Posted by kazoo on June 28, 2000, at 1:08:28
In reply to Re: harry b. needs New Meds.........MAOIs??? , posted by janeS on June 27, 2000, at 20:31:22
harry:
This genre of drug is safe just as long as you follow the basic
dietary caveats, and avoid certain other drugs. These drugs are
useful for atypical depression and dysthymia.I've been on all three, NARDIL, PARNATE and MARPLAN, and found that
PARNATE had a more stimulating effect, and was helpful in my general
apathy and malaise.If you do decide to go with NARDIL, one of the things you must
be particularly conscious of is this drug's FATAL interaction
with DEMEROL (meperidine). Demerol is a heavy-duty pain killer
that's still used extensively in hospitals and by some dentists.
In the event of an emergency, and you're unable to warn people
treating you that you're on NARDIL, I would carry some sort of
a medic-alert card, or let family and friends know that you're on
this drug so that they may intervene.Another "nice" thing about the MAOIs is that you don't have to wait
weeks or months to see the results. With all three, you should see/feel something
within the first 12 hours. With Parnate, there was no weight gain, but
at times it did interfere with my sleep. I was given a mild benzo for that
and it worked out fine.I agree with you about the SSRIs: they didn't work for me either. Miserable failures!
Lastly, harry, is that you should be aware that most "conventional wisdom" doctors
will not give you these drugs for a variety of reasons, the chief one being with the
introduction of newer classes of drugs. MAOIs have been around since the 1950s
and despite the success stories, and they still got a bad rap. So don't be surprised
if your doctor poo-poos the idea of starting you on them ... stick to your convictions,
and if that don't work, find one that will prescribe them. Personally, I think doctors
are still afraid of them, which brings me to another point. It seems to me that older,
more EXPERIENCED doctors, have a better handle on the MAOIs than the younger up-starts.There's an interesting history as to how the MAOIs surreptitiously came into being,
and if anyone is interested in knowing this, let me know.In any event, harry, the best of luck to you.
I remain,
kazoo
poster:kazoo
thread:38343
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000619/msgs/38523.html