• Basic Info
• Top Questions
• Clinical Info
• Interactions

What is selegiline?
Selegiline prevents the breakdown of a chemical in your brain called dopamine (DO pa meen). Low levels of this chemical are associated with Parkinson's disease. Selegiline is used together with other medicines to treat symptoms of Parkinson's disease. Selegiline may also be used for other purposes not listed in this medication guide.

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What is the price of this medication and similar alternatives?

This pricing information is subject to change at the sole discretion of DS Pharmacy. For the most current and up-to-date pricing information, please visit drugstore.com.

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What are the possible side effects of selegiline?

Get emergency medical help if you have any of these signs of an allergic reaction: hives; difficulty breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat.

Stop taking selegiline and call your doctor at once if you have any of these serious side effects:

• sudden and severe headache, confusion, blurred vision, problems with speech or balance, nausea, vomiting, chest pain, seizure (convulsions), and sudden numbness or weakness (especially on one side of the body);

• feeling light-headed, fainting;

• hallucinations;

• feeling restless, agitated, or irritable;

• twitching muscle movements; or

• painful or difficult urination.

Less serious side effects may include:

• dizziness, weakness;

• sleep problems (insomnia);

• runny or stuffy nose;

• back pain;

• constipation; or

• mouth sores or ulcers, pain with swallowing (while using Zelapar).

This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Tell your doctor about any unusual or bothersome side effect.

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How should I take selegiline?
Take selegiline exactly as it was prescribed for you. Do not take the medication in larger amounts or for longer than recommended by your doctor. Larger doses will not have any greater effect, but serious side effects could result. Follow the directions on your prescription label. While you are using selegiline and for 14 days after you stop, you must not eat foods listed in the "What should I avoid while using selegiline?" section of this leaflet. Eating these foods while you are using selegiline can raise your blood pressure to dangerous levels.

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What is the most important information I should know about selegiline?
There are many other medicines that can cause serious medical problems if you take them together with selegiline. Tell your doctor about all other prescription and over-the-counter medications you use, including vitamins, minerals, and herbal products. While taking selegiline, do not drink alcohol or eat foods that are high in tyramine, listed in the "What should I avoid while using selegiline?" section of this leaflet. Eating tyramine while you are using selegiline can raise your blood pressure to dangerous levels and cause life-threatening symptoms.

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What happens if I miss a dose?
Take the medication as soon as you remember. If it is almost time for the next dose, skip the missed dose and wait until your next regularly scheduled dose. Do not take extra medicine to make up the missed dose.

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What other drugs will affect selegiline?
Before taking selegiline, tell your doctor if you are using any of the following drugs: carbamazepine (Tegretol); diet pills or cold medicines that contain ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or phenylephrine; nafcillin (Unipen); phenobarbital (Luminal, Solfoton); rifampin (Rifadin, Rifater, Rifamate, Rimactane); or antidepressants such as amitriptyline (Elavil), amoxapine (Ascendin), bupropion (Wellbutrin, Zyban), citalopram (Celexa), clomipramine (Anafranil), desipramine (Norpramin), doxepin (Sinequan), duloxetine (Cymbalta), escitalopram (Lexapro), fluoxetine (Prozac), fluvoxamine (Luvox), imipramine (Tofranil), nortriptyline (Pamelor), paroxetine (Paxil), protriptyline (Vivactil), sertraline (Zoloft), venlafaxine (Effexor), or trimipramine (Surmontil).

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Can I take this if I am pregnant or trying to get pregnant or if I am breastfeeding?

Selegiline has been assigned to pregnancy category C by the FDA. Animal studies have failed to reveal evidence of teratogenicity. There are no controlled data in human pregnancy. Selegiline is only recommended for use during pregnancy when benefit outweighs risk.

There are no data on the excretion of selegiline into human milk. The manufacturer recommends that due to the potential for serious adverse reactions in nursing infants, a decision should be made to discontinue nursing or discontinue the drug, taking into account the importance of the drug to the mother.

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Who should NOT use this medication?

• Known hypersensitivity to selegiline or any ingredient in the formulation.
• Concomitant administration of meperidine and possibly other opiates. (See Specific Drugs and Foods under Interactions.)

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What happens if I overdose?
Seek emergency medical attention if you think you have used too much of this medicine. Overdose symptoms may include severe headache, hallucinations, vision problems, sweating, cool or clammy skin, fast or uneven heart rate, feeling light-headed, fainting, or seizure (convulsions).

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What should I discuss with my healthcare provider before using selegiline?
Do not use this medication if you are allergic to selegiline, or if you have used any of the following drugs within the past 14 days: cough or cold medicine that contains dextromethorphan; meperidine (Demerol), propoxyphene (Darvon, Darvocet), or tramadol (Ultram, Ultracet); methadone (Dolophine, Methadose); or other MAO inhibitors such as isocarboxazid (Marplan), tranylcypromine (Parnate), phenelzine (Nardil), rasagiline (Azilect), or transdermal selegiline (Emsam). After you stop taking selegiline, you must wait at least 14 days before taking any of the medications listed above.

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Can I stop taking the medication if I feel better?
As a general rule, you should always take your medications exactly as prescribed and do not change the dosage or stop taking the medication without first discussing it with your healthcare provider.

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I am on so many medications; do I have to take them all?
This is called polypharmacy—many different medications being used at the same time by one person. Sometimes, being on multiple medications is acceptable and appropriate but at other times it may be problematic. If you are receiving your medications from multiple physicians you need to ensure that they all know what medications you are taking. The best way to do this is to make a list of all the medications you are currently using, including all nutritional supplements, homeopathic remedies, vitamins and over-the-counter drugs (if possible, also include all the diseases you have been diagnosed with). Give a copy to every doctor who takes care of you so they have it on file, this way they can avoid duplicating medications and perhaps even try to consolidate some. After every doctor's visit remember to update the list accordingly. Also, as much as you possibly can, try to use the same pharmacy to fill all your prescriptions, this way any potential drug interactions can be caught and averted.

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Where can I get more information?
More Information

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