Posted by CaseyAzalea on November 12, 2006, at 10:20:02
In reply to Re: Looking into EmPower, posted by SLS on July 7, 2006, at 8:35:55
I'm also sorry that Emsam didn't work for you. It is hard to figure out what's what, especially when some of us have to add middle-aged hormones into the mix!
Since there's so little info on it, I thought I should share my experience with it - I've been on the 6mg patch just over two months, and I'm very pleased with it. It's the first thing that has broken through my depression without causing hypomania and/or other physical side effects that were worse than the good effects.
The only problems I've had with it are the red mark it leaves on my skin (which I can live with) and plain old insomnia, which is getting to be a problem. Since the pharmacist said not to cut it because of the way the drug is delivered, I tried taking the patch off before bed. It's only been a few days but that seems to have helped, without making me feel any worse in any other way.
I'm still cautiously optimistic about Emsam in the long run since in all of these forums and groups I visit, I haven't heard of anyone else having success with it. It's a bother being on something so new (and so expensive!!!!) that few people have used it for long.
I hadn't heard about the withdrawal symptoms before, so I'm glad to know that in case I ever have to go off it it. Thanks for the info.
Miriamne, I hope you find something else that works for you soon!
Casey
> > I'm planning on going off my 9mg EmSam in a few weeks (after I get back from a trip) and am wondering what to expect. I just survived 2 months of Effexor withdrawal hell, and I'm praying it won't be like that.
> >
> > Since it's administered with a patch, I can't imagine how one could gradually cut down on the dose... so am I correct in assuming it will be cold turkey or nothing? Ugh.
> >
> > Any help, advice, or shared experiences would be greatly appreciated!
> > Sincerely,
> > Miriamne
>
>
> I am terribly sorry that Emsam didn't work out for you. What did you find disappointing about the drug? What dosage did you work up to?
>
> Some people have successfully tweaked their dosing of Emsam by cutting their patches into fractions. The transdermal delivery of the drug remains proportional to the surface area of the patch in contact with the skin. I would try tapering Emsam by cutting the patches and see what happens. I doubt the withdrawal syndrome would be as intense as that you experienced with Effexor, though, even if you weren't to taper. My guess is that fatigue would be a problem.
>
>
> - Scott
poster:CaseyAzalea
thread:657136
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/wdrawl/20061010/msgs/702791.html