Posted by cubbybear on July 30, 2003, at 1:17:12
In reply to Re: Parnate...Why so dangerous??, posted by Psychquackery on July 29, 2003, at 8:04:40
> Hi Theo,
>
> Parnate as well as all irreversible MAOIs, are highly dangerous drugs. Why? Because they require a strict MAOI diet, which if you deviate from even a small amount can result in a hypertensive disaster and emergency. .I think that a number of people would disagree regarding the magnitude of the danger. Foods that were once considered absolute no-nos have been found to be safe when consumed in small amounts, while others that were considered "iffy", such as raisins, are now considered fully safe. A lot has been learned about the problematic foods over the past decade, and a number of posts on this board have links that spell out exactly how much tyramine will be produced by specific foods--info that was not available before. There is more of a leeway than was originally thought; and while you may have little or no leeway, that doesn't mean that this drug is as dangerous as you make it out to be for all people. Caution is definitely in order, but scare tactics and overly-strong advisories can be dangerous too--in keeping depressed patients away from MAOs--they have helped countless patients for more than 40 years with only a small percentage of "disasters."
>
>
poster:cubbybear
thread:245069
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030728/msgs/246660.html