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Re: Movin' on up to the Big Time - EMSAM 9mg patch » yznhymer

Posted by Brody on September 22, 2007, at 16:33:29

In reply to Re: Movin' on up to the Big Time - EMSAM 9mg patch » Brody, posted by yznhymer on September 21, 2007, at 14:53:14

>
> At 6mg, what's been missing is a consistent response. My mood is generally good, and I'm a lot more talkative, but my energy, motivation and focus rise and fall.
>
>

Yes! This sounds very much like my experience at 6mg, and fairly typical of what I have read from others. It's like, "Oh YES! I DO feel better, but, am I missing something here?"

>
> In some ways, it feels like anxiety is more of an issue than the depression, but they have always gone hand in hand for me. In fact, sometimes it seems like the anxiety induces the depression. >
>
>


For me, the anxiety came on much (years) later than the depression, and I feel it was the depression "lifestyle" that induced the anxiety. (stress related issues as a result of inaction)


>
>
I'm hitting things from all angles now - diet, exercise, some good therapy, etc. Still, it felt like Emsam gave me a foundation on which to build - without it I don't know that I would have been able to employ the other strategies.
>
>


Yes, yes, and more yes! You are definitely singing my song here! The Emsam was the first step (the "foundation"), and I had to have relief from severe depressive symptoms in order to take the next steps. EXCEPT, I did not get as far as you have at only 6 mg!! Just curious, does your therapist happen to be a practioner of CBT?


>
> I guess the additional question I'd have for you is what differences in antidepressive response did you experience at the different doses - did Emsam work better for you at 9 and 12 as opposed to 6?
>
>


Okay. My doctor was very aggressive with increasing my Emsam dose... more so than any I have read about. I was on 6mg for 2 weeks.... felt nothing; then 9 mg for 2 weeks, and I felt some of the depression lift; then we went on up to 12 mg, where I was seeing steady and significant improvement in mood for the month that I was at that dose. Then, the blasted orthostatic hypotension became too severe to shrug off. We tried Florinef to raise my blood pressure but that was unsuccessful, so we had no choice but to drop back down to 9mg. (I still experience the side effect, but not as severe) I did feel a slight lowering of the anti-depressant effects when I went back to 9mg.

Back at 9mg, the Emsam was still doing a good job working on my "mood" and even my excruciatingly painful morning depressions were abated, however I did NOT get the energy and focus that many Emsamers were reporting. I found out you can be happier, and still not be able to MOVE!

After several months and still no help with the desire to happily just sit, and also some increasing afternoon sleepiness, my doctor added 100mg Provigil, and that was the bonus for me. There is synergy in the two meds for me. Now I have an increasingly positive mood, plus energy and concentration to apply to diet, exercise and therapy.

I have (as most MAOI users do) atypical, treatment resistant, major depression and the hardest problem to solve for me has always been the lethargy and apathy.

>
> Thanks again,
>


You're welcome! Getting well is a process. Best of luck with your next step.

Janet


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poster:Brody thread:784253
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