[MatE]

Has anybody here tried MAOIs. I've tried almost everything else including ECT, which nothing helped. I know they can be quite dangerous but so is my depression. If anyone has experience, their knolege will be helpful.

My pdoc tried me on ensam. It's a patch and has fewer dietary restrictions than the regular MAOI's. I had problems with it dropping my blood pressure, so I couldn't stay on it long enough to find out if it worked.

[lonegael]

My brother-in-law was on one of them and made the mistake of taking an over the counter flu medicine. He had a hypotensive crisis and almost died. We were living in the same house as he was at the time. Please be carefull with them and make sure your doc really goes through the dietary and medical interactions that these meds can have. They are great for some, but are definitely not for everyone. Good luck!

[ngold004]

MAOIs can be very effective especially for atypical and treatment-resistant depression. As previously mentioned, you must be mindful about dietary restrictions and OTC medications. I am currently on Selegiline (which is the pill form & generic for Emsam). I am on a low dose 5mg 2x daily, so I don't have any dietary restrictions. I still try to reduce my tyramine intake, so it's not so difficult when they (eventually) up my dose. Although, from my personal experience, even at the low dose I have to be careful about OTC medications. I already have hypertension and I notice a nasty headache when combining it with certain sinus & allergy medication. So, I have to read the box carefully. As far as side effects, I haven't had a decent night sleep in a while because I wake up every few hours with horrible nightmares and I am eating everything that's not nailed to the floor! Good luck with finding something that works for you. Just keep the restrictions in mind!

[Yoda]

I have been taking selegiline since 2007 and it seems to work for me better than other meds I tried (also taking clozapine for bipolar since 2007). I have not had any problems so far with tyramine; I try to limit foods with tyramine rather than eliminate completely and that is working for me.