now on a new med, Parnate [View all]
Our regulars here will remember my experience with weaning off 2 anti-depressant meds and starting an MAO inhibitor, Selegiline. My doctor put me on a transdermal patch called Emsam.
To sum it up quickly, the Emsam made me extremely irritable. I gave it a good try over a month's time but could no longer tolerate that side effect. It's history now.
My doc now has me on Parnate, another MAO inhibitor. This one has more side effects and is even more sensitive to tyramine-containing food and drinks. It also does not work well with "excessive" amounts of caffeine and chocolate. The chocolate one I can work with, the caffeine one is problematic for me because I like my coffee and diet Pepsi. I have not had any diet Pepsi or other caffeine-containing beverages in a few weeks now, but I've kept the coffee.
He stepped me up over a few weeks from 30 mg a day to 50 mg a day. I've had some pretty extreme postural hypotension (you feel faint after getting up abruptly), difficulty walking, feeling overmedicated, feeling sedated, and oh the headaches. One time I probably took my doses too close together and got the absolute worst headache of my entire life (and I usually never get headaches). Wow, if migraines are like that headache, I really understand now how horrible they are.
I also seem to get a small headache off only two cups of coffee. I brew it normal strength, and I still get the small headache. I'm really hoping that eventually I can tolerate the caffeine better.
To sum up, if the worst side-effects don't go away or get a lot better, this won't be tolerable either. I'll give it a few more weeks and see my doc on the 19th to discuss my treatment.
Quick PSA: I would never try MAOI treatment with any doctor other than a psychiatrist or ARNP (Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner) who are trained in these meds specifically. They are just way too risky to be prescribed any other way.
Also, this is a great site with tons of information on meds: http://www.pdr.net/browse-by-drug-name
Another great site is https://www.drugbank.ca/drugs
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