On Sat 29 Nov, Susan Bennett set PARKINSN REPRO wrote:
> Dear List Members,
> I hope I am posting this the right way.
> I am new to the list (about a month, now). My dad was recently diagnosed
> with PD, after many years of symptoms- these symptoms include Tremor,
> freezing, vision/hearing/smelling, some dementia, depression, numbness in
> extremities...
> His doctor put him on Selegiline last month.10mg ( Ithink) once per day to
> start, after 2 weeks it was to be increased to twice daily, but his
> confusion worsened, ... he is tired more often, some hallucinations -though
> very minor. He loses his balance now, much more than before.
> He takes Aricept in the evening- 10mg- because the original diagnosis,
> 1 1/2 years ago, was Alzheimer's.
> Okay, now that we have that intro reviewed, my questions:
> 1.When someone goes off Selegiline, is it necessary to wean? and if so, how
> long does it take?
> (Because of the holiday weekend we are not able to contact his Neurologist.
> This is not an emergency situation, so we do not want to bother contacting
> the covering physician.)
> 2. Has anyone else had these reactions to Selegiline?
> 3. Has anyone taken the combo of Selegiline and Aricept?
> Please feel free to Email me direct at: [log in to unmask]
> Thankyou,
> Susan
>
>
>
Hello Susan,
First: I noticed a 'set PARKINSN REPRO' command tangled up in the front of
your E-mail : You should address such messages to
[log in to unmask] -and the e-mail should contain Only
that 3 word message. Messages to the list- as you have discovered- are sent to:
[log in to unmask]
Regarding 'weaning-off' Selegiline, your dad has probably not formed any
significant dependancy in the short time that he has been taking it. I was
taking 1 tablet per day when I realised that it was the cause of the wild
semi-waking nightmares that I was having. I stopped taking it that very day,
and found no ill effects at all.
Selegiline is often given to newly-diagnosed PWPs in the hope that it may
slow down the rate of onset of the symptoms. The latest findings (which I
accept) suggest that in the early years there seems to be a reduction in the
rate of onset, but after 5 to 10 years, people who have taken Selegiline
are indistinguishable from those who haven't.
I suspect from what you write that your dad, although only recently
diagnosed with PD, has in fact been carrying the symptomsfor some years.
This takes him out of the beginner category, and I suggest that you ask your
neurologist why he does not start your dad on Sinemet. he may turn out to be
one of that diminishing band of dinosaurs who think that if you start on
Sinemet too early, it will somehow affect the effectiveness of sinemet much
later in the progress of the disease. The facts are: Yes, Sinemet does become
more difficult to administer dur to increasing sensitivity to dosage
variations, but if has nothing to do with when you start taking Sinemet. But
that's another story.
If your dad is only taking one Selegiline per day, I suggest that he just stops taking it.
--
Brian Collins <[log in to unmask]>
