Nardil

Hi I'm new on here. I wanted to post about taking Nardil. I started about two weeks ago and increased to therapeutic dosage this week. So far I hate it. The decision to take it was not easy or made lightly and comes after years of trying nearly all SSRI, SSRI and other meds on their own and in different combinations. I feel that since I started putting myself through this I should at least wait long enough to see if it will work. Does anybody out there have any experience with it? My main worry is how much weight I might gain, especially because I'm still quite depressed and unmotivated to get out of bed and be around anyone, let alone go to the gym. Please comment if you are or have been on it. Is it worth it, is the weight gain worth it?

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You dont say what your taking it for its an acute anxiety med , if you have acute anxiety you wont have any weight probs the opposite infact , so you wont need the gym. If nardil works you will put weight on because you wont have anxiety has a weight burner.

I'm taking it for depression and social anxiety.

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Personally, I've never tried an MAOI, because they are infamous for their problematic food restrictions and drug interactions! I believe Phenelzine is like most AD's in that it can cause weight gain. Best of luck and keep us posted!

I took it for a year and thought it was the most effective AD I've taken (ssris and all others included) without a doubt, with parnate a close second. I did have to stop taking it as I gained 10 lbs in 4 weeks. My blood sugar skyrocketed from 80 to 135, which is pre diabetes. I managed to lose the 10 lbs but the blood sugar did not return to normal until I stopped the Nardil. That was 3 years ago and it's never been an issue again. I was so disappointed but not worth the health risk!

On the other hand, my dad took it for 30 years and even though he struggled with the weight issue (never more than 20 lbs but he yo yo's a lot) his blood sugar was not affected. I guess it is the individual, but either way weight does seen to be an issue. It's too bad because for social anxiety there is nothing else like it, IMO.

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amee200 Thanks for the info. Was your Dr. monitoring your blood sugar because you were on it? Is that something I should be getting checked? How was parnate for anxiety and weight compared to Nardil? Did you take that for a while, my psychiatrist and I discussed that one too.

10-20 lbs seems manageable for me, I've gained that or more on SSRI's. I just freaked when the pharmacist told me there was an average gain of 40 lbs over four months and I read someone gained 80.

The anti anxiety properties obviously haven't kicked in yet as I'm still obsessing over this.....I think I need to just wait and see. Sorry for all the questions.

Its a med that is used mainly when anxiety is out of control . unless you have tried all the other meds and nardil is your docs idea .

Well, over the past 15 years I have tried pretty much every kind of AD and others types of psych meds in combinations. Don't get me wrong my anxiety is intense. However, my psychiatrist did not explain Nardil that way to me and he is a professor at the university here who specialises in psychopharmacology, depression and anxiety disorders. He has prescribed it to many patients so I'm sure he knows what he's doing.

Did he explain this to you the reason I said its used has when everything has failed is , READ ON _____________- (While you are taking phenelzine, you must not eat or drink certain foods and beverages that are high in tyramine. Eating these foods while you are taking phenelzine can raise your blood pressure to dangerous levels. This may cause life threatening symptoms such as severe headache, confusion, blurred vision, problems with speech or balance, nausea, vomiting, chest pain, seizure (convulsions), and sudden numbness or weakness (especially on one side of the body). Call your doctor at once if you have any of these symptoms. Foods that are high in tyramine include: air dried meats, aged or fermented meats, sausage or salami, pickled herring, and any spoiled or improperly stored beef, poultry, fish, or liver, red wine, beer from a tap, beer that has not been pasteurize, aged cheeses, including blue, brick, brie, cheddar, parmesan, romano, and swiss, sauerkraut, over the counter supplements or cough and cold medicinesthat contain tyramine, soy beans, soy sauce, tofu, miso soup, bean curd, fava beans, or yeast extracts (such as Marmite). that does put a lot of people and doctors off . NARDIL

He did go into detail about the nardil diet, as did my pharmacist and I have been following the diet. Although I have had quite a few of those symptoms you listed, I've just been powering through, but it seems clear I should stop ignoring them. I will see my Dr. ASAP. Thank you for the info!

I don't drink alcohol or coffee. I'm mostly just a water drinker or decaffeinated tea. I'm not much of a meat eater, so the deli meats wasn't really in my diet to begin with. I love cheese, but have stopped eating it. I've been having chest pain, nausea, vomiting (once) and severe headache that same day. Some balance issues and confusion/hard to concentrate and understand certain things (out of the norm for me) and memory issues. Eeek, now that I list it I'm a little worried.

I had routine bloodwork done at my physical so blood sugar was part if the work up. It was a big jump from 85 to 136 so my pcp was alarmed. The thing about Nardil was the intense sugar craving and hunger. The craving were so bad I would eat brown sugar straight from the box... Very gross for me.

With the hunger, it was almost like there was no off switch. I quite literally never felt full. My pdoc gave me metformjn which can help stablize blood sugar, but I didn't take it for long because I didn't see a difference. My dad also had the sweet tooth/ hunger issues. No signs of diabetes.
I took Parnate for about a year 1/2 and if did do wonders for the depression, it definitely elevated my mood. It doesn't help as much with anxiety so that's something to consider if anxiety is a big issue for you. I expected no weight gain since the literature consistently says it is a weight neutral drug. However I gained 35 pounds on it. My pdoc disagrees with the literature and told me in clinical practice he finds that people gain weight on parnate. It seemed to be a lot of water weight with both meds as I had a lot of edema. I should also mention I had a hypertensive reaction while on parnate because I ate aged cheese at an Italian restaurant. I was fine but it was pretty scary. So it's true that you need to watch what you eat and drink. That's not why I stopped it though, it was the weight gain. Once I stopped the parnate and started Prozac (and Ritalin) I lost the 35 lbs pretty easily.
I would monitor your blood sugar if you do go with the Nardil, but I know it's not a typical side effect. Once on the Parnate, I gained more weight but the blood sugar went down. Weird huh?!
There are definitely pros and cons to consider and it really depends on what is realistic for you given your lifestyle. I found alternatives that while they don't work as dramatically as the MAOIs, they still suit me better with all things considered. I think for some who have no luck with other meds, they can be a miracle drug. I guess everyone has to pick their poison, so to speak 😉

Thanks for sharing your experience, I find it helpful to hear from others. Can I ask another question (sorry) how long did it take for you to notice a benefit after taking it. I'm at three weeks and my mood almost seems worse. I'm willing to give it a few more weeks to see if it does help, if not I think I'm going to start coming off of it. My pdoc has said we could do it as a trial.

It's odd I have noticed my appetite go down, maybe because I feel so bloated since I started or I'm terrified to eat and gain weight but definitely no cravings or weight gain yet.....it may be too early for all that yet.

I felt a change within a week, it was pretty quick and dramatic. I did also begin taking Ritalin as well, so that could have had an effect in my mood. Nardil makes you tired so might not alleviate depression as much as anxiety. Comparing the two , parnate is more effective for depression alone. For me it worked very fast. I could feel it work and could tell when it was wearing off. It has a shorter 1/2 life than Nardil and leaves your system quicker. I took a high dose of parnate. After a while I ended up at 90 mg/ day.

Also with regard to the weight gain and appetite, I was at a fairly high diss of Nardil as well- I think it was 45-60 mg (could be way off, it was a few years ago). if you're at a lower dosage maybe weight gain won't be as much of an issue.

I did not write it, I got it off a NARDIL info leaflet ,

I had a reaction once and you'll know it when it happens. I was lax about the diet and one time at a restaurant had pasta with vodka sauce which contained real, aged cheese (processed would not have been so bad).

All of a sudden I had a migraine level headache that started in the back of my head and moved toward the front. Its called a traveling headache and it's a really strange sensation. I felt it literally moving until It stopped at the top of my head. apparently it can continue to the front (in the forehead) which is more dangerous, so I was lucky.

Also, I was hot, very nauseous, my pupils were dilating and my neck was suddenly very stiff. I could not turn it at all from side to side. I should have gone to the ER but figured I'd end up waiting forever so didn't bother. For about a week after I had a mild head/neck ache whenever I took the Parnate so I had to stop taking until all my headache was gone. My doctor made me promise to go to the ER if it happened again- they have a pill that counteracts the rise in blood pressure and works very quickly. Anyway, after it wore off I was able to go back to my usual dosage and never had another issue. It was scary at the time though.

Yes, it was many years ago when I took Nardil. It was prescribed for me for atypical depression--depression of very long standing with anxiety. I had no weight gain. I did experience muscle spasms in my legs (like my leg jerking as though I were startled from sleep), but no other side effects. I was very careful to avoid the food interactions. It was effective for me, but when we tried to taper off to end it, I experienced intractable migraines. We had to boost the dose again, then taper incredibly slowly--it took me 2 years to stop it completely. It was effective, but years later when depression recurred, I tried Zoloft which worked well without all the bother. Make sure to also never take Demerol for pain with an MAOI.

Thanks, good to know what it feels like in case it happens.

I've heard withdrawal can be nasty.

So long as your doc knows what they're doing it's ok. The hard part is you have to be off completely for 2-4 weeks before starting a new medication.