Posted by Molitor on November 23, 2007, at 3:48:19
In reply to Re: How can I recognize a hypertesive crisis? » Molitor, posted by tecknohed on November 22, 2007, at 6:30:35
The ironic part about Provigil is that it's not considered a classic "stimulant", and supposedly doesn't have any of the "bad" qualities of amphetamines, et al. This is why I was using it, because it should be safer than the alternatives.
Well, I'm calling shenanigans on that! I consider Provigil to be a stimulant just like any other, and it should be used with as much caution in combo with MAOIs as anything else. Perhaps MORE caution, since nobody knows exactly why it works.
Back to the Hypertensive Crises and the Molten Lava feeling. Whatever causes it, MAOI users need to be made aware of it. I probably had a lag of between 10-30 minutes between the Molten Lead and the headache, so if someone is getting this symptom, they should immediately think about getting to the emergency room. Having a BP monitor nearby is also a good idea. Even a cheap one is useful in determining if your blood pressure is soaring.
Also, another symptom I had that isn't mentioned much, was disorientation and confusion. MAOI users should carry a med alert card to hand the emergency wrokers, or better yet, have someone take them to the hospital to explain the situation. Lest you be treated as a bad drug trip, and sent to the back of the line.
Even with all that, when I was in the bed with all the monitors hooked up, I'd have a nurse come in and ask me stuff like what "ACE Inhibitor" I was taking, and who the doctor was that treated my hypertension (I have normal BP). She also kept telling me to lay down, but I swear I remember reading that I should NOT lay down, and it hurt MUCH more if I wasn't sitting up, so I kept sitting up even though the back of the hospital bed was reclined, which caused pain and cramping in my back/shoulder/arms. I never actually saw a doctor (although I think he was monitoring my vitals remotely), and to this day I don't believe they really understood what was going on. That's about the scariest part of the whole thing.
poster:Molitor
thread:796180
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20071115/msgs/796656.html