Posted by Ilene on July 21, 2004, at 22:28:58
In reply to {{{SMACK!!!}}} » Ilene, posted by Racer on July 21, 2004, at 21:11:01
> Can you tell me which MAOI you're on? Or were on? You said that it wasn't as bad as the TCAs, so I'm guessing Parnate? If so, what were your experiences with it? (No, I'm nowhere near ready to say to Dr EyeCandy, "Gee, what I'd really like most is to give up holiday dinners with my family, liverwurst sandwiches for lunch, pepperoni pizzas on weekends, Guinness Extra Stout, and my little glass of Chartreuse on special occasions -- so why don't we try an MAOI now?"
I'm taking Marplan. On the SE spectrum it falls between Nardil and Parnate. I haven't gained weight from it--I know that's a concern of yours--but I had to go from 50 mg to 40 mg because I was having dizzy spells. I don't get postural hypotension at this dosage, either.
Most of the published info. on the MAOI diet is *wrong*. You can have all the things you mention, except maybe the Guiness. What you absolutely can't have is aged cheese. The toppings on chain-restaurant pizzas are not real. I've eaten a couple of pieces of pizza from one of the chains, but I'm not a real pizza fan. I'm also not a real drinker. I'm not much for aged sausage, either. Liverwurst should be okay as long as it's fresh. I've eaten soy sauce and tofu, which some sources cite as absolute no-nos. I tried increasingly larger amounts of soy sauce, and I stuck to one brand (Kikkoman), to be on the safe side. I don't have miso soup anymore, but that's no big deal.
Note that people taking Parnate tend to have more food reactions than those on other MAOIs. Sometimes they even have spontaneous episodes of hypertension. Also, food reactions seem to be idiosyncratic, meaning that we could both be taking the same dosage of the same drug and eat the same amount of the same food, and one of us would react while the other wouldn't.
I can't take Ultracet, which is the only painkiller that helps when my CFS flares up. No OTC allergy, cold, or cough meds, either, but I never take them anyway.
On the downside, I'm not sure if 40 mg is really enough, as I've been depressed lately. I see a new pdoc on Monday and I'll bring up increasing the dosage. Or maybe I'll do it anyway. I think my script is still being written for 50 mg.
(I get to see a resident. Yuck.)
Good luck. I think MAOIs are worth trying because they affect all three of the neurotransmitters implicated in depression.
I.
poster:Ilene
thread:364763
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040719/msgs/368804.html