QUESTION:
Dear Dr. Heller,
I am a 44 years old male with a previous history of anxiety disorder. When I was 30 I had my first panic attack and went for 3-4 years without treatment with uncomfortable levels of anxiety. I was then put on MAOI's and then received cognitive therapy which improved my condition notably. In fact, for the last 6 years I have been very well, with occasional mild anxiety.
However, 3 months ago my anxiety reappeared, this time with a depression component. I began to take SAM-e for the depression component and now I have been prescribed BuSpar for the anxiety. SAM-e has work very well for me but nobody seems to know if there might any drug interaction with BuSpar. Do you know anything about this?
Thanks.
ANSWER:
Many herbs and supplements have side effects and drug interactions. I'm not aware
of any between SAM-e and BuSpar, and it may not have been studied. BuSpar's biggest
drug interaction is with grapefruit juice.
None of the supplement or herbal treatments has been shown effective for more than mild
depression. Because we know of the drug interactions, I like to prescribe medications that
are well studied and have shown the test of time.
