Is it ok to combine MAOI with valium?

[Humanoide]

My girlfriend has a rather risky habit of ocassionaly using a psychoactive plant mix called Ayahuasca.
Everytime she does it, myself or one of her friends is at our house to accompany her in case there would
be some kind of problem.

The effects of Ayahuasca is similar to that of Psilocybin Mushrooms.
The one thing that makes Ayahuasca more dangerous than Psilocybin Mushrooms,
is that it contains the plant Banisteriopsis Caapi.

Banisteriposis caapi contains several alkaloids, including some of the beta-carboline group,
such as harmine, harmaline, tetrahydroharmine, harmine-N-oxide, etc.
At least the first two (harmine and harmaline) are strong monoamino oxidase inhibitors (MAOI).
Harmine and harmaline are short term MAO-A inhibitors.
This means that their binding to the MAO enzyme is only for a few hours and that the enzyme is functional
after it is released from the bind.


Even though my girlfriend is very responsable and careful,
I have read a lot of stories of people using Psilocybin Mushrooms who had a very bad experience.

I have found out that people who are having a "bad trip" are often treated with Diazepam.
If my girlfriend would be having a really "bad trip" on Ayahuasca,
would it be safe to give her one of my 10mg Diazepam pills to calm down her body and mind ?


I know that when an MAOI is combined with a wide array of foods, over the counter, prescription,
or black market drugs, the results can be very unpleasant or fatal.
Me, and more importantly my girlfriend herself, know all about which foods and drugs that can not be combined with MAOI...

[Sandra Y, RPh]

There is no drug interaction between Valium and MAOI's, however I cannot stress enough to you that you cannot give a medication prescribed for you to another person. It is unsafe, and you don't know how she will respond to the Valium.

If your girlfriend is having a reaction, you should call an ambulance or take her to an emergency room.

[Humanoide]

Yet wether she can or can not use a 10mg Diazepam pill in case she has a bad trip still remains a mystery to us.
So far I have not found any evidence at all that MAOI's might cause unhealthy or dangerous situations
when combined with benzodiazepines, although they do potentiate benzodiazepines.

I have had one doctor confirm to me that Diazepam can be safely combined with MAOI's,
but I would like to hear a second opinion by the expert(s) on medhelp just to make sure.


I know that the safest thing for my girlfriend would be to not use the plant mix called Ayahuasca at all.
Because Ayahuasca has been proven to be a relatively safe drug, me and her have decided that she should
continue doing what she loves the most... which is to continue the occasional use of this mysterious substance.

Even though a bad trip is generally not physically dangerous for an otherwise healthy person,
me or her friends would of course drive her to the hospital in case of a serious emergency.

Yet in case of a "simple" bad trip, we figure that a 10mg pill of Diazepam might be very helpful.



My apologies for this complicated long post about a subject which I know is kind of taboo.
I thank you for the time and energy spent treating this case,
I wish you all a happy and healthy 2009.