Posted by Nadezda on August 6, 2008, at 19:37:03
In reply to Re: MAOI diet confusion, posted by socialphobic on August 5, 2008, at 21:48:02
There aren't actually that many restrictions on Maois-- although lots of places will give you a list of everything that anyone had a reaction to. Most of the things on those lists are not important.
The main things to look for is aged foods-- for example, soy sauce, aged cheese, red wines of certain kinds and food that has spoiled from being left out in the heat, especially foods mayonnaise based salads.
The other category is certain medications like nasal sprays, decongestants, long-acting novocaine and some other anti-depressants (like most tricyclics), and some others.
While it can be a bit unnerving at the beginning, when you need to check things once and a while, I can reassure you that, after using an maoi, you quickly learn what you need to avoid (it isn't that much). And then, you become quite used to it, even if it means being a bit careful at times-- and that's really it.
It's important to check your BP every day at the beginning, just to make sure that you aren't doing anything that's causing it to be elevated. Realistically until you get to very high doses of Maois, there's a fair amount of extra capacity before you get into trouble with foods or meds-- so you probably will catch it before anything much happens.
I never had a reaction that required me even to consider going to the hospital and I was on a very high dose. Once or twice I had mild serotonin reactions to normally safe ADs that my pdoc was trying out to help me sleep-- and that's only because I'm very sensitive to serotonin.
For a lot of things, my pdoc, who'se very experienced with Maois would tell me-- try a small amount and if it's okay, you can experiment with it. Of course, I was careful with those things-- but again-- it's not as if, if you have a sip of something, you'll be in trouble.
Of course, if you do turn out to be one of the few people who have to be especially careful, you can rethink the decision to take Maois. You'll figure this out without putting yourself in any danger.
What others have said about the dangers being overstated is certainly true. My pdoc, for example, told me to disregard most of the proscriptions, and stick with his limited rules--
Most importantly, I would consult your pdoc when you have questions, not with pharmacies, who are pretty uninformed about these things--
Nadezda
poster:Nadezda
thread:844047
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20080805/msgs/844668.html