Posted by fachad on March 28, 2002, at 7:20:26
In reply to If both SSRI + MAOI were taken what would happen?, posted by Janelle on March 28, 2002, at 2:56:19
Serotonin Syndrome is actually the medical name for what happens when you take an MAOI with and SSRI.
You can also get Serotonin Syndrome from taking L-typtophan (which the body makes into serotonin) along with an SSRI.
Someone here could probably give you a more accurate description of Serotonin Syndrome, but from what I've heard it's awful and medically dangerous.
> Now that I've figured out from a thread on here what an MAOI inhibitor is, let me see if I get this straight - well, first, I'm always reading and hearing that people on SSRI's should NOT take MAOI's and vice versa, and if you're gonna switch from one to the other, you should wait at least 2 weeks for whichever one you're on to clear out of your system.
>
> Okay, now it seems to me that the reason you must NOT take an SSRI and MAOI together is that since they both act to keep Serotonin in the synapse longer than usual (SSRI with inhibiting the reuptake pump, MAOI with inhibiting the enzyme that breaks down serotonin), you could wind up with TOO MUCH serotonin and have some kind of terrible reaction, like mega-serotonin syndrome????
>
> Please let me know if I'm getting this right, and if not, please correct me! Thanks.
poster:fachad
thread:100678
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020327/msgs/100705.html