Posted by Elizabeth on March 9, 2002, at 15:40:18
In reply to Johnx2, others -- Nardil Question, etc., posted by JonW on March 8, 2002, at 15:10:01
Nardil is a great anti-anxiety drug. I've seen it do wonders for people with social phobia and other kinds of interpersonal sensitivity. MAOIs are also known to be effective for atypical depression -- more so than SSRIs like Zoloft.
Atypical depression isn't the same as bipolar II disorder, but depression in bipolar disorders can have "atypical" features: excessive eating and sleeping, feelings of heaviness, interpersonal sensitivity (esp. rejection sensitivity), ability to be cheered up temporarily. The more of these characteristics apply to your depression, the more likely it is that the diagnosis of atypical depression is accurate. Nardil is good at relieving the hpersensitivity that is seen in atypical depression and social phobia.
I also think that MAOIs are the antidepressants that are most helpful in ADHD, although doctors shy away from giving them to children. Parnate may be better than Nardil for ADD since Parnate seems to share more characteristics of the stimulants. On the other hand, as John says, Nardil seems to be better for anxiety symptoms. MAOIs often relieve lethargy, whereas SSRIs can make it worse; Parnate may be the better choice for this symptom.
MAOIs can be used in combination with stimulants, but you have to be cautious. Some people (like me) can't get away with it because they have hypertensive reactions even on low doses of stimulants, but many people can do it safely. You need to be able to monitor your blood pressure if you're going to try it. As I said, I think that if you try an MAOI, you may find that it helps with the ADD by itself.
MAOIs can trigger cycling in bipolar disorder, so if that diagnosis is correct, you should be cautious (this is true of any antidepressant, including Zoloft). Can I ask what symptoms led to the diagnosis of bipolar II? IMO, this has become a bit of a "wastebasket" diagnosis, used for all kinds of unidentified conditions that probably are not all the same thing. I agree with John that doctors may be inclined to misinterpret ADD symptoms (especially in adults) as hypomania.
Just some opinions, for whatever they're worth.
-elizabeth
poster:Elizabeth
thread:97093
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020307/msgs/97225.html