Posted by Dan Perkins on January 25, 2005, at 14:03:31
In reply to Re: MAOI Diet - What do You Say, posted by anodyne on January 24, 2005, at 12:17:08
As far as cheeses go: mozarella is fine, chedder is not. I have had tons of pizza with mozarella and parmesan while on Parnate and that was no problem. I have always heard that chedder was on the forbidden list, but I kind of have a feeling that it would not be a problem for me in small amounts (though I am in no rush to test this theory).
As far as eating out, I probably eat more meals in restaurants than just about anyone else you've ever heard of. I eat out at least two meals a day in a variety of restaurants and, as I said in my previous message, the only food that I consciously avoid is aged cheese. The only food that I would really worry about when eating out (besides the aged cheese) would be fermented soy (natto or miso) from a Japanese restaurant, but it's really not like I'm missing out on a lot in life by skipping natto and miso.
I'm not a big drinker in general, but I have had many a bottle of beer and a few beers on tap while on Parnate. So, any outright warning to avoid beer while on MAOIs is nonsense, but I have read that mico-brew draught beers and potentional be a problem, so I would try to stick to bottled beer whenever possible.
I am very socially phobic myself, but as I said in my previous post, there is really no reason why anyone would ever have to know that you are on a medication that requires some dietary restrictions. I really can't think of a restaurant that wouldn't have any number of approved dishes on their menu (basically anything w/o aged cheese). And if someone does happen to ask why you wont eat cheese (or any of the other items you are avoiding), just say something like:
"you know, I've just never been a big fan of the stuff." You could also say that you're lactose intolerant or allergic, but why even bother when you could just say that you're not into cheese?Best of luck to you and feel free to ask anymore questions that come to mind. My basic opinion here is that the MAOI diet is in reality so unrestrictive that it should never be the sole reason not to try an MAOI.
poster:Dan Perkins
thread:445999
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050124/msgs/447494.html