Posted by Shyone on June 4, 2010, at 21:00:01
In reply to MAOI replacement options, posted by jedi on April 30, 2010, at 12:55:24
Hi Jedi,
It's me again. sorry, but I obviously misunderstood your point about having your head spinning from trying to get off the Nardil so many times. But just the same, I would still keep an eye on my blood pressure if I were you. Because high BP can cause anxiety, a rapid heart beat, dizziness, and many of the symptoms of panic attacks. Also the weight gain we get from being on Nardil for long periods can cause hypertension. And uncontrollable anxiety can then lead to what they call secondary depression. I wonder how many people who got into their 50's and even into their 60's while on Nardil developed this condition and became anxious after stopping the Nardil -- thinking everything they felt was psychological. What they could have been going through was "rebound hypertension," the same as going off blood pressure medication.
I also wrote on the Anxiety Community web site about a nurse in the hospital mentioning to me a condition that's seldom investigated by doctors called "Autonomic Dysfunction," or or "Dysautonomia," which can also cause symptoms such as anxiety, depression, and many other psychiatric disorders, and wich is rarely checked out by an endocrinologist to rule out physical causes. Unlike most doctors, if I had become a physician as I wanted to be since I was a little girl, I would be dedicated to finding and treating the cause of diseases rather than trying to control the symptoms. Unfortunately, there is a lot more money to be made in the latter.
And in case you decide to go back to Nardil and remain on it, I wanted to let you know that in the past, I had surgery that lasted over 6 hours (lyposuction), and 2 years ago had a disc problem from a quack chiropractor cracking my neck and smashing one of the discs in my neck. I was under for about 3 hours. And both times I didn't have to get off the Nardil. There are certain anesthetics that can be given safely while on Nardil, such as Propofol and Versed, if I remember correctly. There are also a few others. You'd have to find an anesthesiologist who's well informed on MAOIs. After all, there are times when someone will need emergency surgery, so they have to have some way of anesthetizing people taking irreversible MAOIs.
But just in case my depression returns anytime in the future, as you said happens with you after a three month period off the Nardil, my doctor is prepared to try me on a small dose of Wellbutrin, esp. because of its Dopaminergic effect. He might also add some Neurontin to prevent seizures that Wellbutrin can cause in some people. I happen to have a hypersensitive nervous system which is why I always seemed to respond on lower doses of medications than most people. I read in the past an authoritative article stating that people who suffer from panic disorder tend to not produce or process DOPAMINE as well as those who don't have the disorder, and that in fact they can later develop Parkinson's Disease because of this. Sorry! I didn't mean to scare you here,
;), but was just trying to share the information I came across through my own research. I also have been reading about some antidepressants and stimulant drugs causing heart damage over time, as my doctors in the hospital tried to tell me, which is another reason I'd like to avoid going back on an antidepressant unless my life depended on it. These are things to keep in mind when considering what medications to replace the Nardil with. Take care.
poster:Shyone
thread:945733
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20100604/msgs/949963.html