Posted by tensor on April 2, 2013, at 4:32:59
In reply to Re: To MAOI or not to MAOI, posted by Tomatheus on April 1, 2013, at 17:26:24
> Tensor,
>
> I personally didn't get a lasting response from the MAOIs that I tried (and I tried them all), but I'm pretty sure at this point that I have idiopathic hypersomnia (and not clinical depression) in addition to the psychosis that begin to manifest itself for me after I tried most of my MAOIs. I think that individuals with depression (especially if the depression is atypical) and anxiety would be more likely to respond to the MAOIs in the long run than I was, although obviously all treatments for depression and anxiety are far from being universally effective. I adjusted to the dietary restrictions rather easily and found that I was able to give up aged cheeses, cured meats, and other foods rather easily when it meant that my energy level was adequate and that I could wake up as easily as anybody else. Unfortunately, as I've said, none of the MAOIs had a lasting effect on me, but when they did work (which was only for three days at a time, except in the case of Nardil), they worked rather well, significantly relieving all of my symptoms.
>
> It's my understanding based on what I've read that Nardil is usually used before Parnate in individuals who experience anxiety as part of their symptomatic profile, given Parnate's reputation as being a more "activating" medication than Nardil is. Also, Nardil inhibits the enzyme GABA transaminase, and Parnate, as far as I know does not, and this may give Nardil and advantage over Parnate when it comes to treating anxiety. I think I've read that Nardil tends to be harsher on the liver than Parnate is, but other members here may have more information on that matter than I do.
>
> All in all, given the symptoms that you list, an MAOI may be worth asking about, assuming that you're comfortable with the risks that MAOIs carry and are committed to restricting what you eat and what medicines you take. Others on this board know more about what psychiatric medications can be taken alongside MAOIs than I do, but I have heard of MAOIs being taken along with Lamictal and clonazepam. Amitriptyline inhibits the reuptake of serotonin and thus should not be taken with an MAOI if my understanding is correct, but I'm not sure about the safety of taking mirtazapine with an MAOI.
>
> Anyway, I hope that you get good results with adding Lamictal to your medication combo, and I wish you luck with getting more responses to your questions from individuals with anxiety and depression. I also hope that my responses have been of some help.
>
> Take care,
> TomatheusThanks for your thorough answer.
I suspected Nardil would be more suitable for anxious depression. I would only keep Remeron and clonazepam if I were to start Nardil. Did you get to have an antidote to carry around with you for hypertensive crisis, like nifedipine? How fast does bp rise to dangerous levels should you ingest too much tyramine? Did you find the side effects bothersome?/tensor
poster:tensor
thread:1041494
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20130322/msgs/1041518.html