But pretty much everything in life always comes with its negative aspects as well, and MAOIs are no exception.
The first few weeks i had quite a resume of side effects; Dizziness, blurry vision, sedation, minor weight gain, diarrhea, constipation, urinary retention, tremors, bloating, gas, dry mouth, increased appetite, hypotension, orthostatic hypotension, paresthesia, sweating and sexual dysfunction. Perhaps a few more, but i can't remember them.
Most of them have gone away, but those that remain are constipation, bloating, minor tremors and increased appetite. Also low blood pressure if i take too high a dose.
But I'd go through any side effects to be able to feel and be that person I am today. Life feels wonderful!
Constipation: can be combated by eating lots of fiber or by taking laxatives. A personal favorite is Dulcolax (
Bisacodyl), although it should only be used once a week so one does not get permanent bowel problems. Movicol (
polyethylene glycol) can be taken daily, but is far from as powerful.
Gas: Farting in the wrong direction while on Nardil can killing livings organisms, it's probably the worst smell I've ever felt, but one does get used to it. Perhaps one might be able to get a job at Anticimex; just go into random house, fart, everything dead! Gas can also be lessened by taking OTC pills such as
dimethicone or simethicone.
Urinary retention: This does lessen a lot with time, but in the beginning it can be very troublesome. Peeing while squatting helped me a lot. Taking a diuretic also does wonders, such as Lasix (
Furosemide) plus
Bethanechol.
Sedation: was also extremely difficult the first two months, I'd fall asleep and take a afternoon nap very often, or when i sat on a chair I'd dose off. But this has totally disappeared. Coffeine can help a little bit, or by taking some kind of psychostimultant or Modafinil. Low doses of Wellbutrin has also shown to be effective. This completely disappeared with time.
Low blood-pressure: This was one of the worst offenders at the early stages. My blood pressure even got so low that i fainted a couple of times and hit my head on various stuff. But this also does get a lot better, there's also blood pressure increasing medications that can be taken such as
Midodrine.
Sexual dysfunction: This became apparent after one week of Nardil use, and now it takes forever to ejaculate, but it is possible. My libido has however gotten a lot higher, and the ladies love it. I actually love this side effect as it makes me last so long. But it can be combated with the use of Wellbutrin (Bupropion) or Periactin (
Cyproheptadine) or various stimulants.
Weight gain: This is another prominent problem with Nardil, it makes you eat more, and everything sweet tastes like a piece of heaven. Actually most food tastes a lot better. Simply lowering calorie intake and doing regular exercise do help a lot, or lowering one's daily dose of Nardil.
The diet: Taking a MAOI makes one very sensitive to tyramine, which can be found in some types of food. It is very individual how someone reacts to tyramine while using Nardil; some people can eat anything they want without raising an eyebrow. Other people can get a stroke from eating aged cheese or spoiled meat. I believe almost every death the past 40 years (haven't been that many) have happened exclusively from eating a large amount of aged cheese. Personally the only things i avoid is aged cheese and old food of all types.
Dr Ken Gillman has the best diet list I've ever seen;
http://psychotropical.com/pdfs/maois_diet_full.pdf
That's all i can think of for now. If you feel you've had enough of suffering due to depression and anxiety, then I'd recommend trying Parnate (
Tranylcypromine) or Nardil (
Phenelzine), it might very well be the best decision you've ever made in your life!



