Posted by SLS on March 12, 2001, at 21:40:48
In reply to Re: Switching MAOs, posted by SalArmy4me on March 12, 2001, at 7:30:00
> I'm about to tell you something that everyone on this website will denounce me for. I say that YES, it can be done-- but only if you have some cyproheptadine with you to combat a possible serotonin syndrome. I went from Nardil to Parnate immediately and didn't have a problem...
Hi SalArmy4me.I am reluctant to pass by without saying a few things, but denouncement certainly is not one of them. I have heard people report that they had taken both Nardil and Parnate together as their treatment.
Yes, it does sound contrary to conventional medical practice to switch over from one MAOI to another without a 14 day wash-out period. I recently inquired of my doctor if a switch can be accomplished with only a 10 day wash-out, for this has been a more common practice lately. He replied that recent reports of adverse events occuring as a result of this have convinced him to continue with a 14 day recommendation. For what it is worth, he is an assistant professor at New York University who seems to keep himself apprised of current information.
Besides yourself, how many people are you aware of who have successfully switched from Parnate to Nardil without a wash-out period? What precedents did you use to judge its safety? I would love to be able to switch between MAOIs also.
Another important question I have is whether or not serotonin syndrome is the *only* untoward event possible due to cross-over from one MAOI to the other. Are there "antidotes" analogous to cyproheptadine to treat all of these other events, should there be any? I would just want to know how thoroughly you investigated this issue before deciding to take such an assumed risk.
Not everyone taking MAO-inhibitors who eats blue cheese will experience a tyramine reaction for any given meal. Yet, I would be reluctant to use the word YES as an answer to address someone's question about eating blue cheese, simply because I myself had no problem with it the one and only time I ate it. It might be worth considering that any one person can eat blue cheese 20 times without sequalae, yet die from a stroke on the 21st.
I want to know more about this.
Sincerely,
Scott
poster:SLS
thread:56232
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010310/msgs/56336.html