My son (21) has been seeing a psychiatrist since May 25, 2007 for OCD, anxiety disorder, and major depression. His psychiatrist prescribed various medications such as Prozac, Risperdal, Invega, Clonazepam, etc., which had little or no effect and had some unpleasant side effects. Prior to seeing his psychiatrist for the first time, we tried the Nature Made brand of 400 mg SAM-e (after learning about it on the Internet) for a few days (one 400 mg tablet per day), but he stopped taking it when his doctor started to prescribe other medications for him. We didn’t know at that time, that SAM-e may be safely taken with Prozac and some other SSRI antidepressants without any adverse effects.

During my son’s initial meeting with his psychiatrist (I accompanied my son) I told his doctor what we had tried up to that point (diet and exercise, fish oil supplements, ginkgo biloba, ST. John’s Wort, SAM-e, and lots of encouragement from family and friends). When I asked his doctor what he though about SAM-e, he replied, “It’s pretty good, but it’s not regulated [by the FDA].” His doctor then prescribed Invega for my son, which has an “off label” use for OCD; my son’s depression was probably moderate at that time, but would gradually worsen. The Risperdal made him feel “drugged” and sluggish, so after trying it for 4 days he told his doctor that he did not want to continue taking it. His doctor then prescribed Prozac, which my son has been taking for about 5 weeks so far. The Prozac didn’t seem to help at all as my son gradually slipped into major depression that really had our family concerned. I then began to do more in-depth research on depression and the various treatments that are available. During my research (mostly on the Internet), I again began to stumble onto articles about SAM-e and the numerous studies that have been done (mostly in Europe) about how effective it has been for treating depression for the past few decades. Prior to going back to the SAM-e, our family was really becoming concerned about my son as his condition began to worsen.

Out of desperation for an effective treatment for his depression, on July 7, 2007 I told him to start taking the SAM-e again in addition to the Prozac he was already taking. I told him to do so after I found a number of articles on the Internet about how even some doctors in the US have started to add SAM-e to their treatments, along with Prozac, Zoloft, and other similar antidepressants with little or no side effects. But this time we gradually increased the dosage (over a 5-day period) to 1200 mgs per day (3 tablets 3 times a day). According to some of the SAM-e articles doctors who support the use of SAM-e as part of their treatment recommend as much as 1600 mgs per day for people suffering from major depression. The articles also state that once the appropriate dosage is reached (for a particular individual), many people start to feel better within one week. Well that's exactly what seemed to happen with my son. His improvement is nothing short of remarkable. He seems like himself again; even he can't believe how good he feels.

I'd also like to mention, however, that a day or two prior to my son starting to feel better, I took him to our pastor for some spiritual guidance as well, so we’re not 100% sure if it was the SAM-e that brought him out of his depression, his renewed faith in God, the Prozac finally starting to work, or the combination of all three. But my gut feeling (based on the numerous articles that I've read regarding the ineffectiveness of most doctor-prescribed antidepressants) is that the SAM-e has played a big part in his recovery. My son’s doctor was also pleased with his improvement and told him to continue doing whatever he was doing, to include taking SAM-e. Therefore, based on my son’s marked improvement, his doctor’s approval of SAM-e, and all of the literature I’ve read about it, I would definitely recommend it for anyone who is suffering from depression (especially major depression).

But be sure to consult with a trained medical professional before deciding on a treatment for depression (especially major depression) for yourself or someone else as this is a serious and potentially dangerous condition. I have seen first hand how powerful and dangerous depression can be, and believe me, it is frightening. My son was nearly totally debilitated for about two months. He was almost always in a melancholy state of mind with periodic crying and an occasional emotional breakdown to the point where I had to take him to the local hospital emergency room for crisis intervention by the hospital’s mental health department. It got to the point where he was saying that he was tired of trying to endure his misery and wanted to go to sleep and never wake up again. That's when we really got scared.

According to some SAM-e warning labels and articles, people diagnosed as manic depressive (also known as bipolar disorder) should not take SAM-e as it may lead to a “manic swing” in moods that could be dangerous. Just as is the case with other prescription medications, it is advised that even after one feels that one’s depression has lifted, one should continue taking SAM-e at the appropriate dosage for at least four months before stopping all together. One should not stop “cold turkey” as that could result in a relapse back into depression. Once my son started to feel good again, I told him to gradually reduce his daily dosage from three tablets (1200 mgs) to one 400 mg tablet per day. After a few days at 400 mgs we noticed that he was starting to feel depressed again, so we gradually increasing it back up to 1200 mgs per day, which is where we plan to keep it for a while.

Although SAM-e has been popular in the Europe for more than 30 years, it’s still relatively new here in the US, but I think its popularity will increase as more people become aware of it, and more doctors begin to accept it a viable treatment. SAM-e is also used for joint support and liver health as well. In the book titled, The SAM-e Handbook (Three Rivers Press, 2000), Nancy Stedman stated that the Nature Made brand of SAM-e manufactured in Italy by Knoll SPa, is "the gold standard." The GNC brand is supposed be a pretty good as well, but it didn’t seem to be as effective for my son as the Nature Made brand. After trying the GNC brand for about ten days, my son’s mood started to go down a bit, so we switched back to the Nature Made brand, which brought his mood back up after three days. We are now convinced that the Nature Made brand of SAM-e is superior to the others.

I bought my son’s first 36-tablet box of 400 mg Nature Made SAM-e (pharmaceutical grade) at Target for $31.00 at the end of May 2007, but they currently sell it for $34.99. Walgreens carries the same 36-tablet box for $41.00. Most big chain grocery stores also carry it, but Target usually sells it about $7.00 cheaper than some of the other places. Costco sells the Nature Made 90-tablet 200 mg box for $39.89, which makes Costco’s price the best regular price that I’ve found so far (about 88 cents per 400 mgs). I found a 30-tablet box of the GNC brand of 400 mg SAM-e at the local GNC store on sale for $24.99 (their regular price is $39.99), so look out for the sales. Fortunately, you can buy SAM-e in either 200 or 400 mg tablets, as some people may receive the same benefits at a smaller dosage. Well, I hope this review helps someone who is struggling or knows someone who is struggling with depression. Here are a few urls for some informative SAM-e Internet articles:

http://www.raysahelian.com/sam-e.html

http://www.webmd.com/depression/news/20040505/supplement-sam-e-helps-beat-depression

http://www.sam-e-supplement.com/

http://www.mcmanweb.com/article-11.htm

http://www.feelingbettertoday.com/antidepressant.php#1



Recommended: Yes