phenelzine

Brand name(s):

Nardil

What is the most important information I should know about phenelzine?

There are many other medicines that can cause serious or life-threatening medical problems if you take them together with phenelzine. Do not take phenelzine before telling your doctor about all other prescription and over-the-counter medications you use, including vitamins, minerals, and herbal products. Keep a list with you of all the medicines you use and show this list to any doctor, dentist, or other healthcare provider who treats you.

You may have thoughts about suicide when you first start taking an antidepressant, especially if you are younger than 24 years old. Your doctor will need to check you at regular visits for at least the first 12 weeks of treatment.

Call your doctor at once if you have any new or worsening symptoms such as: mood or behavior changes, anxiety, panic attacks, trouble sleeping, or if you feel impulsive, irritable, agitated, hostile, aggressive, restless, hyperactive (mentally or physically), more depressed, or have thoughts about suicide or hurting yourself. While you are taking phenelzine, you must not drink alcohol or eat foods that are high in tyramine, listed in the "What should I avoid while taking phenelzine?" section of this leaflet. Eating tyramine while you are taking phenelzine can raise your blood pressure to dangerous levels, causing symptoms that include sudden and severe headache, rapid heartbeat, stiffness in your neck, nausea, vomiting, cold sweat, vision problems, and sensitivity to light. Stop taking phenelzine and call your doctor at once if you have any of these symptoms.

You should become very familiar with the list of foods and medicines you must avoid while you are taking phenelzine.

Phenelzine can cause side effects that may impair your thinking or reactions. Be careful if you drive or do anything that requires you to be awake and alert.

What is phenelzine?

Phenelzine is a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI) that works by increasing the levels of certain chemicals in the brain.

Phenelzine is used to treat symptoms of depression that may include feelings of sadness, fear, anxiety, or worry about physical health (hypochondria). This medication is usually given after other anti-depressants have been tried without successful treatment of symptoms. Phenelzine is not for treating severe depression or bipolar disorder (manic depression).

Phenelzine may also be used for purposes other than those listed in this medication guide.

What should I discuss with my doctor before taking phenelzine?

Do not use this medication if you have used another MAOI such as isocarboxazid (Marplan), rasagiline (Azilect), selegiline (Eldepryl, Emsam), or tranylcypromine (Parnate) within the past 14 days. Serious, life-threatening side effects can occur if you take phenelzine before another MAOI has cleared from your body. Do not take this medication if you are allergic to phenelzine, or if you have:

pheochromocytoma (tumor of the adrenal gland);
congestive heart failure;
a history of liver problems; or
if you need any type of surgery with anesthesia.

There are many other medicines that can cause serious or life-threatening medical problems if you take them together with phenelzine. The following drugs should not be used while you are taking phenelzine:

diet pills, caffeine, stimulants, ADHD medication, asthma medication, over-the-counter cough and cold or allergy medicines;
tryptophan (also called L-tryptophan);
levodopa (Larodopa, Parcopa, Sinemet), methyldopa (Aldomet);
meperidine (Demerol, Mepergan);
furazolidone (Furoxone);
procarbazine (Matulane);
buspirone (BuSpar);
bupropion (Wellbutrin, Zyban);
dexfenfluramine (Redux);
guanethidine (Ismelin);
alcohol or medicines that make you sleepy (such as cold medicine, pain medication, muscle relaxers, and medicine for seizures, depression or anxiety); or
antidepressants such as citalopram (Celexa), duloxetine (Cymbalta), escitalopram (Lexapro), fluoxetine (Prozac, Sarafem), fluvoxamine (Luvox), paroxetine (Paxil), sertraline (Zoloft), or venlafaxine (Effexor).

Before taking phenelzine, tell your doctor if you have:

high blood pressure, heart disease;
diabetes;
schizophrenia;
epilepsy or other seizure disorder; or
if you have taken another antidepressant within the past 5 weeks.

You may have thoughts about suicide while taking an antidepressant, especially if you are younger than 24 years old. Tell your doctor if you have worsening depression or suicidal thoughts during the first several weeks of treatment, or whenever your dose is changed.

Your family or other caregivers should also be alert to changes in your mood or symptoms. Your doctor will need to check you at regular visits for at least the first 12 weeks of treatment.

FDA pregnancy category C. This medication may be harmful to an unborn baby. Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant during treatment. It is not known whether phenelzine passes into breast milk or if it could harm a nursing baby. Do not use this medication without telling your doctor if you are breast-feeding a baby.

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