Posted by stargazer2 on August 20, 2007, at 8:47:07
In reply to My pdoc: 'After Nardil, that's it with meds. ECT', posted by Girlnterrupted78 on August 20, 2007, at 6:40:02
Sorry to hear your pdoc's stance on MAO's since it seems so obvious to me that Nardil has caused all of your side effects since they appeared after starting Nardil, right?.
Not all MD's are experienced enough with prescribing a MAO, with or without combining it with another med, so many just do not do it. My pdoc has precribed Wellbutrin and now Nortripytline, after reading a few articles I showed him that said it was safe, although there are still risks as I had a reaction with something (generic Amphetamine) that was used along with Nardil. I was fine at 5 mg, but 10 mg caused the reaction, so that proved to be dose related, although I would never take even a small dose of amphetamine with Nardil again.
Any drug has a risk of side effects. Many are not even listed in the package insert or PDR unless there is a certain % of a given side effect. Do you have access to the package insert for Nardil? Drug companies are not required to update their list of side effects after a drug is marketed and this is when you would see the majority of side effects occur. I think both the rash and blacking out are the direct cause of Nardil, perhaps they are dose related in your case.
I can take 30 mg of Nardil but at 45 mg, I start to have enough negative effects that prevent me from increasing the dose any higher. My side effects are extreme gas pains, which cause me to double up, along with constipation. The blacking out effect has mostly gone away for me.
I have been thinking more and more about ECT out of desperation but I am too scared to try it. I think the right meds have just as much a chance of working as ECT does. Out of frustration and not finding a med to work, it is sometimes used as a last resort. But then many do not respond to this either and are they better or worse off for trying it? I don't know.
I often think I just should be able to snap out of it and live like many who suck it up do since I was able to work before I gave into depression. Now all I do is take meds and experiment with one med after another. I never thought it would take this long to find an answer and frankly, I'm losing my optimism to find a medication to work for me.
Your pdoc does not seem to know much about MAO's despite prescribing Nardil. Rather than say a rash or blacking out is not related to Nardil, a good MD would say something vague like "It may be related since I haven't had much experince with presribing Nardil" or "let me check the package insert"(If I can find the package insert, I'll send the link).
Parnate supposedly works very differently than Nardil, as does Marplan. Success with one does not automatically mean you would have success with another as so many here can attest to.
What are you leaning towards doing? I feel for you as this decision is not an easy one. Good luck with whatever you do...I will be following your posts.
Stargazer
poster:stargazer2
thread:777268
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20070815/msgs/777285.html