EMSAM Reviews (SELEGILINE)

Average Rating: 3.6 (65 Ratings)

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 ANTIDEPRESSANTS

 Type: Rx Drug

  

EMSAM  (SELEGILINE):  Selegiline is an antidepressant (monoamine oxidase inhibitor) that treats depression by restoring the balance of certain natural substances (neurotransmitters) in the brain. Selegiline can improve your mood and feelings of well-being. This medication is a patch for use on the skin.   FDA Approval Date: 2006-02-27 (Sources: U.S. Centers for Medicare Services, FDA)

  

Results are sorted by Satisfaction lowest to highest.

Key to Ratings: 1=LOW (I would not recommend taking this medicine.)
5=HIGH (this medicine cured me or helped me a great deal.)

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RATING  REASONSIDE EFFECTS FOR EMSAMCOMMENTSSEXAGEDURATION/
DOSAGE
DATE ADDED
 
 1  bi-polar disorder back outs, due to sudden drops in bp I finally found a Dr. who nailed my black outs right away. since being off the drug, I have never even had a dizzy spell M 65 2 years
12 mg 1X day
6/12/2013
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 1  deprecion gain weight feom 133 to 140 my sugar go from 100 to 217 i dont like this medicine, i have to loose weight because my tipy 2 diavetis. no comments! F 50 5 weeks
6 mg 1X day
1/10/2013
 1  Depression The patch left marks on my chest een after 30 days. In addition my heart rate become even more irregular and pulse was low 42bpm then at the normal Brady Cardia rate 58bpm. Dr's were considering a pace maker. Emotionally I was not much better either. Discontinued Emsam and heart returned to normal as test by Dr. in a running stress test. So Emsam can have heart rate impact for certain people. M 60 45 days
10/4/2009
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 1  Atypical Depression Daily site-specific skin reaction to 6mg patch. Increased to 9mg for depression symptoms. Severe skin reaction under patch turned to severe auto-immune response (body-wide hives, welts, severe itching)within 4 days. Immediately stopped using Emsam, but required 2 weeks steroids to subdue hives. Also experienced insomnia on Emsam...any possible therapeutic effects got lost in side effects. Will try oral selignine next. If that doesn't work, next step is monastery in Nepal. M 57 3 months
9/21/2008
 1  depression Don't even bother trying it. Was neutral in terms of mood and just gave me intolerable insomnia and a chronic urinary tract infection. Went off it 2 weeks ago and I STILL can't sleep The cure is worse than the disease. F 45 60 days
6/7/2008
 1  Depression The discomfort of the adhesive and the remnants of the patch stay for days or more. It simply didn't work for me. There was some early relief, but it peaked so quickly and tailed off to nothing in a few months. My doctor kept telling me to wait, but there was no real help after eight full months. M 46 8 months
9/3/2007
 1  depression eye pain, severe dry eyes, insomnia No benefit for depression, eye problems intolerable F 57 5 weeks
8/8/2007
 2  Treatment Resistant Depression Nausea, constipation, abdominal pain, application site reaction (used nasal spray for allergies on skin before applying to help with this), insomnia (took off before bedtime), agitation initially I was optimistic about Emsam. Out of everything I've tried in 15+ years, Wellbutrin worked the best. It didn't help me enough but it helped with addiction and leveled out my mood. Emsam tops Wellbutrin easily. It feels more natural in comparison, and my abdominal issues are less intense. Unfortunately, Emsam although helps, is not helping enough for me. I've had no issues with the diet. I'd definitely recommend this as an introduction to an MAOI, especially if nothing else has worked. I think I'm on the right track. I'm going to try Parnate next. F 31 2 months
12 MG
9/2/2019
 2  MDD Insomnia, increased anxiety, panic attacks, hypomania at night, increased depression. I have never been diagnosed with Bipolar I or II but there were definite "bipolar lite"? mood differences. This site won't let me enter more specific details of my time length and dosage of EMSAM. I was on it for 18 months, not 2 years. This medication worked for a glorious 2 months and then I crashed in a spectacular way. This. drug. is. activating. I spent the first 6 weeks at 6 mg, 6 weeks at 9, 1 month at 12, 9 months on 9, & 6 mg for the final 5 months. The cessations of the 12 mg patch followed by the 2nd try at the 9 mg patch were only done because I got harsh with my psychiatrist and said it was becoming a quality of life issue. The insomnia was unbearable at these levels which created a dependence on Xanax XR. I found a new psychiatrist on 3/1/17 and we completely stopped the EMSAM. I had a VERY hard time coming off this medication, even though I was at the lowest dose. it took a good month for it to leave my body rather than the "normal" 2 week washout. Tried the lowest dose of Cymbalta on days 15 and 18 of the washout and I had dry heaves, extreme nausea, vertigo and feeling faint. I noticed the drug really didn't leave my system until Day 26 or 27 because that's when my current dosage of Xanax XR really began to feel sedating. If we got to try it all over again, my psychiatrist said he may have told me to cut the 6 mg patch in half (which you're not supposed to do) but what's done is done. Btw, the major withdrawal symptom I had was nausea/loss of appetite which began around Day 8 and stayed for about 2 weeks. Now I'm just flat out exhausted. (I'm F 34 2 years
6 MG
4/9/2017
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 2  Severe major depression Insomnia, irritability, fatigue, "myoclonic jerks," "visions/hallucinations in side vision, dry mouth, balance issues etc. I feel a little dumb, in that I only just have realized most of the above are side effects of Emsam. I thought most were due to untreated depression. I even went to an ophthalmologistfor the visions--I now know I also have cataracts--tho' the doc said the visions were due to that. 3 yrs. ago, I had horrible pain and almost every symptopm of depression you can think of. The pain was physical. I got 6 mos of IV ketamine treatments which took the edge off the pain. Then the Emsam plus Ativan for sleep. It probably helped some along w/ the ketamine--but there's been no further improvement. I am going back to Pristiq which is helpful to me unless the depression is very severe. Or I might try Viibyrd. F 63 3 years
12.5 mg pa 1X day
10/1/2015
 2  Atypical Depression/EDS No real side effects. No problems with patch sticking, even in the shower, or while sweating while doing yard work. No issues with alergic reaction to patch site. Let me first start by saying, if you're willing to try Emsam, be aware of the price. Most insurance companies will still leave you paying close to $600 a month. The 6,9,12mg patch all cost the same. If your doctor wants you on the 6mgs patch, have him write the script for 12mgs and just cut the patch in half. You will save money and have a two month supply. This patch did nothing for me, except suppress my sugar/carb cravings that come with Atypical Depression. I was really hoping for relief in my excessive daytime sleepiness/fatigue but it didn't help that at all. I had no issues with following the diet, though I must admit I had some parmesan cheese and tried 1 tab beer and had no problems. Caffeine did seem to increase my heart rate a bit, but nothing over 110bpm. If you're going to try a MAOI, start with Parnate or Nardil. They are the gold standard, cost MUCH less, but you MUST follow the diet restriction on them to a T! M 31 2 months
6/9 1X day
8/27/2013
 2  major depression anger, stabbing pains on lower side of ribs, slight diarrhea. while my depression improved a bit, as well as my libido, it wasn't worth the tradeoff of SEVERE anger. i felt the exact same rage when i was on Wellbutrin -- both drugs inhibit the reuptake of norepinephrine -- which is the cause of the anger side effect. F 48 7 days
6mg 1X day
5/18/2013
 2  severe depression Insomnia, homicidal thoughts not related to my illness--these were new and disturbing. Caused frequent urination I was already having with Interstitial cystitis to get worse. I was up all night and up to pee 6-7 times. No thanks. I wish I'd have had the luck that other people have. Instead of giving it a 1, I gave it a 2 because I think people with severe depression should be encouraged to at least try something to improve their lives. I couldn't shake the insomnia for anything and my dr. wanted to add Zyprexa so I could sleep. He didn't believe it made my IC worse and didn't believe it gave me homicidal thoughts. Oh well. I have tried nearly EVERY anti-depressant out there and just struggle with therapy. sigh. F 36 2 weeks
6/19/2009
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 2  Depression Headaches that would last 1-3 days with no relief. Insomnia. I started with the 6mg patch and worked up to 9mg. During this 2 month span I had about 3 episodes of severe migraine-like headaches that lasted up to 3 days. Made work unbearable. Mild insomnia. Did not help my depression but could not give it longer time due to headaches. I did almost fall over once getting out of bed due to the drop in blood pressure effect from MAOIs. F 33 2 months
3/3/2008
 2  DEPRESSION NONE Felt a buzz the morning of the 2nd day, but do not believe its doing much now. I am at 6/24. M 54 19 days
9/27/2007
 3  Atypical depression Insomnia, constipation, headaches, irritation at patch site, dizziness/blackouts on standing, blood pressure issues Depression gone, but can I survive the side effects? F 48 90 days
9 mg 1X day
2/27/2022
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 3  Major Depression and Severe Anxiety Major insomnia and Severe diahrria. Stomach cramps. I liked the way it made me feel. But not sleeping and diahrria is just too much. F 59 2 weeks
6mg
10/16/2016
 3  Major depression Headaches (which went away after 10 days) Severe insomnia which I'm still dealing with. After taking a tricyclic for 25 years (Imipramine) I felt it stopped working as well and I tired of the side effects. Tapering off to try Emsam was hell, and once I was able to start the patch, it did not start working immediately. I noticed a slight difference after 2 days, slightly better improvement after 1 week, and more improvement after a month. The problem is once it kicked in, I developed severe insomnia. I'm on Restoril for sleep right now which is pretty powerful and makes me feel groggy all day. My sleep is still not great and I can often be exhausted. I also need to take my patch off two hours before bed in order to sleep at all even with the Restoril. I'm praying this side effect goes away since I like the patch. It suppresses my appetite and I've lost a few pounds, I do not crave sweets anymore, I have stopped obsessively shopping which used to be a major problem. I have no more constipation- regular bowel movements. It has helped with my depression and anxiety quite a bit- not perfect, but I feel good. I have no issue with redness from the patch itself and I have pretty sensitive skin. Has anyone else had the insomnia and it went away? Would appreciate feedback. F 47 60 days
6mg patch 1X day
10/10/2016
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 3  for mdd insomnia is beginning to make it impossible to continue at this dosage. I don't think 6 mg will do it: but I'll try. I can't use trazadone because it causes seizures, I take 8 mg Klonopin. and 100 mg of Atarax.. Parnate didn't give me same problem. at 50 mg; just not as effective, The washout period will be hell. M 51
9mg 1X day
5/26/2016
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 3  Atypical Depression Agitation, insomnia, weight loss EMSAM is very stimulating in addition to being a great antidepressant. My underlying depression feels much improved compared to my 20 years on Prozac. However, the agitation offsets these mood gains. The agitation is both physical (reminds me a LOT of my trial of amphetamine salts) and psychological (anxiety, irritability). My doctor raised the dose to 9 mg to see if the serotonin would bump up relative to dopamine and norepinephrine, which EMSAM boosts first apparently. Unfortunately, the agitation has gotten worse, so I am starting Nardil, which is supposedly less activating. My doc says EMSAM is less likely to cause hypotension and, at the 6 mg dose, doesn't require dietary restrictions. Therefore, it seems like a great first try MAOI, but it's just too stimulating for me personally. F 40 4 months
9 mg 1X day
5/17/2012
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EMSAM  (SELEGILINE):  Selegiline is an antidepressant (monoamine oxidase inhibitor) that treats depression by restoring the balance of certain natural substances (neurotransmitters) in the brain. Selegiline can improve your mood and feelings of well-being. This medication is a patch for use on the skin.   FDA Approval Date: 2006-02-27 (Sources: U.S. Centers for Medicare Services, FDA)

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