what are the difference between those? I take SSRI, but I always wanted to try Maoi.
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Aren’t they safer? Less side effects.
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They’re for treatment resistant depression and have more serious side effects from what I read.
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I have been on MAOI (isocarboxazid / Marplan). It was the best AD i have ever been on. My depression disappeared in three weeks. Sadly it stopped to work after two years treatment.
You have to go on a diet while you take it, but you get used to it. If you suffer from treatment resistent depression it’s worth to try
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Maoi have a lot of side effects, you also have to follow strict diet.
What kind of side effects?
I couldnt tolerate an SSRI. SNRI (efexor) was a bit better, but had such overwhelming withdrawals that i darent touch them again with a ten foot pole.
Didnt think of maoi … I dont know anybody using them.
Ah…looked it up. Not for me.
MAOIs are lifesavers, but they’re definitely the nuclear option. I take Nardil. Honestly, the diet is less restrictive than it seems, and a lot of people can tolerate breaking it. Wouldn’t recommend wreckless abandon there, but the first 1 1/2 years I was on it I broke the diet A LOT and, while sometimes I’d get badly hypertensive, I never once landed in the ER or anything. A lot of the drug interactions are myths too, even according to Stahl. Stimulants, NRIs like atomoxetine, most TCAs, Wellbutrin, Provigil and Nuvigil can all be used with caution, even if the thought spazzed most doctors out. There’s a lot of mythology about these drugs, a lot of which has sadly entered otherwise authoritative sources, but as long as you’re not being super dumb and eating blue cheese or smoking crack on them… IDK don’t want to recommend anyone do what I did or sometimes do but if you wind up on them and do cheat the diet DO IT LITTLE BY LITTLE and invest in a blood pressure monitor. Some people have way higher tolerance than others for dietary violations.
Also, the side effects usually aren’t too terrible. Some people like me get screwed and can’t sleep at all on them without strong sedation (as I have Schizoaffective Disorder I’m already on Zyprexa so that does the trick.) Other people start nodding off in the afternoon from them and need stimulants to stay awake. Some people get bad hypotension. It depends.
There’s a specialist in MAOIs named Ken Gillman. His website is psychotropical.com, you may want to check that out. If you can get your hands on Stahl’s works, read them too.
I remember being on that in the late 1970s. I had to avoid certain foods while on it.