Psycho-Babble Medication Thread 998687

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nardil travelling....diet???

Posted by ger man on October 4, 2011, at 2:53:12

what about travelling while on maoi´s. im thinking about a backpacking trip to southeast asia in winter this year and am a bit concerned about the diet restrictions as there is fish sauce or shrimp paste in every meal over there. are there people taking maoi´s travelling around in eastern coutries where foodculture is completely different from our western foodculture. The problem i am facing is that i dont really know how meals are cooked over there. if i go to a restaurant here i know almost exactly how the meals are made. how to deal with that problem, i mean its ok to take a medicine and avoid some kind of foods but i dont want to be kept in regions where i know the culture, i like travelling a lot and dont want to miss it just because taking an maoi.

 

Re: nardil travelling....diet??? » ger man

Posted by pedr on October 4, 2011, at 13:48:04

In reply to nardil travelling....diet???, posted by ger man on October 4, 2011, at 2:53:12

>> i like travelling a lot and dont want to miss it just because taking an maoi.

It's a common conundrum. Without the med you may be too depressed to want to do anything, let alone travel. With the med, it makes travelling less enjoyable [fatigue, sleepiness, weight-gain, dizziness, nausea, constipation, impaired vision, blood pressure issues, restricted diet and so on].

Such is life mon amis.
Pedr

 

Re: nardil travelling....diet??? » pedr

Posted by europerep on October 4, 2011, at 14:06:58

In reply to Re: nardil travelling....diet??? » ger man, posted by pedr on October 4, 2011, at 13:48:04

This is really a tough one. I know that MAOIs are sold in some more remote parts of the world (such as the United Arab Emirates), but I'm not aware of them being available in South-East Asia. The closest thing may be safrazine, which is available in Japan.

What you could do is get the package insert of safrazine and have it translated to German, since Japanese cuisine is probably somewhat closer to South-East Asian cuisine than the stuff that we eat in Europe. Still though, this will probably not really be satisfactory.

Personally, I think that doing "real", extensive tours into foreign countries, eating with local populations and so on, is difficult if not impossible on an MAOI like phenelzine. And not speaking the local language will make it even more difficult.

If you decide to go nonetheless, you should definitely ask your doctor for emergency medication in case of a hypertensive crisis. Usually, patients are no longer given drugs like nifedipine, but if the nearest emergency room may be hours away, it may be an option for you. You must really talk this through with your doctor though, because using an antihypertensive when it's not needed (or using too much of it) can have really bad consequences.

One other option I can think of is to ask the experts at www.jatrosom.de ... it's the website of the German version of Parnate (tranylcpromine). Click on "Anfrage" and then describe your question. You don't necessarily have to mention that you are taking phenelzine instead of tranylcypromine, since food restrictions are basically identical. When I was on tranylcypromine I contacted those guys for info on tyramine contents of some foods, and they were very helpful, so maybe they can help you out!

Good luck...

 

Re: nardil travelling....diet???

Posted by ger man on October 4, 2011, at 14:56:35

In reply to Re: nardil travelling....diet??? » pedr, posted by europerep on October 4, 2011, at 14:06:58

> This is really a tough one. I know that MAOIs are sold in some more remote parts of the world (such as the United Arab Emirates), but I'm not aware of them being available in South-East Asia. The closest thing may be safrazine, which is available in Japan.
>
> What you could do is get the package insert of safrazine and have it translated to German, since Japanese cuisine is probably somewhat closer to South-East Asian cuisine than the stuff that we eat in Europe. Still though, this will probably not really be satisfactory.
>
> Personally, I think that doing "real", extensive tours into foreign countries, eating with local populations and so on, is difficult if not impossible on an MAOI like phenelzine. And not speaking the local language will make it even more difficult.
>
> If you decide to go nonetheless, you should definitely ask your doctor for emergency medication in case of a hypertensive crisis. Usually, patients are no longer given drugs like nifedipine, but if the nearest emergency room may be hours away, it may be an option for you. You must really talk this through with your doctor though, because using an antihypertensive when it's not needed (or using too much of it) can have really bad consequences.
>
> One other option I can think of is to ask the experts at www.jatrosom.de ... it's the website of the German version of Parnate (tranylcpromine). Click on "Anfrage" and then describe your question. You don't necessarily have to mention that you are taking phenelzine instead of tranylcypromine, since food restrictions are basically identical. When I was on tranylcypromine I contacted those guys for info on tyramine contents of some foods, and they were very helpful, so maybe they can help you out!
>
> Good luck...

Thx for your post,its very helpful. I already wrote to the jatrosoms experts some time ago and they wrote that i should be aware of fish sauce and/or shrimp paste as these are ingredients with high tyramine content often used in asian cuisine. They also told me that it shouldnt be such a big problem to travel to asia when being perfectly introduced what foods to avoid. As im a biologist personally i think i can imagine where tyramine could be high an where not. Maybe i shouldnt but im scared anyway and thats why i wanted to hear if there are people having been travelling around in asia,india etc.? For now i thought to tell the gastronome over there that im allergic to those spices and that they must avoid to use them for me. All the other "bad" fod i can see and avoid them personally. I mean, as long as im not eating anything not being 100% sure about that it is harmless, i think i should be safe! I know its tricky,but i have to enjoy life and as you mentioned, i already do wear nifepidine with me for emergencies away from civilized regions and my shrink told me only to use it when having high bp (systolic 200+) and physical symptoms (neck headache, sweating rapid and punding heart beat and nausea). I hope everything will be fine.

 

Re: nardil travelling....diet???

Posted by kakalak on October 5, 2011, at 9:45:46

In reply to nardil travelling....diet???, posted by ger man on October 4, 2011, at 2:53:12

Wow. I didn't even think about how hard intl travelling will be while on an MAOI. I just started Parnate. While in Japan last year I had a really difficult time with my vegetarian diet, which somewhat surprised me. Throwing in another restriction is going to be even harder. I think it's great that you aren't letting this hold you back and would love to hear how it plays out.
Thanks.

 

Re: nardil travelling....diet???

Posted by ger man on October 5, 2011, at 10:08:26

In reply to Re: nardil travelling....diet???, posted by kakalak on October 5, 2011, at 9:45:46

> Wow. I didn't even think about how hard intl travelling will be while on an MAOI. I just started Parnate. While in Japan last year I had a really difficult time with my vegetarian diet, which somewhat surprised me. Throwing in another restriction is going to be even harder. I think it's great that you aren't letting this hold you back and would love to hear how it plays out.
> Thanks.

So you have been in Asia while taking Parnate. That sounds great to me as i know that people are travelling around even tough taking MAOi. Im aware this will be challenging if i will go to that journey but i wont stay at home as i hope i will be able to travel again when depression and axiety lifts one day....maybe!


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