Is MAO inhibitor the most dangerous prescribing drug alive, worst than heroin?

Yep, they are some very risky meds and because of that risk of a dangerous reaction with some foods and medications, these drugs are not usually prescribed today unless, as you say, a series of other medications have been already tried and have not helped - SSRIs SNRIs, bupropion, tricyclics...

But MAOIs are still around because they have been successful in treating some types of depression that did not respond to others. And for people suffering from severe major depression that is preventing them from living a normal life, if an MAOI works they find the dietary restrictions and risk worth it to be able to function again. If your friend has been through a long period of this serious illness, it is understandable she may feel willing to try this and hopeful it may help, so DO encourage her to be VERY careful about the food but please don't try to get her to stop taking her medicine. She probably would not try it if she did not feel desperate for something that would work --being technically alive but in major depression is not really living.

There are also some other ideas that your friend may have tried such as combining another medication with one of the other antidepressants. for example T3 (thyroid med), lithium, or one of the newer anti-psychotics.

Look at studies such as STAR-D for different options.

ALL antidepressants have side-effects! Foods with "tyramine" It's an older antidepressant, it came out in 1959. The original manufacturer stopped making it in 1994. "A randomized controlled trial published in December 1988 found that isocarboxazid significantly reduced binging and purging in bulimia nervosa, regardless of the presence or absence of depression or personality disorder." With today's new medications it's really a last resort. > "Does anyone disagree, b/c it MAO inhibitor seems extremely dangerous. " Even the tricyclics will elevate blood pressure, and other side effects. To be chemically and clinically depressed, life literally stops. Trust me, the precautions your friend puts up is small compared to being severely depressed. As long as she's being monitored closely by a physician she should be ok. It's better she's taking this under a doctor's care rather than "self-medicating". You really can't compare it to taking heroin. Having said this, she should continue to investigate newer medications or combination of meds.

MAOIs aren't dangerous, they just have a lot of dangerous interactions. And because you're clearly ignorant of the reality, I'll point out that your friend won't just drop dead if she eats something that's not approved. The possible side effects are myriad and many of them are life threatening, but some of them are more innocuous like sweating.

It goes without saying that if your friend feels she'd be better off without the drug then she should discontinue its use.

if what you say is true, i can't believe any doctor in their right mind would even consider prescribing that poison.

It should be outlawed at once. And any doctor caught prescribing it should be thrown in prison for attempted murder.

The ONLY instance i could think of deadly side-effects like that being worth the risk is if the patient was already about to die, and the medication was experimental and the last resort.

Given that mood disorders are not fatal, and sometimes not even real, a deadly medicine given as 'treatment" is pure evil.