TCA -> MAOI

[bluelikejazz]

Pdoc mentioned there needs to be a washout period, but not how long. Does anybody know? Does it vary depending on which MAOI I'm going on?

[Phoenix_Rising]

I think it depends on the AD or TCA, in your case. My washout period is 5 weeks and I was on Prozac.

[crtclms]

My recollection of the washing out periods for tricyclics and MAOIs is two weeks. I just know this from hearing my dad saying it over and over when I was growing up.

BUT! But I am remembering this from the 70s and 80s. And he was a research psychiatrist, and he may have pushed the envelope a lot as compared to how psychiatric meds were commonly used. I know he did so with other medications.

[Cetkat]

I think anything from 2-4 weeks would probably be normal, depending on how conservative your pdoc is. I don't think it matters which MAOI you're going on, just how long it takes the med to get out of your system. IIRC, my pdoc was thinking 3 weeks for me back when that was the plan (but I was on more than the TCA).

From the Selegiline PI sheet info, it points out Prozac as being a special exception of 5+ weeks because of a "long half-life".

[melissaw72]

I've heard 2 weeks.

[jt07]

I've also heard 2 weeks, but it depends on the half-life of the TCA. ADs with long half-lives (like Prozac) need a longer wash-out period. I don't know what the half-lives of the TCAs are though. When I was a teenager, I made the transition from TCA to MAOI, but I don't remember how long I had to wash out. I know that it wasn't more than one month.

[bluelikejazz]

Crap I was expecting a week. Uh oh.