Final answer:
MAOIs, including phenelzine, isocarboxazid, and tranylcypromine, can cause a range of side effects from insomnia and headaches to high blood pressure and severe drug and food interactions. Due to these risks, they are rarely used and patients must adhere strictly to dietary and medication guidelines. Tricyclic antidepressants operate differently, often initially causing side effects such as sleepiness, but eventually elevating mood in depressed patients.
Step-by-step explanation:
The side effects (s/e) associated with the use of monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) like phenelzine (Nardil), isocarboxazid (Marplan), and tranylcypromine (Parnate) are significant due to their mechanism of action, which involves inhibiting the enzyme monoamine oxidase. This enzyme normally breaks down neurotransmitters such as serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine, hence inhibition leads to increased levels of these neurotransmitters.
Side effects may include dizziness, dry mouth, insomnia, headaches, and in some cases, more severe issues like high blood pressure. Furthermore, MAOIs have potentially lethal food and drug interactions, particularly with tyramine-rich foods and certain medications, leading to a hypertensive crisis. Given these risks and toxicity, MAOIs are infrequently prescribed and require meticulous dietary and medication adherence by patients.
It is important to contrast this with tricyclic antidepressants like imipramine, which do not elevate mood in non-depressed individuals and may actually cause significant unpleasantness and side effects, including sleepiness, light-headedness, and a drop in blood pressure. In depressed patients, however, an elevated mood usually develops after weeks of consistent administration.