remember the neurotransmitters it works on, but it is a bit of an upper. You will see folks try it out when St John's Wort doesn't do anything, for example.

I scratched my head in wonderment trying to figure out the logic of this and then realized that it was the same 'ole same 'ole. Quickly with sleight of haned so that the brain doesn't notice, trade one drug for another. Now, granted, SAMe, all SSRIs aside, is a bit more natural and you can experiment with dosages without much side effects, but the pairing of it with SSRI withdrawal lands you in the exact same ditch as the 'ole "yeah, mitigate the SSRI withdrawal, by shifting to prozac." I believe that that might be the theory under which someone might recommend this withdrawal strategy,and perhaps, with all good intentions (but nothing that they should be paid for saying), SAMe is an alternative substance so maybe it.... will.... be.... better?

Lordy, lordy must be one 'o them cowboy doctors; cain't be a real one.

Excusez-moi, but advice like this is what causes people misery and lost income and health for a few days or a few months or a few years.
Hats off to you for being suspicious.

[altostrata]

I wouldn't risk it, many of us have had problems taking any concentrated amounts of amino acids. These supplements are simply far too strong.

Since around half of all people may have no or few problems getting off antidepressants, the naturopath may have misinterpreted the coincidence of successful transition as successful treatment.

(Scotty, perhaps all the SAM-e threads could be consolidated in Supplements?)

[ducktail]

Thanks again guys, I was curious because he seemed so confident that this treatment works. I have NO intention of switching - tried that already (with luvox) and went into super-suicide mode. Don't really want that again, for some strange reason.

I will let this guy know (as he is a relative), that this is not a suitable treatment for someone having difficulty with w/d.

KJ

[altostrata]

If you've already demonstrated hyperreactivity or other discontinuation symptoms, I wouldn't risk it.

The symptoms show your CNS is already upset.