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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 9 of 9. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by anodyne on January 22, 2005, at 23:12:59
A question for all of the MAOI users.
I am considering taking the leap to an MAOI for severe Social Anxiety but I don't want the world to know I am taking these meds. I have a job the requires frequent client entertainment. Other than saying you have suddenly developed a food allergy to half of the edible foods in the world, what excuses have you used?
Posted by gardenergirl on January 23, 2005, at 0:01:11
In reply to MAOI Diet - What do You Say, posted by anodyne on January 22, 2005, at 23:12:59
That's a good question. I get this a lot. Many people will say, food allergies? And I kind of say, yeah, something like that.
Other times, I just say they don't react well with a medication I have to take for a chronic condition.
I suppose I could also say I'm just a really picky eater. :)
Take care,
gg
Posted by JayDee on January 23, 2005, at 9:31:09
In reply to MAOI Diet - What do You Say, posted by anodyne on January 22, 2005, at 23:12:59
Just say you're allergic to tyramine. then take the time to explain what tyramine is, what foods it's in and what it does to you. you could even make up some jokes about it since you're going to be entertaining different people.
I've read that tyramine can cause BP problems in non-MAOI users, and mabye even an hypertensive crisis. So this isn't unreasonable.
Posted by Optimist on January 23, 2005, at 9:52:03
In reply to MAOI Diet - What do You Say, posted by anodyne on January 22, 2005, at 23:12:59
> A question for all of the MAOI users.
>
> I am considering taking the leap to an MAOI for severe Social Anxiety but I don't want the world to know I am taking these meds. I have a job the requires frequent client entertainment. Other than saying you have suddenly developed a food allergy to half of the edible foods in the world, what excuses have you used?There's really not that many foods you have to stay away from. Here's a list from the Sunnybrook Health Science Centre.
Foods to Avoid:
Draft(tap) beer
Mature or aged cheeses
Fermented/dry sausage: pepperoni, salami, etc...
Improperly stored meat, fish, or poultry
Improperly stored pickled herring
Marmite concentrated yeast extract, sauerkraut, soy sauce, and soybean condimentsIt's really a pretty short list. A lot of people don't eat cheese anyways because they have bad cholesterol, or because it's mostly fat. You could always say you're on a diet, or watching your cholesterol or something.
If it's a wine and cheese party, I could see how that would pose a problem, but you could still drink the wine considering it's not very old and not excessive. I wouldn't think you would be drinking excessively at a business function anyways though.
Brian
Posted by Dan Perkins on January 23, 2005, at 23:54:58
In reply to MAOI Diet - What do You Say, posted by anodyne on January 22, 2005, at 23:12:59
My advice to anyone considering going on an MAOI is that if you are stressing out in a major way about the diet, you are likely misinformed about how restrictive it is.
I've been on relatively high doses of Parnate for well over a year and have never had any kind of hypertensive crisis. The only food that I consciously avoid is aged cheese because that is really the only forbidden food that would pop up in my diet on any kind of a regular basis. The other forbidden foods (like the fermented soy) just don't show up in my regular diet.
So don't stress about what you will order when you are entertaining clients. I was on Parnate for about 6 months before my mother and brother (both of whom I live with and eat with daily) even knew that I was on a "restricted" diet.
> I am considering taking the leap to an MAOI for severe Social Anxiety but I don't want the world to know I am taking these meds. I have a job the requires frequent client entertainment. Other than saying you have suddenly developed a food allergy to half of the edible foods in the world, what excuses have you used?
Posted by anodyne on January 24, 2005, at 12:17:08
In reply to Re: MAOI Diet - What do You Say, posted by Dan Perkins on January 23, 2005, at 23:54:58
> My advice to anyone considering going on an MAOI is that if you are stressing out in a major way about the diet, you are likely misinformed about how restrictive it is.
>
> I've been on relatively high doses of Parnate for well over a year and have never had any kind of hypertensive crisis. The only food that I consciously avoid is aged cheese because that is really the only forbidden food that would pop up in my diet on any kind of a regular basis. The other forbidden foods (like the fermented soy) just don't show up in my regular diet.
>
> So don't stress about what you will order when you are entertaining clients. I was on Parnate for about 6 months before my mother and brother (both of whom I live with and eat with daily) even knew that I was on a "restricted" diet.
>
>
> > I am considering taking the leap to an MAOI for severe Social Anxiety but I don't want the world to know I am taking these meds. I have a job the requires frequent client entertainment. Other than saying you have suddenly developed a food allergy to half of the edible foods in the world, what excuses have you used?
>
>That is very reasurring to hear and also in line with what the only person I personally know that has taken an MAOI said.
I do have a question about "aged cheese". Does this include your everyday types (mozerella, chedder) or is in confined to really aged cheeses (bleu, brie) or are the only permitted cheeses the cottage and cream types?
I also have heard conflicting opinions on beer, some say bottled is okay, others sat none at all. Any concescus on this?
Also has anyone had to deal with ordering at a restaraunt (worrying about what is in the sauce or marinade) or do small quantities of forbidden items not really cause a big problem?
Thanks so much for any advice/ experience. I am just trying to figure out what the "weird" factor is going to be with this drug. The last thing a SP person like myself wants is to draw more attention to myself.
Posted by eeyorena on January 24, 2005, at 17:11:35
In reply to Re: MAOI Diet - What do You Say, posted by anodyne on January 24, 2005, at 12:17:08
I'm on Parnate and I really like it. I have anxiety/depression and it has been the best med for me (I've taken every else).
I agree that the fear of food tends to be a larger deal than the food itself. If someone I work with does ask a question (and it's rare), I just say, "High blood pressure." And leave it at that. It's not a lie, actually.
All friends and family knows about the med thing and it is really no big deal.
A really interesting exercise was to write out a list of everything I COULD eat. (The lists that are published are always about the "no's".) I was surprised at how incredibly LONG it was. Insanely long. But it really helped me visualize what food I like and what to order if I was eating out.
Get ready for another big positive. I am eating so MUCH healthier than I ever did before. :)
Posted by Dan Perkins on January 25, 2005, at 14:03:31
In reply to Re: MAOI Diet - What do You Say, posted by anodyne on January 24, 2005, at 12:17:08
As far as cheeses go: mozarella is fine, chedder is not. I have had tons of pizza with mozarella and parmesan while on Parnate and that was no problem. I have always heard that chedder was on the forbidden list, but I kind of have a feeling that it would not be a problem for me in small amounts (though I am in no rush to test this theory).
As far as eating out, I probably eat more meals in restaurants than just about anyone else you've ever heard of. I eat out at least two meals a day in a variety of restaurants and, as I said in my previous message, the only food that I consciously avoid is aged cheese. The only food that I would really worry about when eating out (besides the aged cheese) would be fermented soy (natto or miso) from a Japanese restaurant, but it's really not like I'm missing out on a lot in life by skipping natto and miso.
I'm not a big drinker in general, but I have had many a bottle of beer and a few beers on tap while on Parnate. So, any outright warning to avoid beer while on MAOIs is nonsense, but I have read that mico-brew draught beers and potentional be a problem, so I would try to stick to bottled beer whenever possible.
I am very socially phobic myself, but as I said in my previous post, there is really no reason why anyone would ever have to know that you are on a medication that requires some dietary restrictions. I really can't think of a restaurant that wouldn't have any number of approved dishes on their menu (basically anything w/o aged cheese). And if someone does happen to ask why you wont eat cheese (or any of the other items you are avoiding), just say something like:
"you know, I've just never been a big fan of the stuff." You could also say that you're lactose intolerant or allergic, but why even bother when you could just say that you're not into cheese?Best of luck to you and feel free to ask anymore questions that come to mind. My basic opinion here is that the MAOI diet is in reality so unrestrictive that it should never be the sole reason not to try an MAOI.
Posted by anodyne on January 25, 2005, at 15:21:59
In reply to Re: MAOI Diet - What do You Say, posted by Dan Perkins on January 25, 2005, at 14:03:31
> As far as cheeses go: mozarella is fine, chedder is not. I have had tons of pizza with mozarella and parmesan while on Parnate and that was no problem. I have always heard that chedder was on the forbidden list, but I kind of have a feeling that it would not be a problem for me in small amounts (though I am in no rush to test this theory).
>
> As far as eating out, I probably eat more meals in restaurants than just about anyone else you've ever heard of. I eat out at least two meals a day in a variety of restaurants and, as I said in my previous message, the only food that I consciously avoid is aged cheese. The only food that I would really worry about when eating out (besides the aged cheese) would be fermented soy (natto or miso) from a Japanese restaurant, but it's really not like I'm missing out on a lot in life by skipping natto and miso.
>
> I'm not a big drinker in general, but I have had many a bottle of beer and a few beers on tap while on Parnate. So, any outright warning to avoid beer while on MAOIs is nonsense, but I have read that mico-brew draught beers and potentional be a problem, so I would try to stick to bottled beer whenever possible.
>
> I am very socially phobic myself, but as I said in my previous post, there is really no reason why anyone would ever have to know that you are on a medication that requires some dietary restrictions. I really can't think of a restaurant that wouldn't have any number of approved dishes on their menu (basically anything w/o aged cheese). And if someone does happen to ask why you wont eat cheese (or any of the other items you are avoiding), just say something like:
> "you know, I've just never been a big fan of the stuff." You could also say that you're lactose intolerant or allergic, but why even bother when you could just say that you're not into cheese?
>
> Best of luck to you and feel free to ask anymore questions that come to mind. My basic opinion here is that the MAOI diet is in reality so unrestrictive that it should never be the sole reason not to try an MAOI.Thank you very much for the info. The diet thing, and really just how not to make it blatantly obvious, is truly the only thing keeping me from taking an MAOI, and I have tried just about everything else. I really like cheese, but not 1/10th as much as I would like to be rid of this SP thing.
Thank you very much for the information! I am seeing my doc next week and he has already suggested I try an MAOI so I will hopefully be trying it out very soon.
This is the end of the thread.
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