Posted by Elizabeth on April 23, 2002, at 20:51:24
In reply to What are MAOI's side effects?, posted by dazer on April 20, 2002, at 11:06:43
Some common side effects of MAOIs are orthostatic hypotension (rapid drop in blood pressure upon standing, leading to dizziness), insomnia, swelling (especially in ankles), tremor, twitching, and sexual dysfunction (as with SSRIs). Nardil also sometimes causes weight gain.
MAOIs have a different mechanism of action from SSRIs and TCAs. MAOIs prevent stray (extracellular) serotonin, norepinephrine, epinephrine, and dopamine (monoamines) from being metabolized by destroying an enzyme (monoamine oxidase, or MAO) that is needed for their metabolism. TCAs and SSRIs prevent serotonin, norepinephrine, or both, from being taken up back into neurons by blocking the site where they would be taken up.
In some countries, reversible and selective MAOIs, such as moclobemide (Manerix or Aurorix) are also available. They don't actually destroy MAO, but just bind to it so that it doesn't metabolise the monoamines. They also mainly bind only to MAO-A, one of the two major subtypes of MAO.
MAOIs work rapidly for some people, but for others it can take several weeks for them to start working, like other ADs.
I hope this is helpful to you. Good luck with whatever you decide to try.
-elizabeth
poster:Elizabeth
thread:103643
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020416/msgs/103940.html