Posted by brussell on January 11, 2004, at 21:08:11
In reply to Can you all give me some feedback?, posted by Emme on January 11, 2004, at 20:20:28
I agree that MAOIs make an awful lot of sense for someone with your symptoms. Parnate was the first drug I ever took that succesfully nailed the worst of my depression and anxiety.
My most recent life change had caused secondary borderline hypertension due to chronic, torturous anxiety. Soon after I started the Parnate, my bp readings dropped twenty points each! I think Nardil is supposed to be even better for anxiety and depression (but it is less activating, and can have more side-effects).
Mainly, I wanted to say that the diet is not overly restrictive for most people. I don't notice it at all, really. I ate a vegetarian mozzerella cheese pizza (no aged cheeses or meats) with no problems, and I eat Chinese food regularly. After over a month of use, I have not had any problems with hypertension.
I want to emphasize that people's sensitivity to tyramine seems to vary a great deal. I have heard of people on MAOIs eating all kinds of borderline-forbidden foods with no problems, while another poster experienced mild hypertension on Nardil while on a perfect MAOI diet.
My point is that you should not obsess about the diet. People on MAOIs get a feel for what is good and bad to eat and don't even have to think about it after a while. If a MAOI works for you, any dietary restrictions will seem like a pretty insignificant sacrifice.
Good luck to you!
poster:brussell
thread:299547
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040109/msgs/299564.html