Uhh.... is the cure going to be worse than the disease? Still a long road ahead...

Well, I met with my psychiatrist today, and he is having me wean off the Wellbutrin, and I will see him again in 3 weeks, which is when he will put me on an MAOI, probably Nardil (Phenelzine). He said this will be a hard drug to take, but he really thinks it will work. He said there are a lot of side effects, restricted diet, and you can't take it with most other medications including over the counter drugs. In the meantime I will keep taking 8mg of Xanax a day... I told him the Xanax isn't any better than placebo for me, but he wants me to stay on it.

I asked him, and insisted that he answer me, "What if this drug doesn't do it? What will the next step be?" And he told me that then he would send me down to UCLA and have them check me out. Do some CAT scans and things like that.

I also asked him about Bio-Feedback treatment, which is about the only other thing that I haven't tried yet, and he said no, no, no... kind of mumbled something that sounded like maybe I could try that months down the road after we try this new medicine and have had some scans done and stuff.

So, anyway, I've done some research into MAOIs and specifically Nardil (the drug my psychiatrist mentioned as the most likely MAOI he'll put me on), and what I've found scares me... the restricted diet... here, I'll give it to you:
What should I avoid while taking phenelzine (Nardil)?
Foods that have high levels of tyramine can cause a severe reaction, including a severe headache, large pupils, neck stiffness, nausea, vomiting, sweating, irregular heart beats, chest pain, and death.death? Call your doctor immediately if you experience any of these symptoms. Avoid the following foods:

• cheeses, including american, blue, boursault, brick, brie, camembert, cheddar, emmenthaler, gruyere, mozzarella, parmesan, romano, roquefort, stilton, and swiss;
  
• sour cream and yogurt;
  
• beef or chicken liver, fish, meats prepared with tenderizer, bologna, pepperoni, salami, summer sausage, game meat, meat extracts, caviar, dried fish, herring, and shrimp paste;
  
• avocados, bananas, figs, raisins, and sauerkraut;
  
• soy sauce, miso soup, bean curd, fava beans;
  
• yeast extracts;
  
• ginseng;
  
• chocolate;
  
• caffeine (coffee, tea, cola, etc.); and
  
• beer (alcoholic and nonalcoholic), red wine (especially Chianti), sherry, vermouth, and other distilled spirits.

So that rules out a lot of stuff, I'll have to be very careful and picky about what I eat, expiration dates, and be really picky at restaurants... and I can't have bread, which contains yeast... but I've already limited my consumption of bread anyway because I get sinus allergy reactions to gluten, and I've already cut down greatly on chocolate, and I've already eliminated caffeine from my diet... so maybe I can handle this part of it.

But I also cannot take any kind of over the counter sinus, allergy or cold medicines or sleeping aids, and any other medication, whether prescribed or over the counter will have to be first approved by my psychiatrist or I could be in for some very severe side effects. Also, if I'm ever in a situation where I'll need anesthesia, I'll have to stop the medicine for two weeks prior to taking it... so pray I don't get into an accident that leaves me in a hospital unable to get anesthesia!

So there's all that... then there are the natural side affects of the drug:

• dizziness or drowsiness;
  
• tremors (shaking), weakness, or muscle twitches;
  
• restlessness, insomnia, anxiety, or agitation;
  
• nausea, decreased appetite, or abdominal pain;
  
• diarrhea or constipation;
  
• dry mouth; or
  
• blurred vision.

Plus other uncommon side affects.

So, it sounds like this drug could put me in a world of hurt... but I have to try it, if nothing else than to just say I've given it an honest try. But who knows. I've reacted differently than most people to all the drugs I've taken so far, so who knows, this drug could turn out to be the holy grail. But I'm not getting my hopes up. In any case, I won't start the Nardil for another 3 weeks, so it's going to be a while before we know how it affects me.

Keep your fingers crossed that my application for MediCal goes smoothly, so that when the time comes around for me to have the scans done, I'll have medical coverage for them.
Click here to comment on this post: