Posted by Elizabeth on November 21, 2001, at 19:59:38
In reply to Re: depression subtypes and med responses, posted by sjb on November 20, 2001, at 14:19:34
> The biggest problem, for me, is the overeating. I have all the other classic symptons of atypical, but wonder sometimes what comes first, the chicken or the egg?
It's important to be clear that classifications such as "atypical depression" are strictly descriptive. There's no assumption about whether the depression causes the oversleeping and overeating or vice versa, for example; it's just been noted that depression with these features responds better to certain medications than to others (statistically, of course).
> Anyway, Parnate did not help my underlying depression other than, perhaps, the crying spells. I wasn't on it for very long though.
How long?
> Do you know of other MAOI's that don't tend to have this side effect? From most of the posts I've read, Nardil seems to be worse for most folks than Parnate, as far as food cravings, weight gain is concerned.
Usually, but the reverse can be true for some people. Selegiline is probably the MAOI that's least likely to cause weight gain, FWIW. Another thing that might work would be to add a stimulant (Dexedrine, Ritalin, Cylert, phentermine, etc.) to the MAOI. If you do try this, you will need to monitor your blood pressure; some people can't tolerate stimulants with MAOIs, but many can, and it's often a very effective augmentation strategy.
-elizabeth
poster:Elizabeth
thread:84318
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20011113/msgs/84874.html