Just about every prescription drug commercial includes the disclaimer, “people taking MAOIs should not use this product,” or something similar.
I know MAOI stands for monoamine oxidase inhibitor, and that it’s a drug used to treat depression. Specifically, I’d like to know why it is that seemingly every drug is contraindicated while using MAOIs. Is there any drug that is safe to use while on MAOIs? What would happen if you took those contraindicated prescription drugs while on MAOIs? What’s up with MAOIs?
If monamine oxidase is not able to participate in the metabolism of the drug then that drug can persist in the body longer than required leading to undesirable effects and increased risk of overdose.
MAOIs, or monoamine oxidase inhibitors, raise the level of serotonin in your brain (IIRC–been a little while since I took Psych). Taking an MAOI and another serotonin drug–like an SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor), or various other drugs like nicotine–can be dangerous in that the amount of serotonin in your brain can reach critical levels and you can experience ‘serotonin syndrome’. What would happen if you mixed an MAOI and one of the drugs that they’re contraindicated for? You would run a risk of suffering brain damage, as I understand it.
It’s not that MAOIs are contraindicated with “just about every” prescription drug, it’s that they’re contraindicated with just about every drug in certain categories. For example, if you take a non-MAOI antidepressant, you’re pretty likely to be contraindicated for MAOIs. MAOIs also shouldn’t be mixed with each other and certain MAOIs shouldn’t be mixed with foods high in tyramine–any pharmacologist or psychiatrist should be able to explain this in full detail if you need it.
MAOIs were one of the first classes of antidepressant drugs, if I understand correctly, and thus aren’t as “forgiving” as newer types of antidepressants like SSRIs, etc. They’re being informally “phased out” of psychiatry, as I understand it. BTW, the newer of the MAOIs are more likely to mix well with other drugs and tyramine-high foods.