Posted by Adam on June 15, 2000, at 18:02:09
In reply to Thank you, posted by Diane E. on June 15, 2000, at 13:38:56
Your welcome, Diane.
Just as a caveat, to make me sleep better at night, I don't want to give the impression
that an overdose of Parnate or a severe "cheese" reaction CAN'T be lethal, just that
it's more likely you will just get very sick from such things. Like I said, some of the
older TCAs are far more poisonous in overdose, and yet they are still prescribed to very
depressed people. One strategy doctors sometimes use is to give out only small amounts
of the drug at a time, if the risk of suicide is severe. I think the chance that, say,
a week's worth of Parnate could, by itself, be taken all at once with lethal results is
quite small. I read an account where a man consumed 400mg of Parnate all at once and
recovered completely. The risk of lethal overdose from Parnate is still quite high
compared to some other antidepressants, but those other antidepressants have virtually
no lethality in overdose.Again, this is not to scare you off, just to make sure we're clear.
> Jennifer & Adam:
>
> Thank you both so much. My confidence has been restored. I feel such relief when I hear of people
> who did not respond to lots of different medications and did respond to MAOIs. Last night my
> husband agreed to give Parnate a try for 6 weeks. I assured him I would not pressure him to stay on it
> if it didn't seem to be working. I am quite certain that these dietary restrictions will seem worthwhile if
> the medication is effective.
>
> Thank you also for the reassurances about the suicide risk. I was not worrying about over-dosing as
> much as purposefully eating forbidden foods. But, it sounds like this would be an unlikely route. He is
> not actively suicidal. I just know he thinks about it a fair amount (and has for years) and I was worrying
> about putting too easy a means in his hands. But, it seems clear that eating a bunch of pepperoni is not
> an easy means of suicide for an MAOI user.
>
> Thanks again. I have really been needing some hope!
> -Diane
poster:Adam
thread:37074
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000610/msgs/37441.html