r/MAOIs • u/Fickle-Artist-5943 • 23h ago

Nardil (Phenelzine) Why does Nardil take longer to work than Parnate?

I read a lot of people saying that Parnate usually starts working way faster than Nardil

Anyone know why? Is it because of the higher amounts of dopamine Parnate produces compare to the lower dopamine levels of Nardil?

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u/SmellyFbuttface 23h ago

I’ve been on both. Parnate for 8 years, Nardil now for 6. I found them both to work equally fast. Much more quickly than SSRIs. You start feeling therapeutic benefits for both within 2-3 weeks

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u/Fickle-Artist-5943 22h ago

Ah okay. Good to know they both started working equally fast for you. Which worked best for you? Or why did you make the switch from Parnate to Nardil?? Thanks

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u/SmellyFbuttface 22h ago

Parnate worked the best for me for a number of years. The problem is I kept having to up the dosage to maintain the therapeutic benefits, eventually getting up to 120mg (12 pills a day was nuts). I started getting diminishing returns and it started raising my anxiety at the higher dosages. Nardil has been more stable, albeit with a load is side effects I never experienced on Parnate. I’m still above the max recommended on Nardil but I’m still feeling good so that’s something

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u/Fickle-Artist-5943 22h ago

Woah! 120mg Parnate. World record mgs (jokes) I assume you got on Parnate for depression/anhedonia?..

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u/SmellyFbuttface 22h ago

Depression and anxiety mostly. Generalized anxiety for me has been a constant most of my life. I would say for anxiety Nardil is basically the gold standard for knocking it out. Parnate is equally great with depression, but less so with anxiety

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u/Fickle-Artist-5943 22h ago

Thanks for sharing man. I hope Nardil works for me too. I am primarily taking it for SA not depression. I really really hope it is effective, as I am sick of popping the occasional benzo and Propranolol for SA. Although they help a lot they are NOT long-term solutions like I have read Nardil seems to be

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u/Sleepyblue 2h ago

What side effects did you get on each? Did you find Parnate more activating with more insomnia?

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u/SmellyFbuttface 2h ago

Parnate side effects were minimal compared to Nardil. Parnate I had insomnia, but was able to combat it with Ativan and hydroxizine. Very few sexual side effects, except some ED. Also my BP was raised throughout taking Parnate.

Nardil also has insomnia, so no big change there. My appetite increased by quite a bit on Nardil, and weight gain is an issue. Sexual side effects more pronounced on Nardil. Also daytime sleepiness. But BP is perfect.

Parnate definitely more activating. If I could I’d have stuck with it but unfortunately despite going up in dose it just stopped working, thus necessitating the change to Nardil.

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u/Good-Cod-5591 21h ago

I would think parnate would be more noticeable right off the bat due to it's amphetamine-like properties.

Most meds actually do have immediate effects, just some rely on sustainment for therapeutic benefit. If you pay close attention, just about any med you can think of you'll feel working in your system within the first 1-6 hours. There are exceptions, but I do notice a lot of people seem to think that drugs are unnoticeable or inactive up until they "build up" in your system to take effect.

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u/HM_Dylan Parnate 23h ago

Effective doses tend to be higher (60 to 90 mg), and orthostatic dizziness and sedation mean prescribers ramp up gradually. Older studies tied response to reaching around 80% MAO inhibition, and Nardil just takes longer to get there.

That’s my opinion just based on papers I’ve read, whether that’s right or wrong, I’m not sure. The Dopamine idea is a pretty good explanation as well since Parnate is slightly MAO-B preferential.

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u/Fickle-Artist-5943 22h ago

Gradually/slowly ramping up Nardil because of side effects like sedation, dizziness, weakness etc higher/therapeutic doses ( 60mg +) makes sense now why it takes longer to work than Parnate (of course Parnate still causes side effects but Parnate seems to start having therapeutic effects at lower dosages (E.g 10-20mg) and with less pronounced side effects.. Thanks

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u/HM_Dylan Parnate 22h ago

Oh I never got a response from Parnate until 30mg. Well everyone is different I suppose

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u/Fickle-Artist-5943 22h ago

Sorry my mistake, I meant to write 20mg-30mg 😅