Posted 1/4/2008 5:53 PM (GMT 0)
Serafena,
Yes, I know that the MAOI's have dietary restrictions for some people. However, myself and many others have found we can eat certain foods, such as cheddar cheese and pizza from Pizza Hut, etc. that they say you can't eat. The oral MAOI's have many more side effects and dietary restrictions but many have been helped by them who are bipolar, treatment resistant, etc. and they have been struggling for a long time with depression. The MAOI's seem to be very effective in helping with this.
The Emsam patch also has some dietary restrictions for some people but overall what I have read from Emsam users is that it has very few or none at all according to the particular person. Emsam also has very few side effects or none at all according to the person using it. I have had no real side effects except for a little insomnia and I combat that with Temazepam (2 15 mg. pills before I go to bed. I sleep like a baby and I awake well rested, happy, calm and energetic.-BALANCE
Yes, as I said in my other post in the depression forum, I mentioned seeing my psychiatrist. Everyone needs to see their doctor before going on any drug and continually monitored.
I realize there are other regimens that help, however I have found that the SSRI's have left me feeling shaky, zombielike the next day and many various side effects including no libido(Emsam helps libido tremendously for me and many others.) I also found that SSRI's and the mood stabilizers caused total lack of sleep(insomnia) and nothing I tried ever helped. I went years without sleep. Due to this lack of sleep and the side effects I was totally suicidal and just wanted to end it all it hurt so much. There was no hope as I constantly cycled from too happy(drug induced) for 3 months to miserable and depressed for three months. I did try the mood stabilizer, Seroquel for both sleep and to help ease the drug induced mania and it totally wiped me out. Yes, I slept but felt like a walking and bedridden( 24 hrs. a day) zombie. It also gave me a horrible rash all over my entire body for a month. I had to go to my family doctor to stop the itching. It helped but the only thing that made it go away was to remove the drug from my system under both my doctor and psychiatrist's orders. Lithium made my entire body shake like crazy that I couldn't even leave the house without feeling embarrassed everywhere I went. It was totally depressing and painful. I had no life. I was drowning in "Hades" with no life raft to save me. My husband, family, friends, doctors kept trying but without success. After many years of painful experiences, and feeling so alone (Felt like my family and friends didn't want to deal with me and I gave up on myself). I finally found the light at the end of the tunnel. I found EMSAM and I found me again, the woman who loves life, her husband, family and friends. I feel normal, happy, without the awful side effects.
Thanks for the support. I hope this helps even one person. Please see my EMSAM post in the depression forum for more info. if anyone interested. I want to pay it forward cuz I had the same done for me and it meant the world to me. It helped me have faith and hope when I thought hope was gone.
It's now been 3 months on Emsam and still doing awesome. Please keep me in your prayers and wish me continued wellness. I will keep you all informed.
I wish you all healing and happiness. Life is meant to be joyful.
So, all I am saying is many of the drugs(SSRI's, Mood Stabilizers, etc.) I and others have taken have caused horrible side effects and I really felt like I had no life. I had to stop working as I couldn't even function for the last ten years. Now, I finally feel that if I can attain consistent wellness with Emsam, which I feel I can, I can finally return to my career again. It's such a good feeling!