Posted by King Vultan on June 30, 2004, at 8:02:52
In reply to MAOI Diet, posted by KaraS on June 30, 2004, at 1:52:33
I am a fairly cautious individual and did a lot of research into the dietary aspects before I went on Nardil, since this seemed to be the biggest problem. Beyond that, I am an extremely picky eater, and since some of my favorite foods were on the list, I was concerned that there was going to be much left for me to eat. I discovered, as my doctor had indicated, that the restrictions are way overblown, but nevertheless, there are certain items that are absolute no-no's.
I do look at the ingredients on items in the grocery store to see if anything might present a problem. Basically, I've been avoiding foods with any cheddar cheese or soy sauce content. I realize that below some kind of level, it's not going to matter, but I haven't been on an MAOI all that long and prefer to play it safe at this point. In restaurants, if I'm getting cheese on a burger or something, I make sure that it's American (some other cheeses might also be okay--American is safe in these quantities and adequate for my cheese needs). If I'm thinking about getting some dish I'm unfamiliar with and suspect it might have soy sauce, I would sure as heck ask.
If I'm getting a pizza, I specify mozzarella only, and I think it's probably a good idea to avoid pepperoni if it's a shop you are unfamiliar with. If I were going to a bar, I would avoid tap beer, which can be very dangerous for MAOI patients due to the chance of extremely high amounts of tyramine in the tap system. I would probably avoid any drink with a liqueur in it, also.
Of course, there are other restrictions (sauerkraut, aged meats, etc.), but as time goes on, I learn of more and more foods that are okay and find that I'm really not thinking about this much anymore. However, I am the type of person who goes to the same place for breakfast everyday. If you go out a lot to different restaurants, I think gardenergirl's idea of the card with the restricted food items is a very good one.
Todd
poster:King Vultan
thread:361874
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040627/msgs/361916.html