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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 6 of 6. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Dr Undies on April 11, 2001, at 9:35:02
Is there anyone who has experienced withdrawal from long-term use of Nardil. I have been using Nardil for 10 years and although it is an excellent anti-depressant, the side-effects now outweigh the benefits. I have attempted to withdraw at a rate of 1/2 a tablet (7.5 mg) per week and found that even on the low maintenance dosage of 45 mg (3 tablets per day) that this made me feel much worse than before commencing Nardil therapy. Does anyone have a successful or similar history of withdrawing from this powerful medication? Any information will be of great interest thank you.
Posted by blackjack on April 11, 2001, at 11:33:34
In reply to Withdrawing from Chronic Administration of Nardil , posted by Dr Undies on April 11, 2001, at 9:35:02
Withdrawing from Parnate (another MAOI) on the two occasions I did it was pretty nasty, BUT it went away after about two weeks. The awful thing with MAOI's is that you can't start up anything new for a month to counteract the withdrawl. It shall pass, however.
Posted by SalArmy4me on April 11, 2001, at 13:26:18
In reply to Withdrawing from Chronic Administration of Nardil , posted by Dr Undies on April 11, 2001, at 9:35:02
You can still take mood-stabilizing medications during the Nardil-washout period, such as depakote or tegretol. This may keep the antidepressant effect from going away.
> Is there anyone who has experienced withdrawal from long-term use of Nardil. I have been using Nardil for 10 years and although it is an excellent anti-depressant, the side-effects now outweigh the benefits. I have attempted to withdraw at a rate of 1/2 a tablet (7.5 mg) per week and found that even on the low maintenance dosage of 45 mg (3 tablets per day) that this made me feel much worse than before commencing Nardil therapy. Does anyone have a successful or similar history of withdrawing from this powerful medication? Any information will be of great interest thank you.
Posted by tropicblue on April 12, 2001, at 22:57:05
In reply to Re: Withdrawing from Chronic Administration of Nardil , posted by SalArmy4me on April 11, 2001, at 13:26:18
I am withdrawing from Nardil. I found that trazodone stopped the anxiety, helped with sleep, and eliminated some of the heart palpitations, if you have any of these symptoms.
Posted by SLS on April 13, 2001, at 0:46:49
In reply to Withdrawing from Chronic Administration of Nardil , posted by Dr Undies on April 11, 2001, at 9:35:02
Hi Dr.
One answer might be to try remedial strategies to counter the side effects. There are different drugs that can be used, depending on which side effects are most troublesome. Florinef is good for low blood pressure, bethanacol is good for problems with urination, and there are several things that can be done to help with sexual side effects.
That you have already relapsed is, unfortunately, a strong indicator that you still need an antidepressant. If you have a history of treatment resistance, and have already tried all of the other major drug classes, you might reconsider discontinuing a drug that works. Very often, people who experience complete relief on a specific antidepressant fail to respond to it in the future once they have discontinued it.
One option might be to change from Nardil to Parnate. Parnate is another MAO-inhibitor that usually produces milder side effects.
I don't want to suggest anything, just offer some perspective.
Good luck.
- Scott
> Is there anyone who has experienced withdrawal from long-term use of Nardil. I have been using Nardil for 10 years and although it is an excellent anti-depressant, the side-effects now outweigh the benefits. I have attempted to withdraw at a rate of 1/2 a tablet (7.5 mg) per week and found that even on the low maintenance dosage of 45 mg (3 tablets per day) that this made me feel much worse than before commencing Nardil therapy. Does anyone have a successful or similar history of withdrawing from this powerful medication? Any information will be of great interest thank you.
Posted by Dr Undies on April 14, 2001, at 12:21:00
In reply to Withdrawing from Chronic Administration of Nardil , posted by Dr Undies on April 11, 2001, at 9:35:02
Thank you all who responded to my posting.
Your suggestions reflections and encouragement are appreciated and considered. To any person who is commencing Nardil therapy may I pass on a few words. Nardil is a very powerful and effective medication and is used usually as a last resort drug when most other newer and more SELECTIVE SSRI type medications fail to give relief.
As it is NOT selective for the re-uptake of Serotonin (5-HydroxyTryptamine), it is acts kind of like a 'scatter bomb' and eventually hits the correct target but takes innocents with it.
Hence the many undesirable side-effects not to mention the restrictive diet that must be adhered to. Both personal experience and as a neuroscientist, suggests to me that perhaps these modern selective uptake inhibitor type medications are barking up the wrong pathological tree. Perhaps Serotonin is NOT the only neurotransmitter implicated in clinical depression.
My belief is that a master molecule higher up the metabolic pathway will one day prove to be significantly involved along with the genetic expression of enzymatic and other metabolic pathways. Meanwhile, the jury is still out.
This is the end of the thread.
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