SAM-e dosage warning;bipolar sufferers not to take without Dr.s' advice?

Is this because of the medicine people with a bipolar disorder take OR just the fact they have the bipolar disorder.


I know i am safe to take it for arthritis and... but my better half has a knack of trying anything she wants.SAM-e dosage warning;bipolar sufferers not to take without Dr.s' advice?
Apparently SAM-e can induce mania in bipolar patients. It would have to be used along with a mood stabilizer, but in general, bipolar research experts do not think bipolar patients should be taking antidepressants at all, because they appear to de-stabilize many patients, and there is no evidence an antidepressant IN ADDITION TO a mood stabilizer helps one iota. Now, maybe SAM-e does, these were SSRI and SSNI drugs they were talking about, and some older antidepressants, but things like steroids and other drugs are known to destabilize too. So your better half should work this out with her doctor. It's a good question - Her doc should work with her, and it is her right to collaborate with her doc, not be ordered around.





You will have to google more to learn if there is more recent info - I got this info from a 2001 issue of Psychiatric Times. But I will warn you, bipolar studies are small and poorly designed, routinely. The best studies so far are the STEP-II studies by the NIMH (national institute of mental health) and one of those large scale studies showed no benefit of adding an antidepressant to a mood stabilizer such as lithium depakote or lamictal.





Bipolar depression is very hard to treat %26amp; often treatment fails. Routine exercise and good social support and maybe a light box like for SAD (seasonal affective disorder) are the best helps I have found. (The Sunray is a good light box for about $300)





Good luck - bipolar is nothing to play with.