My very first hypertensive crisis

At about 1:00am this morning, after I returned from picking someone up, I lay down in bed to go to sleep. I noticed my heart was pumping very strong and fast. I was short of breath. Ok. So it will pass. Is this an MAOI hypertensive crisis coming on? I started getting scared. Was my anxiety only aggravating it, or was I simply just anxious and panicky about my heartbeat? It wasn't until the severe headache emanating from the back of my neck that I knew something was very wrong. It was my very first MAOI hypertensive crisis. What had I eaten? The only thing I can think of was that at 12:00am I had eaten some Monterey Jack cheese. I've eaten this cheese before with no problem, so what gives? This time it was not melted; I ate it straight from the bag in the fridge. So I know what caused it. I took a Nifedipine tablet, bit into it, and drank the tasty insides. I figured this is pretty serious so I took a cab a few blocks to Pennsylvania Hospitals ER. The nurse took my blood pressure and it was high. Really high. 193/101. Whoa. So I waited for the doctor, which took like 1.5 hours. And during that time my blood pressure went down to a relatively healthy 137/83. I asked them to send me home. They did. I am home now. I need to go to sleep!

7 pounds and excess water

I was at my uncle's house today. He has a scale. I haven't stepped foot on a scale in months. Today I weighed in, without jeans on, at 160. I gained about 7 pounds since being on Nardil. Imagine carrying around a 7 pound dumbell. That's a lot of extra weight in 2 months on Nardil. For me it is mostly carried in my abdomen, and I really don't like how that feels and looks! And, today, my Dad noticed that me feet looked swollen. Lo and behold another side effect of Nardil: pedal edema. Fortunately my intestinal system is now "regular" let us say. And since splitting the Nardil 30mg at midday and 30mg in the evening, I've felt my physiology returning more to normal. When I exercise my heart feels like it is beating properly -- strong and fast. Maybe this might help bring down the weight. That and stopping my crazy consumption of frozen yogurt everyday!

Now I know what side effects are

I've been blessed to have taken many different medications over the past 10 years with few side effects. Effexor did raise my blood pressure a bit, Prozac made me get motion sickness, Lithium gave me tremors at high doses, and Abilify made me restless. Granted some of these side effects were not tolerable, so the dose was reduced or the medication stopped completely.

But nothing compares to Nardil in terms of the strange stages/packages of side effects that I've felt over the past 1.5 months. Now I see what the doctors are talking about. It all started with the extreme thirst, the dizziness, the balance problems, the feeling of being high, the euphoria. This was all on 45mg of Nardil. These sides effects passed. Then, after increasing the dose to 60mg, it moved on to afternoon sleepiness to the point of not being able to function much at work during these episodes. Then came the slight weight gain (I am very fit, except my abdomen is noticeably bigger), the constipation, and the anorgasmia. Pain the the ass. And now the fatigue in terms of when I exercise. I get tired very, very quickly. I can't run two blocks without having to stop. I feel like Nardil has slowed down my physiology to the point that my heart rate is lower than it should be, even when exercising.

Well, I haven't been on this medication for too long, so I look forward to what most people say about these side effects: they will pass.