Posted by ed on November 8, 1999, at 18:12:04
Has anybody heard of Periactin (cyproheptadine) causing a serotonin-syndrome type reaction when combined with an MAOI? Recently, while on 60mg of Marplan daily, I tried relatively high doses of cyproheptadine (up to 16 mg) as an antidote for anorgasmia (to no great effect, I should tell you). The following day, I started experiencing an enhanced startle response (like receiving a slight electrical shock or shot of adrenaline through the body when even slightly startled). This concerned me, since I had experienced exactly the same thing a year ago, after being on Nardil 75mg/day. That time neither I nor my pdoc knew what to make of the startle response, so we did nothing. After a few days of this, I finally had a worse reaction--severe dizziness, strange and painful zaps going through my head, hyperreflexia, tremors in my legs, etc. I ended up in the emergency room. Nardil was immediately discontinued, and my symptoms rapidly decreased over the next 24 hours. I never went back to the Nardil, but now, as I said, was trying Marplan. As soon as I felt the startle response and after talking to my pdoc, I rapidly decreased the dose (I'm now at 30/day), and the symptom disappeared within a day or so. Was this just a typical side effect to these MAOIs? Sounds to me almost like a serotonin syndrome. Ironically, cyproheptadine (for its antiserotonergic action) is recommended as an antidote to the syndrome, although I did find a reference that high doses of the stuff can actually contribute to it. Does my experience make any sense to anyone or ring any bells?
ed
poster:ed
thread:14832
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19991108/msgs/14832.html