Sam-e For Pain/mood?

[mkoven]

Between my ongoing joint pain and some struggles with mood, I've been considering taking something. I've taken sam-e in the past and noticed it helped with both. it's an over-the-counter supplement, with European research supporting it for joint pain and depression. Before I became symptomatic with pots/ncs, I tolerated it well.

Has anyone else taken it? did it help? aggravate anything? interact with anything else?

[flop]

I've not heard of sam-e, is it a brand name? Do you know what the active ingredient in it is? You need to be careful with supplements as they aren't all FDA approved so side-effects and interactions aren't always known. If you can find an alternative name for it I'll try looking it up for you.

Flop

[mkoven]

I believe its full name is S-Adenosyl-L-Methionine. I started taking it again just under a week ago. My mood is a little perkier. Can't tell if it's affecting autonomic stuff. I do feel a little bit more hyper. The ultimate test will be how I survive another round of pms. From what I understand, it's sold as a prescription in Germany and Italy for depression, arthritis, and liver problems. In the US there may be problems with standardization. The little bit I've read says that there are few reports of side effects, but there is the potential for conversion to homocysteine, which is bad for heart disease.

Just curious if anyone has any experiences with it...

[kmpower]

Hi. I heard a lecture last month about methylation. The doctor researching it said that when there are deficiencies of the folate nutrients (folic acid, B12, B6 and betaine) people generally don't have enough methylation, which has consequences all over the body from working of DNA to manufacture of neurotransmitters.

She said when there is general HYPOmethylation, then the body for some reason has very local areas of HYPERmethylation -- such as the NET transporter gene in POTS (my example and guess).

Anyway, SAM-e is a methyl supplement. If you are HYPOmethylated, then it is supposed to be very helpful, even necessary. A very few people are overall HYPERmethylated (some schizophrenia, some other conditions) and do worse with SAM-e. If you already know it has helped you, it makes sense to try again.

I hope it helps.

OLL

[Sunfish]

if you have a link (or a few) to info on the med/supplement, please feel free to post it. not so much re: how to get it but more info about its uses, research, etc.

not knowing anything about the supplement/med itself, i would just want to make sure that your doctor and/or pharmacist knows that you're giving it a try, particularly if you're on any other meds/supplements now that you weren't on when you took it previously.

melissa

[Guest tearose]

I tried sam-e and become very irritable and had terrible nausea. This was after a few days on it. I am also not usually irritable. There are old posts on sam-e if that helps you figure things out.

tearose

[kmpower]

Hi.

Sunfish, I tried to find some easy-to-read stuff, but I am not very good at searching for it online. I did find a few links right off. You can follow these links if you want to get into it or I could keep on looking if you want. Anyhoo...

This first link is high tech, but Dr. James? work is very leading-edge on the gene/nutrient interface. One thing mentioned in the abstract which was new to me: if there is a mutation in the ability to use folate (specifically, MTHFR, which I have learned is in perhaps 1/3 of females), then less SAM-e is made in the body and taking it might be beneficial (my extrapolation).

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.f...l=pubmed_docsum

This is more of the same, but by other authors (Friso and Choi).

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.f...t_uids=15720206

I know that in Australia there is research on methylation of the norepi transporter gene, discussed in other threads. The same authors in another paper say this:

?Understanding the patterns of DNA methylation through the interaction with nutrients is fundamental, not only to provide pathophysiological explanations for the development of certain diseases, but also to improve the knowledge of possible prevention strategies by modifying a nutritional status in at-risk populations.?

Hope you all have good Mondays.

OLL

[flop]

My post below is probably not very relevant now. I originally wrote it within a couple of minutes of my first reply but then had hiddeous problems trying to post - repeatedly logged out of the site / couldn't log in. I copied it and e-mailed it to myself so I'm adding it now in case there is anything useful in it. Sorry don't hve the energy right now to edit it in view of the info posted since it was written.

(Is that lot gobbledegook? Doesn't make much sense to me either LOL)

Flop

>Ignore the above post - I've found SAMe. It's active ingredient is S-adenosyl-L-methionine.

>

>From what I've read it has been studies more that other natural antidepressants such as St John's Wort and has been shown to be >effective for depression. It has been compared to the old-fashioned tricyclic antidepressants (avoid in POTS as they cause >Tachycardia) but there aren't yet any studies comparing it to modern antidepressants.

>

>Have you talked to your doctor about how you're feeling? I know from personal experience that chronic pain can cause depression >which they changes your perception of the pain so that it seems worse which makes you more depressed ..... and it is a vicious >spiral of worsening mood and pain.

>

>My cardiologist has put me on Paroxetine (a modern SSRI antidepressant). He wanted me to start it ages ago but I refused as I was >worried about the stigma associated with depression (had previously had depression as a student). When my POTS started to go >crazy again in the autumn I agreed to try Paroxetine (was also feeling a bit depressed and thought it might at least help with that if >not the POTS).

>

>There is medical evidence showing that paroxetine is beneficial to patients with POTS (for the POTS itself not for depression). In my >opinion it would be safer to take a prescribed medication rather than a natural supplement as the data for drug interactions is >available.

>

>I would make an appointment with your doctor to discuss your symptoms and possible treatments an follow their advice. If you do >decide to try paroxetine, one piece of advice - take only half or quater of a 20mg tablet to start with. I took 20mg right off and it >made me feel really odd, like I was drunk. I took a baby dose for 2 weeks then built up the dose and haven't had any problems now >that my system is used to it.

>

>Good luck,

>Flop

[mkoven]

I guess my reluctance to take ssris is that I always have such a hard time with side effects-- and so far sam-e has few to none for me. My sister has been on ssri's for years, and describes a wretched time getting on and off, as well as the fact that she has gained over 50 pounds. During my adolescence I was put on tricyclic antidepressants (all that was available at the time), and was either allergic or had awful side effects. I know ssris have fewer, but am really on the fence.

[flop]

SSRIs, I have previously taken both tricyclics and an SNRI (selective noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor) without too many side effects other than tachycardia (years before POTS was an issue).

The first couple of weeks on Paroxetine were horrid - as I said earlier should have started on a baby dose not the full whack - but now I don't notice any side-effects other than wakefulness after taking it. As I take the dose in the morning I am wakeful at work and am sleeping much better too.

Ultimately you should make your own decision, I'm not trying to persuade you onto prescription meds just relaying my experience and knowledge.

Take care,

Flop