Posted by Another Phil on May 30, 2008, at 15:13:38
Has anyone else had problems paying attention while taking Selegiline (oral or Emsam). Selegiline has been the best antidepressant for me, but at 10 mg (oral) my attention span is about 3 seconds. I've been taking Dexedrine for ADD for several years, but it doesn't seem to make a dent in the Selegiline-induced attention problems. I've also tried *not* taking the Dexedrine, thinking maybe I was just becoming overactivated. No dice though. A few years ago, I was on the 6 mg Emsam patch for about 6 months. I felt great, but had to go off it because I was so scatterbrained I couldn't function at work and was afraid I would to forget to pay bills. I recently started again on 5 mg oral Selegiline and 400 mg DLPA. The attention problems aren't as bad as with 10 mg of Selegiline (the antidepressant effect isn't as dramatic either), but they are going to cause me problems in the long run.
I'm only mildly depressed now (but *far* better than I had been). I have enough energy to get to the gym every other day. After working out, I don't feel depressed at all. I *really* want to find a way to fix the attention problems, because no other antidepressant has come close (and Parnate made me full-blown bipolar).
Here's what else I'm taking:
Lamictal 150 mg (the next thing I'm trying is lowering the dose of this, because at higher doses, the Lamictal alone caused cognitive problems for me)
Zyprexa 2.5 mg
Dexedrine Spansules 30 mg (45 if I need to study at night)
Synthroid 50 mcgMy plan, *if* I can mitigate the Selegiline side effects, is eventually to get off of Lamictal and Zyprexa.
I know that a lot of people report *improved* focus with Selegiline, so I think my response may be rare. But I'd appreciate any advice because, attention problems aside, this drug makes me functional.
Phil
poster:Another Phil
thread:832098
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20080528/msgs/832098.html