Pd

[160676]

Hi my name is David im from Fiji island in the Pacific i have P D on my left side im using Madopa 200/50 mg is that alright please help thanks

[johntPM]

I think you should see a doctor who can give you a proper diagnosis and who can explore with you a wider range of treatment options. But, in case your location makes it difficult to get a consultation, I add these comments:

- you write that you are only affected on one side, this is good news and suggests that you are still in the early stages of PD.

- for many PwP Madopar offers good symptomatic relief of PD (at least until the later stages).

- you mention a dose of 200/50mg. That is a reasonable total daily dose for someone starting medication. But, in my opinion, it would be better to divide it into 3 or 4 smaller doses. (This is because levodopa has a short half-life of about 90 minutes.)

- as the disease progresses you should incrementally increase your dose in order to continue to give symptomatic relief.

- you should exercise and socialize.

John

[Wendyhalpin in reply to johntPM]

I take 4x 125 mg a day and it's really helping me. My PD is right side only. Good luck

[Xenos]

Boula boula !

Did you see a neurologist ? Preferably a specialist of Movement Disorders ? Is there an hospital with a specialized unit in Fidji ?

Can you fly to Auckland and back, like once a year ?

[Hikoi in reply to Xenos]

xenos

Good ideas but it may prove very difficult. I did an internet search, as at nov 2015 Fijians do not have a neurosurgical service or a dedicated neurologist. Australia has sent a team of neurosurgeons once a year.

A doctors appt in nz would cost about $US 350

[Xenos in reply to Hikoi]

Hi Hikoi,

Then David could maybe go to Noumea, New Caledonia ? It's even closer to Fiji and an appointment should be around 80 USD. I do not know about the airfares though, hotels and stuff...

He maybe find fellow Fijians there to help him ?

[Hikoi in reply to Xenos]

Do you have to speak French?

[Xenos in reply to Hikoi]

I think that the doctors there know enough english. After all they all go vacationing in Australia, New Zealand and Fiji don't they ?

Better to clarify that point before the appointment, you are perfectly right.

[Motherfather]

yes thats right david.but try it with azilict i mg a day..you should be taking 3 mardopa a day david .

[Hikoi in reply to Motherfather]

You cant get azilect in nz with 4.5 million people, I'd be surprised if it is available in fiji with 900.000 people. Drug companies arent interested in small populations.

[Motherfather in reply to Hikoi]

go into google u can buy them on line,, new nz will have azilect.

[JohnPepper]

There is no Pd medication on the market that does anything to slow down or stop the progression of Pd. Therefore, whether you are taking any Pd medication or not, your Pd is still continuing to get worse all the time.

Pd medication is designed to mask one or two of the symptoms. That does not mean that this will work for you. If the medication you are taking does not mask any of your symptoms within a short period of time, then STOP TAKING it.

If you have been taking Pd medication for quite a while and you don’t think it is doing anything to mask any of your symptoms then slowly reduce the medication by maybe half a pill each week until it is finished. Make a note of what changes you can notice and cease reducing that medication at that point, until you feel that you have adjusted to that level of medication.

If you are on more than one medication for Pd then reduce one at a time in the suggested manner.

You should tell your neurologist what you are doing. If he/she tells you that you must or should not reduce the medication then ask him/her what it is doing for you? Refer to paragraph 1.

[Hikoi in reply to JohnPepper]

I find it concerning that this drug advice which encourages stopping meds is given and then it is endorsed by 4 people. To begin I think Probably for David English is a second language.

I do wonder about the assumptions people have made about health care and living in Fiji to give or support this advice. There is an expectation that there are neuros to start.

[Hikoi]

Bula Vinaka David

How are you going? When were you diagnosed and about how old are you? Yes Madopar is good but is it short or long acting? Who oversees yourcare? Best wishes