Posted by silvercoin on July 20, 2006, at 16:42:16
In reply to Re: Low dose Selegiline- can I take with other meds?? » silvercoin, posted by Jimmyboy on July 20, 2006, at 16:26:38
> Thanks for the response silvercoin,
>
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> Do you think if I lowered the dose of selegiline to 2.5 mg that would make it even safer? Do you know what the dangers are associated with blocking MAO B enzyme and taking a medicine like Serzone?
>
> Like I said , I have tried about everything and these two meds have worked to some degree in the past.. but in different ways. The selegiline was more activating , in a good way , but did little for anxiety while the serzone seemed to stabilize me and help w/ anxiety but was somewhat sedating , so if possible it would be nice to be able to combine them, but we will see what my doctor says..
>
>MAO-B is mainly responsible for metabolizing dopamine and phenylethyl amine, and there is not going to be any interaction with Serzone in this regard. MAO-A is the important enzyme from an antidepressant and drug interaction standpoint, as this is the one that really affects serotonin and norepinephrine levels. There is some MAO-A inhibition even with 5 mg/day selegiline, and obviously, there will be less with 2.5 mg/day, so 2.5 mg/day is an inherently safer dosage. I question if 5 mg/day is actually all that dangerous in this situation, however, and would probably be willing to take the risk myself if I thought there was a potential therapeutic benefit. However, one would still need to convince one's doctor of its legitimacy and safety. In any event, it would be highly prudent to start at 2.5 mg/day to both observe for any serious adverse effects (serotonin syndrome symptoms) and minimize their severity.
Todd
poster:silvercoin
thread:668558
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060717/msgs/668675.html