Posted by shellie on December 12, 2000, at 10:06:03
In reply to 2 questions/SAM-e, posted by stephanie l. on December 11, 2000, at 18:03:35
Hi Stephanie, I'm probably the person who wrote that sam-e was okay to take with MAOIs. I know it says in Brown's book that you shouldnÕt. However, I talked to both Dr. Brown and his co-author, Terry Bottiglieri who has been involved in research with sam-e (I think he's a biochemist, PhD) since his dissertation and now teaches in Texas and is considered the sam-e expert in the U.S. First I talked to Dr. Bottiglieri because Dr. Brown doesn't do consultations and I knew he wouldn't call me back if I left him a message. I actually tracked Bottiglieri down (found his home number listed on the internet) and called him at home. He then gave me his office number and we talked the next day for quite a while. He said that in Italy people were combining the two, and there was no chemical reason not to. Then he told me that I should call Dr. Brown, because he would call him and tell him about me. I talked to Dr. Brown for an hour on a Saturday. I still don't quite understand why he has that about MAOIs in his book; he told me he had used sam-e with MAOIs. Not only did he tell me how to use sam-e (like how fast to go up and when to know if it wouldn't work), but he gave me a list of other augmentors to use with nardil if sam-e didn't work. He said he had had enormous success with MAOIs and lamictal and thatÕs what I should try if I got no benefit from sam-e.
I am telling you this whole story because I want you to know that both authors actually say it is safe to combine the two. My current local pdoc has combined the two also, but she says she has not seen any successful results. But no bad reactions. She also said she has a colleague in NY who swears by sam-e. I also was not successful with it, but the combination of lamictal and sam-e worked really well for me.
INFORMATION FROM DR. BROWN:
this was the protogol he gave me for sam-e:
100 x 2x for 3 daysÑ(200)
200 x 2x for 3 daysÑ(400)
400 x 2x for 3 days-(800)
600 x 2 for 1 weekÑ(1200)
800 x 2 for 10-14 daysÑ (1600)
if doesnÕt work stop; if getting some effect can go up to 1400 x 2
take folaid or folic acid-800mc;
take b-12- 100 mc;
OTHER OPTIONS TO ADD WITH NARDIL1. thyroid, add 25 mc of cytomel (t3) for 2 weeks; can try 37.5 also
***2. lamcital- (anti-seizure medication) have to go up very very slowlyÑover a 3 month period--
3. add very low lithium level (works 50% of time)Ñ
4. add traxedone (deserel) ;
5. pindolol can boast MAO inhibitors
6. add ritalin to boast MAOshope this clarifies things. shellie
poster:shellie
thread:50398
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20001130/msgs/50413.html