Posted by superman on August 21, 2008, at 13:20:34
In reply to Re: MAOI hypertensive experiences?, posted by mav27 on August 21, 2008, at 4:02:02
* MAOI hypertensive crisis tyrosine cheese-effect parnate Tranylcypromine nardil Phenelzine Phenethylamine PEA high blood pressure *
I foolishly took a large does of phenethylamine (PEA) while on the MAOI Parnate (tranylcypromine) and had a horrible hypertensive crisis. To say the least, it was not fun, and I honestly thought I was going to die.
I notice someone wrote something like 'it's not the 999 an interaction doesn't occur and you don't have a hypertensive crisis, it's the one time it does.' This is quite true. My pdoc told me when I started the med that the whole "cheese-effect"/hypertensive crisis risk got blown out of proportion when it was first discovered. For the most part, I agree with him. I experiemented with very small amounts of food that had large amounts of tyrosine after being very careful for the first while, and eventually found i didn't have to worry at all for even those foods that supposedly contained the *highest* amounts of tyrosine.
having said that however, it wasn't tyrosine that eventually did it for me - it was phenethylamine, which very very similar structurally to tyrosine, and I suspect I had the hypertensive crisis for the same reason some people do with MAOIs + tyrosine.
In retrospect, I should have gotten to emergency ASAP. My blood pressure shot through the roof, and became drenched in sweat while sitting still in my relatively cold room, threw-up several times, and honestly was in so much pain that I wanted to die. I was too embarrassed to go downstairs and ask my dad to take me to the hospital, although afterwards I realized I should have the second I felt my blood pressure and body temp shoot up. I had a migraine for weeks following, and no doubt did some permanent damage to my young brain (I was 19 at the time).
It's worth being careful, it only takes one time. In my experience, be careful with anything psychoactive while on a MAOI (do your research and assume the worst!), as well as the usual warnings such as cough-syrups and the like.
Just thought I ought to share this.
-T
poster:superman
thread:847480
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20080814/msgs/847540.html