Posted by pedr on January 21, 2010, at 18:27:51
In reply to MAOIs and orthostatic hypotension, posted by em_kath on January 18, 2010, at 15:51:24
> I am currently on Emsam 9mg/24hr. This morning when I got out of bed my vision went blurry, and instead of clearing in a few seconds as usual (this sometimes happens when I stand up too fast), it stayed blacked out for several minutes. It was quite frightening, and I think I even lost consciousness for a moment. I did some research and read my medication booklet again and apparently this is called orthostatic hypotension and can be a side effect of MAOIs. Emsam hasn't been working very well for me so far, so I was debating between either going up to 12mg or switching to Parnate, which I have heard good things about. My question to other MAOI users out there is, should I be concerned? It really scared me to go blind like that. I tried calling my psychiatrist but the office is closed for the holiday. This is the only time this has happened in the 6 weeks I've been on this medication, and at first I thought it was brought on by panic (I had overslept and was late for work). I don't know whether I should keep pursuing MAOIs or if I should try something else. I have atypical depression that hasn't responded well to anything yet. I apologize for rambling, basically I'm just wondering if any other MAOI users have encountered temporary blindness like this? And if so, how often?
Hi,
I've posted a few times regarding hypotension on Nardil recently. Contrary to what others say, IT'S NOT JUST WHEN YOU STAND UP TOO QUICKLY! I would get it after walking up a flight of stairs, turning my head quickly, even looking to the side of my vision!
Regarding blindness, I did not get that. My symptom was everything would go blinding white, like a searchlight shining right in your eyes. This would last for a minute or two.
I highly, highly, highly recommend increasing your blood pressure (assuming you have no related complications) thus:
1/ drink a pint of water with 1/2 teaspoon of salt (or more if you can tolerate) with breakfast
2/ drink another 2 pints of water (if possible)
3/ keep drinking water during the day.
4/ moderate amounts Caffeine helps too.
All these things really helped with my hypotension. I was even able to play soccer. Badly, but still play.
HTH,
Petep.s. if the salty water is too much, try Thermotabs salt supplements. You can get them on eBay.
poster:pedr
thread:934205
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20100113/msgs/934597.html