I'll address the MAO's (as they were called then) from a family member's point of view.
I've made no secret of the fact that many members, my mother included, had bipolar illness. In the early days, MAO's were it. But we constantly had to watch everything she ate....cheese being a favorite and one of its worst enemies. Suicide watch was always on, no matter how carefully the meds were guarded and she ended up back in the hospital in even worse shape than when she left.
Later a brother and a sister developed the same illness, later another sister. By then, things had changed considerably.
I had left home by then, but my youngest brothers and sisters would call once/wk. on average that she had locked herself in the bathroom and was committing suicide. No matter how many times I told them, they wouldn't call the police. I don't know why I just didn't do it myself....afraid of Social Services removing them, I guess. She was a good mother in between attacks and was dearly loved.
SSRI's opened up a whole new world, that and ECT kept her under rather good control. No more of the nonsense the younger ones had to endure, thankfully. No, there were no relatives, my father died at age 40 and that was possibly the reason for her descent anyway. Her family lived in England, so I was it.
So please think twice about the resurgence of MAO's. Or, if you want them, have someone else control your pillbox and keep them b/c many people accidentally overdosed and died while on them. I do believe there is s place for the review of old medications, so I'm not against that per se. But the dangers are real and a person living alone should not have access to them....just too dangerous. Yours, Lenora.
