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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
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Posted by Ped on September 22, 2007, at 17:53:06
Has anyone experienced any numbness while taking an MAOI? About a year and half ago, I increased my Nardil to 60 mg and noticed that my big toes seemed to go numb (I could only "un-numb" them by heating them up). After extensive tests, no one could give me any answers. I went off of the Nardil to get pregnant (the numbness went away) and now that I'm back on it again, the numbness is back. It seems like a rather strange side effect and I'm wondering if anyone has heard of it.
Posted by tecknohed on September 23, 2007, at 14:20:24
In reply to MAOI and numbness?, posted by Ped on September 22, 2007, at 17:53:06
YES! I had it on & off a few times. I've been off Nardil for about 6 weeks(?) & the numbness in two of my fingers on my left hand is slowly fading.
What causes it? B6 (pyridoxine) deficiency (I believe, & so did my doc) which results in Peripheral Neuropathy (dumbness in the extremeties). Its a rare side effect but it does happen.
Supplement with vitamin B6 but be carefull as too much B6 can cause the same symptoms. I took 100mg/day & it faded away. I stopped taking the B6 & the dumbness came back. This happened several times. The last time that the numbness came back supplementation didn't seem to work which was a contributory part of my decision to stop Nardil.
So I recommend You take B6 daily, balanced with all the other essential B vits. This can be easily done with a B50 complex supplement.Alternatively, and perhapse an even better idea would be to take a 50mg daily dose of 'active' B6, called P-5-P (pyridoxal-5-phosphate). After ingestion, before it can be used standard B6 needs to be converted into its active form via the liver. From what I understand, P-5-P does not have to be converted in the body and can go directly into metabolic cycles. Whether Nardil interups the conversion or not I dont know. But my guess is it would be much more effective than regular B6. And dont forget you'll still need to balance it with all the other B vits.
Hope that helps.
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