MAO-B inhibitor

[Trusam2913]

New to this forum but thought might ask if anyone has used the above inhibitor? John Pepper recommends as it stops the depletion of any dopermine still in the brain. Any Ideas? Thanks

[TheresaCurley]

I take a MAO-B inhibitor as do many of us here. I take Azilect, I believe the generic name is Ragasline (I could be wrong). I don't know if it works or not. It seems like my PD has advanced considerably in the last year.

[JohnPepper in reply to TheresaCurley]

Have you tried doing the fast walking, which I found, in addition to the MAO-b inhibitor? The two together was a winning formula for me. Maybe you are unable to walk. If so, is it because you are shuffling or is it for other health reasons? I can help you with the shuffling!

By the way, Rasagiline is the chemical used in Azilect! Selegiline is the chemical used in Eldepryl.

[Trusam2913 in reply to JohnPepper]

Thanks John I have no walking problems and started fast walking yesterday. So I intend to try your system.

[Beverly2017 in reply to JohnPepper]

I think rasagiline is the base for Azilect and sageline. Sageline has amphetamine in it I think . Azilect is the new more expensive version of sageline or eldepryl. I've probably misspelled all these medicines.

[JohnPepper in reply to Beverly2017]

Rasagiline is the chemical formula and the trade name is Azilect. Selegiline is the chemical formula and the trade name is Eldepryl

They are both MAO-b inhibitors, but they are not exactly the same and do different things and have different side effects.

[Beverly2017 in reply to JohnPepper]

Which is best.??

[JohnPepper in reply to Beverly2017]

I only have experience of one type and that is Eldepryl (Selegiline) but Azilect (Rasagiline) is a newer type and might be better. Compare the prices and the side effects.

[fullinspections in reply to JohnPepper]

azilect now is available in GENERIC now much cheaper. been on it for 1 year along with john pepper's walking suggestion. feeling good

[Hikoi in reply to Beverly2017]

Selegiline has the feel good factor as it is also an antidepressant. Rasagiline would be considered the best for PD.

[TheresaCurley in reply to JohnPepper]

John I have two problems with fast walking. First being any time I try to walk fast I fall. Last winter I took a really bad fall in the Parking Lot of a movie rushing to my car. That sort of thing has happened many times. The other is strength. I feel as weak as a newborn kitten and if I exert a lot of energy I feel like I'm going to faint. My limit has gotten down to 20 minutes of low to moderate exertion so that is what I do. I take my dog on a walk on days that the weather permits. Pushing myself makes my condition worse. I've tried that and it results in me being bed ridden for the day. I just feel I can't do what you suggest and it absolute amazes me that other Parkinson's Patients can. Sometimes I think I must have some other type of Parkinson's than other people because it is obvious to me it is progressing faster than expected.

[Beverly2017 in reply to TheresaCurley]

Theresa. Just take baby steps. Increase as you feel better. Don't give up. Do other exercise inside if weather is bad.

[JohnPepper in reply to TheresaCurley]

We are all different! For most of my adult life I have had to do some serious exercise, because of a prolapsed disc in my lower back. At that time, when I was 26 years of age, I was in such pain and distress one morning, that I had to sit on the pavement, with my feet in the gutter, because I just could not move another inch. After quite a while, when people stopped to ask me what was wrong, I just had to get up and walk on to my doctor's surgery. He gave me an injection to deaden the pain and sent me off home. I had the choice then of doing some exercise or becoming a cripple. I got a prescription for pain killers and started going to the gym, to strengthen my core muscles. In that way, my muscles got stronger and my pain got less. Six months later, I was able to move quite freely. Since then I have lived a normal life. Only seventeen years later, I had the offending disc removed from my lower back and have never looked back since.

Why am I telling you this? Had I just give in to the incredible pain and continued to take pain tablets, without taking any remedial action, I don't know what would have happened to me.

I cannot offer you any useful advice because I don't know enough about you. However, If you understand what I mean about walking consciously, you will start now to do just that. Wherever you are, indoors or out, you HAVE to consciously control your legs and feet movements. If you don't, then you will continue to fall. When you have mastered the conscious control of your movements then you should start to walk, as fast as YOU can, for no more than 10 minutes. Do That every second day for 2 weeks. Then If you feel strong enough, then add up to five minutes onto your walking time. As you get stronger you will find that every second week you will be able to add on some more time, no more than 5 minutes, until you are able to walk for an hour. Then you can continue walking every second day, trying to walk faster and faster.

If you are overweight, you should try to seriously lose some of that weight, it is not doing you any good!

I wish you lots of determination and mental strength to do something about your situation. Only you can do it! Medication will not make you better!

[TheresaCurley in reply to JohnPepper]

Gee John --- I know how thoroughly convinced you are that you are right and have lots of evidence to back up your convictions. But when anyone takes on the persona of omniscient the natural response is to resist. Why do you assume that I do not walk consciously? Here's a newsflash -- a person can be very conscious of their steps and still loose their balance. Why do you assume I am overweight? Do I look overweight in my picture? I weight 135 and am 5'3" -- judge for yourself whether or not I am overweight. Why do you assume I have not tried when I tell you over and over again I tried to do more exercises? Four years ago I was fast walking about 4 miles a day. I kept it up because I loved to do it. I live in the country it is beautiful and I have empty roads to wander. I'm in Arkansas and most of the year we have very pleasant temperatures. Implying I don't have determination or mental strength is offensive. Each year I can do less. I've pushed myself to the point of collapsing and it was not helping, in fact it was harming my overall health. In my humble opinion your Parkinson disease is amazingly non-progressive, I will grant you that. You have a right to feel lucky about that and that you are able to do exercise in the way that you do is very fortunate, but please stop putting down those of us that are not able to. Your self-righteousness is repugnant.

[JohnPepper in reply to TheresaCurley]

Hi Theresa. Let me apologize first. I don't ,mean to be so abrupt.

I did not assume that you are fat. I said, "If you are overweight" I did not assume that you were, how could I?

I speak to so many people that it is impossible for me to remember what people tell me. But I have spoken to many people who complain that the walking does not work, but when I ask them how did they get to the time they tell me they were walking, when the wheels fell off, and they say anything but the time I suggest, namely starting at a maximum of 10 minutes, and walk every second day for two weeks. Then add on another five minutes for the next two weeks. then every second week they must add another five minutes until they reach one hour.

Before you tell me that you did all that, I am not assuming that you did not do that, I am only saying to you that it only works when you do it properly.

So I will end the lecture and will make a point of not responding to you, IF IT ANNOYS YOU SO MUCH! Just let me know!

[TheresaCurley in reply to JohnPepper]

As we say here in the South.....BLESS YOUR HEART!

[Hikoi in reply to TheresaCurley]

I hope you are not feeling guilty for speaking for yourself Theresa. You seem to me to be describing muscle weakness due to a chemical (low dopamine) cause and what you were told is it is possible because i managed through the pain of a slipped disc. A mechanical problem is so different from a neurological problem that the example really is irrelevant to your situation. Being told it only works when you do it PROPERLY is no help either, Remember not one other person has reported long term success with this method and that is because John by his own admission does not have ideopathic pd.

Tthere are some people with idiopathic pd who have chronic tiredness. It does not mean you have something worse than pd it means its tough for you and it takes some adjusting to and no amount of lecturing can change your physiology.

Have a woderful time with your family at disneyland , i think it is a truely great plan and it will do what you hope - create memories that will outlast you and will be fondly recounted in the years to come.

[TheresaCurley in reply to Hikoi]

No guilt here. The term "Bless your Heart" is a euphemism used here in the Southern section of the US that is anything but a compliment or a sincere well wishing. It basically means "May God help you because you are such an idiot no-one can"

[Hikoi in reply to TheresaCurley]

Well well, who would have thought. one learns something new every day!

[JohnPepper in reply to TheresaCurley]

I am a little wary of answering this post. Nobody is going to be able to do fast walking if they don't first learn how to use their conscious brain to control the walking. Rushing to your car is absolutely dangerous if you are not in full control of your walking. You may think that you have gone through all the steps of learning how to walk properly, but did you succeed in getting the required results?

When we have gone through the slow progression process of starting fast walking, after we have mastered the conscious control, we take six months of fast walking, during which time we build up our strength. If we miss out on that process then we will obviously battle with strength issue.

I am not saying that you did not go through all those steps but if you did, you could not have been doing it right.

I sincerely hope that you can overcome this problem. Won't you speak to me by email please and I will go through the whole procedure, week by week until you start to improve.

You can get me on my website, reverseparkinsons.net

[TheresaCurley in reply to JohnPepper]

I thought you promised not to answer my posts anymore? Please leave me alone John.

[Pats68 in reply to JohnPepper]

John, I do shuffle. They started me on Selegiline last week and everything seems worse. My legs are weaker, my balance is worse, have headache. Any idea?

[Trusam2913 in reply to TheresaCurley]

Thanks for replying re MAO-B just been to my GP but he wants to get my BP down before any other changes to med so I'll wait awhile.

[BUZZ1397 in reply to Trusam2913]

That (hyper-tensiveness) is the DRAWBACK! of rasagaline/azilect. Stick with that doctor. There are some foods and herbs from which food sourced extracts are made that are effective MAO-B inhibitors. livestrong.com/article/8297...

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Querc...

Be well and keep up a good spirit

[partypants in reply to TheresaCurley]

Hi Theresa - just seen your reply here. Sounds like the Trazodone hasn't been helping the PD progression ?

As an aside I read on the contra-indications for Trazodone MAO-inhibitors were listed,

"Do not use trazodone if you have taken an MAO inhibitor in the past 14 days. A dangerous drug interaction could occur. MAO inhibitors include isocarboxazid, linezolid, phenelzine, rasagiline, selegiline, and tranylcypromine. After you stop taking trazodone, you must wait at least 14 days before you start taking an MAOI."

Do you take rasagiline/azilect with Trazodone without problems ?

Did your doctor consider this (it may be old/outdated advice) ?

[TheresaCurley in reply to partypants]

I'm good...yes I take both Trazodone and Azilect and there is no interaction and my Neuro who is one of the best in a Research hospital - UAMS - has told me it is safe to do. Thanks for your concern.

[partypants in reply to TheresaCurley]

Thanks Theresa.

[JohnPepper]

You have made my day! Thank you!!!

[Beverly2017]

Yes I use Azilect and have for 4 yrs. It slows progress. I'm doing great. My tremor is hardly visible. Just a few complaints but all manageable. I try and exercise everyday and eat and sleep well. Dealing with stress is another challenge.