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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 3 of 3. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by GCBright on April 23, 2016, at 2:41:59
Hi, all. Just started Emsam 6mg two days ago, and have been having horrible, almost intolerable anxiety. Been taking Xanax to help buffer but it's still really bad. Seroquel at night for sleep, but the Emsam has made insomnia exponentially worse. I was hoping you all might be able to answer a few questions, from those who have experience with this particular medication:
1) I've read on other threads here that folks who had bad anxiety at the 6mg dose found it went away when they upped the dose to 9mg. How long should I stay on the 6mg before trying the 9mg? I'm very sensitive to medications but am willing to try if it may help.
2) What are the general time frames for this medication to start working? I know it varies per individual. I'm just remembering my Prozac experiences- officially, I was told 6 weeks for relief, but I felt better after a week (had to go off it for other reasons.) Do some people get anxiety relief from Emsam earlier than 5 weeks? (Is 5 weeks what they say?)
3) If/once I bump up to 9mg in hopes of relieving anxiety, how long should I stay on it to give it a fair go?
4) If Emsam doesn't work for me, how long realistically do I need to wait before restarting an ssri? The pharma insert says 2 week washout, but I've read studies in which people have actually been treated with low dose ssris while on Emsam (sounds way too scary!) which makes me wonder about liability mitigation as opposed to evidence based precautions, mostly for the lower doses. (For example, the FDA required dietary restrictions - and may now actually lift them - on the 9 and 12mg patch, even though there was not one documented case of tyramine induced hypertension. I'm much more cautious of medication.)
Keeping the hope :/ Any info about the time frame for this med would be great. Thank you so much!!!!
Posted by Horse on April 23, 2016, at 4:11:00
In reply to EMSAM Experiences - Help!!, posted by GCBright on April 23, 2016, at 2:41:59
The anxiety is likely transitory and part of start up. I felt activated for the first few days, then things mellowed out. I found it true that 9mg and 12mg were less activating, and my guess is at 12mg there is more of a maoi effect. My suggestion is to ride out the next few days and see.
Posted by J Kelly on April 23, 2016, at 5:32:28
In reply to EMSAM Experiences - Help!!, posted by GCBright on April 23, 2016, at 2:41:59
Hi there,
I had an initial excellent response that lasted about a week. I believe I was at the 6mg dose. No anxiety but some nausea. I titrated up every week or two til I got to 12mg. As I only had a partial response and could no longer increase without following the food restrictions I decided to switch to Parnate.
Jade
This is the end of the thread.
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