Psycho-Babble Medication Thread 1111910

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Nardil/ Phenelzine dosing schedule

Posted by Stargazer2 on August 29, 2020, at 9:15:32

Sorry for this sounding repetitive but I looked up the half times for Nardil today and got 2 different values. One says it is 11.6 hrs. Another says 1.5-4 hrs. The only thing I can think of is that there was the original Nardil that stayed in your system longer and now the newer one. Maybe the lower Half-life value refers to the reformulated Nardil. I think that was done around 2009.

When I took the original in 1987 I was well controlled on 30mg, 15 mg 2x/day. No other meds were needed as it worked so well for me. I now take 45-60 all in the am and also take Ritalin and low dose Seroquel. Maybe if the shorter half life is accurate for the current Phenelzine it might be better to dose more often such as 2-3 xs/day. Any thoughts?

And would the brand Nardil still have the longer half life?
If so, would that make sense to take if you could get it and afford it?

What is everyone here doing for the dosing of Nardil/ Phenelzine?
Thanks all.

Current meds: Nardil 45/60 w am, Ritalin 5mg 2-3/day, Seroquel 50 at hs, Lithium 300 ER QOD,
DL-Phenylalanine 1-2/wk,

 

Re: Nardil/ Phenelzine dosing schedule

Posted by linkadge on August 29, 2020, at 12:32:38

In reply to Nardil/ Phenelzine dosing schedule, posted by Stargazer2 on August 29, 2020, at 9:15:32

Hmm. Wikipedia says 11.6 hours. Some of it may depend on individual metabolic differences.

One thing to keep in mind is that, the biological effect of phenelzine will last much longer than the half life of the drug itself. Because phenelzine 'irreversibly' binds to MAO, the MAO action will last as long as it takes for your brain to synthesize new MAO (typically a few weeks).

This is why (despite a short half life), they say you need to stop Nardil for at least 2 weeks before starting an SSRI.

Linkadge

 

Re: Nardil/ Phenelzine dosing schedule

Posted by Stargazer2 on August 29, 2020, at 21:59:18

In reply to Re: Nardil/ Phenelzine dosing schedule, posted by linkadge on August 29, 2020, at 12:32:38

Thanks. So dosing once a day is fine and anyone not doing this is complicating their schedule of taking Nardil. Once a day is much easier to manage for anyone.

 

Re: Nardil/ Phenelzine dosing schedule

Posted by linkadge on August 30, 2020, at 8:24:12

In reply to Re: Nardil/ Phenelzine dosing schedule, posted by Stargazer2 on August 29, 2020, at 21:59:18

Well, let me clarify...

There are some additional properties (beyond MAO inhibition) which *may* provide additional antidepressant effects to phenelzine.

A few of phenelzine's metabolites are active. One of them boosts GABA (GABA-t inhibitor) and another is PEA (which has stimulant qualities). I don't know the relative contribution of these metabolites to the antidepressant effect. Also, there may be other targets of the drug which are yet unidentified. I don't know the biological life of gaba transaminase (i.e. whether the gaba boosting effect would also last beyond the drug being in the system).

That being said, if the main effect is MAO inhibition, then (at least theoretically) once a day dosing would work the same (over time). However, you'd have to go based on how you feel. I have never taken phenelzine. I did take parnate and in its case, there was a mild stimulant effect (which may contribute to the therapeutic effect). Because of that, I took it 3x a day. When I stopped parnate however, the AD effect was present for at least a week.

Linkadge


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