Posted by King Vultan on August 2, 2004, at 20:24:36
In reply to Re: How long does MAOI inhibition last with each dose? » King Vultan, posted by don_bristol on August 2, 2004, at 14:45:42
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> Todd, if the mechanism is how you describe it (and I am perfectky happy to believe what you write) then why is it worth anyone bothering to take their Parnate as two or three doses a mere few hours apart?
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> Id the MAOI destroying effect is occuring then I can't see how a few hours makes much difference.
The body is producing new MAO all the time, so if, for example, you take a dose at 8 AM and one at 4 PM, the second dose has the opportunity to destroy some of the new MAO that has been created in the intervening time. Parnate's half life is so short (as is Nardil's) that very little of the first dose would be left by the time you take the second one. So by splitting the dosage, you do increase the efficiency of the MAOI. How much? I have no idea, but somebody's probably done a study on it at some point in time.With Nardil, where the timing of the dosage does not seem directly related to insomnia as it can with Parnate, you can spread the dose evenly throughout the day, even taking a pill at bedtime to destroy some of the new MAO that has been created since the evening dose. I suppose it is extra work to split the dosage on these MAOIs, but since I have a pill container with nefedipine (for a hypertensive crisis) and ibuprofen (for regular headaches), it's not a big deal for me to throw in there the MAOI pills that I will be needing during the day.
With Parnate--as opposed to Nardil--there are a couple of other reasons to split the dosage. One is to spread the stimulatory effect out somewhat, and the other is to lessen the chance of a spontaneous hypertensive crisis, that is, a hypertensive reaction that occurs without ingesting any of the prohibited foods or drugs. For the last reason alone, I would recommend splitting the dosage, as safety should always be a high priority.
Todd
poster:King Vultan
thread:371535
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040730/msgs/373366.html