Posted by laima on December 6, 2006, at 9:43:12
In reply to Re: Anyone tried oral selegiline?, posted by RN320 on December 6, 2006, at 8:26:36
I used to take the oral version for about 2 months, before Emsam came out. I did find it reasonably effective, even though my highest dose with it was 25mg. (Emsam came out as it was slowly being bumped up to the 30-40mg neighborhood.) As for safety, once you get over 10-20mg, you have to follow the usual MAOI diet and drug guidelines. (At lower doses, you don't.) Maybe that is why your doctor called it "unsafe" ? The diet and drug restrictions scare a lot of people.
> I've been on EMSAM since June and had really good results. I was deemed "treatment resistant" for 5 years previously. I found out recently that I'm not going to be able to afford it with changes to my medicare drug plan starting Jan 1st, so I talked to my pdoc yesterday about the possibility of switching over to the oral selegeline. His response was interesting. He said that the oral version is not effective in treating depression because you cannot give a high enough dose safely. Because of EMSAM's transdermal absorption you're able to absorb more of the med than if you took it orally. I may have to now go on Nardil or Parnate, and it's a real drag to even think about that since the EMSAM worked so well for me. I don't qualify for any "assistance programs" so I think I'm screwed. The manufacturer has made it pretty clear to pdocs that their ability to obtain samples is limited, so I doubt that route will work for me as it has done with other meds in the past. My only advice to you is to make sure that you have the means to afford this drug if you decide to try it- it's about $500 at my dose.
> Good luck to you.
poster:laima
thread:710581
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20061206/msgs/710833.html