With such a dramatic response, I would consider reducing the dosage because manic switching is a possibility when taking S-Adenosyl Methionine. Together with cysteine, methionine is one of two sulfur-containing proteinogenic amino acids. Its derivative S-adenosyl methionine (SAM) serves as a methyl donor. Methionine is an intermediate in the biosynthesis of cysteine, carnitine, taurine, lecithin, phosphatidylcholine, and other phospholipids.
As you apparently respond well to methionine, you may want to try N-Acetyl Cysteine (NAC), in theory it could just be that your body is having trouble producing enough cysteine, as cysteine supply is a rate limiting factor in glutathione production and other critical reactions. NAC is much cheaper than SAM, about $4 for a month supply. Swanson's is the cheapest source I've found:
Swanson Premium NAC N-Acetyl Cysteine 600 mg 100 Caps - Swanson Health Products
Another methionine intermediate is taurine, taurine mimics glycine at the NMDA receptor glycine site and can bind with it. If this is the way SAM is helping you, sarcosine (N-Methyl Glycine), or even D-Serine, should work better then SAM in you. I would encourage you to work through the methionine end products so you can narrow in on what exactly is working for you, however I'm already thinking it's cysteine and that you'll see the most bang for your buck with NAC.
Another alternative, which has a mode of action that's entirely different from SAM and NAC, is pregnenolone and vitamin D3. Both of these compounds act as neurosteroids, pregnenolone can be purchased from amazon.com. Vitamin D3 can be purchased anywhere, but it need to be at least 2,000 I.U. and you have to take a loading dose to see quick results, as it takes upwards of five months to reach peak serum concentrations due to it's long half-life.
Quote:
Originally Posted by OPRMC
I tried a few different antidepressants in the past, but gave up because of the side effects. I've been considering getting back on them for months, but it's been impossible due to a variety of factors. I tried St John's Wort off and on for the past six months or so, and I think it did help even me out slightly though certainly not enough.
Well, four days ago I decided to buy some SAM-E after reading a bit about it on the internet and seeing a lot of positive responses to it. Found some made by Nature Made at Walgreens (or maybe it was CVS...I mix them up) on sale with a 2 for 1 discount. The stuff isn't cheap, but not horrible with the 2 for 1 deal.
Long story short, I'm excited. This is my fourth day at 400mg, and I feel alive for the first time in 7+ years. I've done nothing different, my life is still in the same shape it was in last week, but today I feel so much better that it's making me remember how it felt to be a little kid back in the days before everything went wrong.
Obviously too soon to know if it will work long-term, but I am the most negative, pessimistic person I've ever known, and I'm feeling a sense of hope right now that the prescription pills, therapy, exercise, attempts at positive thinking, etc never gave me. I will be absolutely crushed if this feeling wears off, but I don't even want to think about that possibility right now because this is the first day in years and years and years that I have felt any better than a 2 out of 10.
Oddly enough, I had a dream last night that there was a really huge and vicious grey dog with giant teeth angry and snarling at me and trying to attack, but somebody had it on a leash and was holding it back, and it had a muzzle over it's mouth and I was laughing at it because it couldn't get to me.
Anyway, whether or not this lasts, whether or not it's placebo, it has been amazing to have one day of my life back from the snarling beast.
|