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Q
I am reaserching Xanax, Nardil and memory loss. My long-term disability has been cut off after only a year due to my insurance company saying my disability is depression. I have depression, however; it is a result of attempting to continue working as a computer programmer while suffering from memory loss.

I have taken Xanax and Nardil since 1979 when anxiety attacks had me house bound within only a few months of thier begining.

I need to collect as much evidence as possible for my attorney to use in getting my benefits returned. As a result I am desperately trying to find to find as much as I can as quickly as I can.

I've done fairly well in finding information on Xanax and memory loss. But if you would be so kind as to reply with any that you have I would be deeply gratefull.

I have been told, but am unable to find anything to back it up, that Nardil can make the encoding of new memories. If you have any information on this I would be deeply in your dept if you could relay it to me.

Thank you for your time and any help you might be able to give me.

A
First some facts ... Xanax (alprazolam} is a benzodiazepine, much like Valium ... they are sedative-hypnotic and anxiolytic drugs ... widely and safely used ... as you mention, some people have experienced some degree of memory loss (I don't have numbers for the actual incidence).

Nardil (phenelzine}, on the other hand, is a member of the monoamine oxidase inhibitors ... anti-depressant drugs. Its structure and mode of action bear no resemblance to that of alprazolam. The only thing they have in common is the fact that they affect the central nervous system (in different ways).

I haven't come across any mention of memory loss as a side-effect of phenelzine - it isn't mentioned in any of the readily available sources of pharmacological information.

Sorry I can't be of more help.

Best wishes.