After Humphrey's recent veterinary exam, he embarked on a process to try to restore order to his dog body. More on the entire process in another post, but one of the things he started was SAM-e.
Spoiler: it has exceeded his expectations for wellness so far.
SAM-e (S-adenosyl-L-methionine) is a supplement that's been around since the 1950s, and is available over-the-counter in the US and Canada, and by prescription in Europe. It is a "cosubstrate" produced in human (and dog) bodies that has some painkilling properties, and stimulates the production of collagen and proteoglycans, which are major building blocks of cartilage.
Though SAM-E has been studied for about 30 years, the aggregate data does not cover as many cases as would be necessary for strong evidence of its efficacy. However, double-blind placebo and double-blind SAM-e vs. NSAID studies suggest that it is effective (possibly as effective as NSAIDs like Ibuprofen) in osteoarthritis (pain and mobility). Humphrey is taking it for his liver, which the recent veterinary exam suggested enlargement. It is considered safe even with longer-term use, and with minimal side effects.
Though Humphrey started taking SAM-e (VetriScience Vetri SAMe Liver Supplement, 90mg), within a week his mobility improved and we started to investigate the supplement. The strength and mobility was (and remains) very dramatic, and when we began to read about SAM-e's effects on arthritis, we believe that the benefits so far have been on the joints, and presumably it's not hurting his liver.
SAM-e comes with a few cautions. It cannot be taken alongside antidepressants or St. John's Wort, or with opioid pain killers (such as Tramadol). There are a couple of other contra-indications, but these would be the more common ones.
For more information specific to human use and dosing:
Mt. Sinai Hospital page on SAM-e
Versus Arthritis site (with summaries of various studies, including methodologies)
No comments:
Post a Comment