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I. Love. Nardil.

7K views 13 replies 8 participants last post by  Caedmon 
#1 ·
I make a little notation each day on my calendar at work of what my Nardil dosage was that day. When I took my calendar down today and marked my weekend dosages, I flipped back to February and was astonished to realize that I have not even been on Nardil for two weeks yet. (It'll be two weeks tomorrow.) Why is it so astonishing? Because I feel so much better - amazingly better. I can't believe that a drug has done this in less than two weeks. I can't wait to see what the next few weeks bring!

Zoloft, Effexor, and Wellbutrin all gave me results that were, at the very best, half as good as what I've experienced on Nardil. I absolutely cannot believe that more people aren't prescribed MAOIs for depression. So I can't eat bleu cheese anymore - who flippin' cares?! Am I honestly going to say that being able to eat cheese is more important to me than feeling this good?

For the record, I have eaten loads of chocolate with no problem. I have eaten a small (very small) amount of cheddar cheese, and I know it did raise my blood pressure, so that's one I'll have to be careful with - and I'm not even going to touch bleu cheese, which makes me sad - I've loved it for years. But, again - bleu cheese vs. happiness? Yeah, this is not a tough call. I don't drink coffee, but I have had caffeinated sodas (Mountain Dew and Coke) and have found that I can handle one a day - any more than that is too much. I can just tell because I start feeling strange and agitated. I've had pizza several times and am not concerned at all with mozzarella being a problem. I don't drink wine or beer.

The fact that I don't consume wine, beer, or coffee might make things a little easier for me than others. Really, the only thing I have to watch now, that I consumed often before, is cheddar cheese.

I'm more talkative, more confident, more assertive, have more self-respect, and am far less depressed. Again - it just blows my mind that more doctors don't prescribe these drugs. I understand the reasons why, but it seems to me to be an incredible disservice to make a severely depressed or anxious person waste their time on an SSRI when an MAOI is available. I have not felt this good in years, in some respects, and, well, EVER in other respects. I am so grateful that I looked past the myths and the fears and seriously looked into an MAOI.

Your mileage, of course, will vary, and what's right for me may not be right for you. But I really encourage anyone who's curious about an MAOI to do more research and find out if it's right for you. If I'd started this drug 10 years ago, my life would be completely different now. That makes me a little sad - but better late than never.
 
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#2 ·
If everyone were prescribed MAOI's the odds would catch up with them and there would be alot more people dying on them.
 
#3 ·
i would rather die happy at a younger age, than miserable the whole life at an older age.

nardil is safe, just watch what you eat the first 2 months or so, and then you could sample some stuff that are restricted and see how you feel. i've been on nardil for 8months or so, and about a week ago i ate a moderrate amount of kimchi which is korean fermented cabbage which is a big no no on the list, but felt no ill effect whatsoever. the first 2 weeks i was on nardil, i ate on slice of cheese pizza, and my head felt, .. wierd. but in my experience you get used to MAOI's and longer you take em, the more you are able to tolerate the foods that are restricted. this is just my experience though, everyone is different.
 
#5 ·
Noca said:
If everyone were prescribed MAOI's the odds would catch up with them and there would be alot more people dying on them.
I guess you're right, and inevitably there would be people who wouldn't be careful with the drug and dietary restrictions, etc. However, it seems to me that if someone is serious about feeling better, then they can be serious about giving up cheese and certain cold medicines.
 
#6 ·
Patients should always be responsible and adhere to appropriate guidelines. "Appropriate" can differ from person to person. To an extent, many patients will tolerate some leeway on tyramine-containing foods, or drugs that act on catecholamines, but you really have to be careful and I don't recommend being nonchalant about it.

I would encourage people to look at the actual rates of MAOI-related injuries. This issue is blown way out of proportion. The odds of dying or experiencing any sort of serious injury approximate those of vehicle-related injuries. Yet I foolishly drive a car too! Perhaps driving a car should be an extreme last resort, secondary to bus, taxi, bicycle, unicycle, jetpack, running, hitchhiking, rolling down the street in a big tire, rollerblades, skateboard, and toboggan forms of transportation. :)

Pts on Nardil should probably supplement their diet with vitamin B6, if they don't already. (Personally I would go all out and get a B-complex and possibly sublingual or hypodermic B12, but that's just me.)
 
#8 ·
Re: re: I. Love. Nardil.

Caedmon said:
rolling down the street in a big tire, rollerblades, skateboard, and toboggan forms of transportation. :)

Pts on Nardil should probably supplement their diet with vitamin B6, if they don't already. (Personally I would go all out and get a B-complex and possibly sublingual or hypodermic B12, but that's just me.)
LOL at the big tire!

Caedmon, can you give me a little info on the B-complex thing? I take a multivitamin currently, but no additional B vitamins. Is this something I should be doing?

The only point I'm trying to make in my post is that it seems unfair to me that this class of drugs that works AMAZINGLY well is out there, yet so many doctors don't even consider them because they're too "risky." And continuing to feel like crap on a nice safe SSRI isn't risky?! Yes, I think MAOIs require a lot of research - it needs to be an informed decision, and patients need to accept responsibility for their treatment and make the needed lifestyle changes to take an MAOI. But, really, what are the lifestyle changes? You modify your diet, you read labels a little more carefully, you find out all you can about the drug and the risks, and then you behave accordingly. Isn't feeling better worth doing that, for crying out loud?
 
#9 ·
#10 ·
No Limit, jjyiss, and anyone else on Nardil:

How has it been working out for you? I'm thinking of trying it. Currently I'm taking a combination of Klonopin (1.5mg/day) and Wellbutrin XL (300mg/day). It's okay (better than nothing), but not great.

The diet doesn't sound like a big deal. I've heard of some pretty annoying side effects on askapatient.com, though. Insomnia... tiredness all day... sexual side effects. Do you guys have those? Does the good totally outweigh the bad?
 
#11 ·
i take nardil with 2mg per day of clonazapam (benzo).

i highly recommend nardil... , actually both at the same time.
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i got no sides with clonazapam but when i started nardil i got low appetite, sexual dysfunction, and insomnia. the low appetite went away in about 3 weeks or so, the sexual dysfuntion went away in about a couple of months, and the insomnia went away after about 6 months. while i was on nardil, there was no way that i was able to sleep at all, so i was also precribed trazadone as a sleep aid and had to take that as well every night just so that i could fall asleep, but now i don't need it since i don't have any sides from nardil. the sexual dysfunction came back after a couple months later like at the 6 months mark, but went away about a month later as well.

even with these terrible sides, especially the insomnia, i recommend it. i was worried that id had to take trazadone every night to get some sleep, but im glad it went away.

i eat what ever i want , but i try only in moderation such as cheese. alcohol, that gets me kinda dizzy pretty fast though, so i would only imbibe on it just a little bit at a time if im with friends drinking.
 
#13 ·
I have experienced some insomnia, but if I exercise during the day it's not a problem. Some constipation at first, and also some diarrhea. Otherwise, not much - I've not experienced the severe fatigue that some people talk about.
 
#14 ·
Re: re: I. Love. Nardil.

Nae said:
What about legumes? Particularly lentils: I love cooking lentil soup. However I have read they should also be restricted.
I don't know of any legumes being contraindicated, other than fava bean pods. I have never eaten the pod of a fava bean. I've never even eaten an actual fava bean. Well, there you go.
 
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