Posted by Jean Paul on June 15, 2001, at 20:12:29
In reply to Re: Selegiline + Pemoline: is it safe?, posted by AndrewB on June 15, 2001, at 9:27:53
Andrew B,
Reading your post I could notice that pemoline has already produced certain tics, which are irrelevant but persistant, so I decided to check if memantine was avail. here and, fortunately, could find it. I didn´t know anything about it but did some research today: it seems to be a *very* interesting substance. I have read that 30 mg is the standard dose; do you think it is not enough? is it necessary to try smaller doses first?
(If someone else has experience with this substance it would be nice to know about it.)> Jean Paul,
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> Taking pemoline and low dose selegiline is safe. I’ve been taking selegiline with the amphetamine adderall for over 6 months now. There is the warning against mixing stimulants with MAOIs due to the risk of hypertension. This confuses some doctors because selegiline is defined as an MAOI. In actuality though selegiline is an MAOI only at doses that exceed 15mg/day.
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> For your purposes, increased arousal, you should find 5mg/day sufficient, though some find better effect on 10mg/day or 2.5mg./day. Regardless, keep your dosage to the minimal effective dose. Some people notice the increased arousal (i.e. increased motivation, concentration, vitality, libido) in days but for others it can take a month a half for the effects to kick in.
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> Also, selegiline, due to its antioxidant activity, is neuroprotective. It especially protects the dopamine neurons. While dopamine neurons are especially vulnerable to damage as we age (compared to other cells in our body), it may be especially important to have such protection when taking a drug like Pemoline, which increases extracellular dopamine concentration and thus may increase the levels of a destructive metabolite of dopamine.
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> That being said, selegiline is such a powerful antioxidant, namely increasing SOD, that it can throw the bodies antioxidant system out of balance, which is not good in itself. Therefore it is advisable to take N- acetyl cysteine (NAC) also. NAC breaks down into another important antioxidant for the body. Dosage is approx. 1000mg., divided into 3 daily doses. In the US it is sold in healthfood stores.
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> Some other notes:
> 1) Pemoline acts on dopamine only, as a reuptake inhibitor or a vesicle (sp?) releasing agent. As such it is not a classic stimulant, so it is said the contradiction between MAOIs and stimulants does not apply OT pemoline. The hypertension risk only belongs to drugs which possess NE activity.
> 2) MOAIs (i.e. Parnate, high dose selegiline) and stimulants (i.e. amphetamines) can and have been mixed, but careful monitoring of blood pressure should be done during the firstdays of use.
> 3) Selegiline can cause anxiety in some as a side effect, reduce dosage if this occurs.
> 4) Pemoline can be hepatoxic, take regular liver tests. Watch for signs of liver dysfunction - yellowing of the eyes, jaundice.
> 5) Other arousal drugs may work as good or better for you than pemoline. Stimulant trials are fast, so if given the opportunity, one should trial other stimulants to find the one that works the best. Other possibilities are: Dexedrine, Adderall, Adrafinil (this is easy to obtain via mail order if not avial. in Argentina), and Amineptine (Amineptine is no longer in commercial production but supplies of it remain in certain Latin American countries.
> 6) Pemoline can cause tics and other motor abnormalities. It is my belief that is an indication hyperglutaminergic activity which is neurotoxic. If this occurs, stop the med or take magnesium along with Memantine or Acamprosate. Neither of the latter 2 drugs is probably avail. in your country, besides requiring a prescription and costing from 3 to 8 US dollars/day for an efffective dosage.
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> Best wishes,
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> AndrewB
poster:Jean Paul
thread:66051
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010612/msgs/66619.html