Precautions
Drug information provided by: Merative, Micromedex®
It is very important that your doctor check your or your child's progress at regular visits to make sure this medicine is working properly and to check for unwanted effects.
You should not use this medicine if you or your child are taking carbamazepine (Tegretol®), other medicines to treat depression (eg, clomipramine, duloxetine, fluoxetine, imipramine, paroxetine, sertraline, venlafaxine, Celexa®, Cymbalta®, Effexor®, Lexapro®, Paxil®, Prozac®, Zoloft®), certain pain medicines (eg, meperidine, methadone, pentazocine, propoxyphene, tramadol, Darvon®, Demerol®, Dolophine®, Ultram®), or cough medicines (eg, dextromethorphan, Benylin®). Do not use this medicine if you also take selegiline capsules or tablets.
Selegiline skin patch may cause some people to be agitated, irritable, or display other abnormal behaviors. It may also cause some people to have suicidal thoughts and tendencies or to become more depressed. Make sure the doctor knows if you have trouble sleeping, get upset easily, have a big increase in energy, or start to act reckless. Also tell the doctor if you have sudden or strong feelings, such as feeling nervous, angry, restless, violent, or scared. If you, your child, or your caregiver notice any of these side effects, tell your doctor or your child's doctor right away. Let the doctor know if you or anyone in your family has bipolar disorder (manic-depressive) or has tried to commit suicide.
When selegiline skin patch is used at low doses, there are no restrictions on the food or beverages that you can eat or drink. However, the chance exists that dangerous reactions, such as sudden high blood pressure, may occur if higher doses are used with certain foods or beverages. These foods or beverages include foods that have a high tyramine content (most common in foods that are aged or fermented to increase their flavor), such as cheeses, fava or broad bean pods, yeast or meat extracts, smoked or pickled meat, poultry, or fish, fermented sausage (bologna, pepperoni, salami, summer sausage) or other fermented meat, sauerkraut, any spoiled or improperly stored meat, poultry, fish, or animal livers, or any overripe fruit. These may also include alcoholic beverages or alcohol-free or reduced-alcohol beer and wine. Also, for at least 2 weeks after you stop using this medicine, these foods or beverages may continue to react with selegiline transdermal. If a list of these foods and beverages is not given to you, ask your doctor to provide one.
Selegiline may cause a serious condition called serotonin syndrome when used together with certain MAO inhibitors (eg, phenelzine, rasagiline, tranylcypromine) and medicines to treat depression (eg, amitriptyline, doxepin, fluoxetine, fluvoxamine, nortriptyline, paroxetine, sertraline, Elavil®, Luvox®, Pamelor®, Paxil®, Prozac®, Zoloft®). Symptoms of serotonin syndrome include: anxiety, restlessness, fast heartbeat, fever, sweating, muscle spasms, twitching, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or seeing or hearing things that are not there.
Check with your doctor or hospital emergency room immediately if severe headache, stiff neck, chest pains, fast heartbeat, or nausea and vomiting occur while you or your child are using this medicine. These may be symptoms of a serious side effect that should have a doctor's attention.
Do not expose the applied skin patch to direct heat, such as heating pads, electric blankets, heat lamps, sauna, hot tubs, heated water beds, and prolonged direct sunlight.
Before you have any kind of surgery, tell the medical doctor in charge that you or your child are using this medicine. Using selegiline together with medicines that are sometimes used during surgery may increase the effects of these medicines.
This medicine may make you dizzy or drowsy. Do not drive or do anything else that could be dangerous until you or your child know how this medicine affects you. Standing up slowly from a sitting or lying position can lessen the chance of getting dizzy.
The use of alcohol is not recommended in patients who are taking this medicine.
Do not take other medicines unless they have been discussed with your doctor. This includes prescription or over-the-counter diet pills, herbal weight-loss products, cold medicines (eg, ephedrine, phenylephrine, phenylpropanolamine, pseudoephedrine, Neo-Synephrine®, Novafed®, Sudafed®), any herbal or dietary supplement that contains tyramine, or medicines called amphetamines (also called stimulants or "uppers").
Portions of this document last updated: April 01, 2024
Copyright: © Merative US L.P. 1973, 2024. All rights reserved. Information is for End User's use only and may not be sold, redistributed or otherwise used for commercial purposes.