MAOIs, SSRIs and SRIs?

Question

ok so what's the difference between these anti-depressents and how does a doctor decide which one is appropriate for your specific depression?

Answer 1

MAOIs are probably the oldest kind of antidepressant; they are very rarely used anymore. The side effects are bad and it interacts badly with other drugs and certain foods. Somebody on an MAOI could actually die if they eat certain kinds of cheese or drink certains kinds of wine. Doctors generally don't prescribe them anymore unless no other drug works.

There's also Tricyclic antidepressants like Desipramine also know as Norpramin. Basically, they keep the level of Nor-Epinephrine higher which stimulate the mood. These are pretty old too and seldom used. They tend to have side effects of extreme dry mouth, constipation and racing heart beat. I took Norpramin for depression in 1983 to 1984, and it worked well for me. I tstarted taking it again around 1995, and the side effects were really bad and it didn't help much either. It's kind of strange the results were so different for the same person. I think those drugs work pretty much the same as MAOIs but without the extreme food/drug interactions.

Then the SSRIs came out, they work on Serotonin; Prozac, Paxil and Zoloft; good for depression and/or anxiety symptoms. I have taken Paxil since 1995 and it works very well for me.

There are also newer ones that work on Serotonin and Norepinephrine; but I don't know much about them.

Psychiatrists do seem to like prescribing certain drugs; I guess it's true about the drug companies giving "perks", but some doctors seem to prefer staying with medications they are more familiar with.

Answer 2

Doctors usually decide based on what pharmaceutical rep has been in that week. Scary but true.

SSRI are things like prozac and paxil and these mess with your serotonin
SRI- do you mean SNRI? They mess with both your serotonin and norepinephrine. Drugs like cymbalta and effexor.

MAOI is an acronym for Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitor. They inhibit the metabolic breakdown of dietary amines (o the body cannot rid itself of excess norepinephrine.) Nardil is the most common

Answer 3

selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors(SSRIs) exert their by slowing the uptake of the neurotransmitter serotonin by brain cells.
monoamine oxidase (MAO) increases the action of the excitatory neurotransmitters by blocking a brain enzyme that normally breaks down these chemicals.
by conveying to the Dr. your symptoms and his observations, he is able to determine which anti-depressant may help you.