selegiline (oral)

Brand name(s):

selegiline, Eldepryl, Zelapar

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.

You should become very familiar with the list of foods to avoid while you are using selegiline.

Do not stop taking selegiline suddenly or you may have harmful side effects. Keep taking the medicine as prescribed. Talk with your doctor before stopping the medication.

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.

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.

Before using this medicine, tell your doctor if you have kidney disease, liver disease, heart disease, high or low blood pressure, or a seizure disorder. If you have any of these conditions, you may need a dose adjustment or special tests to safely take selegiline.

FDA pregnancy category C. This medication may be harmful to an unborn baby. Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant during treatment. It is not known whether selegiline passes into breast milk or if it could harm a nursing baby. Do not take selegiline without telling your doctor if you are breast-feeding a baby.

The selegiline disintegrating tablets may contain phenylalanine. Talk to your doctor before using this form of selegiline if you have phenylketonuria (PKU).

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