i just increased my Emsam dosage from 6 mg to 9mg. the new patch came with a dietary warning. i cant eat any tyramine rich foods and need to decrease/avoid caffeine. tyramine is an amino acid by product (the amino acid it comes from is tyrosine). tyramine is usually just processed by the body and there's no problem. when you use MAOIs at higher dosages you have to avoid tyramine because your body stops processing it well and that can cause sudden, dangerously high blood pressure spikes which can lead to heart attack and stroke, etc. tyramine rich foods are typically foods that fall into the Smoked/Cured/Aged/Preserved/Fermented category. (SCAP F is my acronym so i can remember it) the whole thing means that you cant eat foods like aged cheese, pancetta, olives, soy sauce, tofu, tempeh, smoked fish, etc. there's a big list....several actually...and some of it's conflicting with regard to the forbidden vs cautionary foods. there are also foods that dont fit into the acronym parameters....like bananas and avocados. when you get right down to it....most of my favorite things have been eliminated. i had less difficulty giving up caffeine and chocolate than i did OLIVES!!! i love Greek olives so much!!!
anyway....does anyone else follow a tyramine diet and, if so, which version? the information is conflicting. my pharmacist recommended using the food list from the Emsam website but i felt like it was much less detailed than others i found. also, i cant seem to find one that was updated after 2006.
does anyone have a reference they like to use? i'm really interested!
thanks!
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Kathlene
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I had to look up what this med was and found a wikipaedia entry. Interested that it says :
"The FDA requirement for dietary modifications for the 9 mg and 12 mg doses are based on theoretical concerns, as no adverse events due to diet have ever been reported.[14]".
I don't know what advice there is given from other countries regulatory authorities on this.
Sorry, that doesnt answer your question! Hope someone else has diet information for you
i found that same entry. weird, right? because the Emsam website and many others say that there are distinct dangers, including one i found that was written by a pharmacist. i think that's *exactly* why i'm so confused. too much conflicting information.
i'm using it for Parkinson's Disease and depression. it works well for both issues and the side effects are manageable, for the most part. i dont like the local skin reaction (i get a hive at the patch site after about 18 hours of wear which worsens as soon as i take it off and doesnt go away for 6 - 12 hours), or the more wide spread reaction when i take a really hot shower (a "sub burn" type pain in the area of the patch -- ex: if the patch is on my shoulder i get the pain on both shoulders, my chest and my arms) but that's really my only complaint.
I've been on a low-tyramine diet for about 15 year--for migraines--and it is recommended for a surprising number of conditions. One of the best guidelines can be found at the Familial Dysautonomia Foundation website: fdnow.org/TyramineFreeFood....
I agree that many of the lists can be conflicting and have tried to figure this out myself. If it helps, you can read my take on it at spotcleanfood.com/2012/08/0...
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Sinemet intake blocked by Proteins
Is it enough to say, "Avoid Proteins"? 
fantastic article on Vegan diet & Parkinson's
Best Foods and Worst Foods for PD
Ketogenic Diet
