Requip

[Catlou]

Looking at adding this who can tell me they are taking this ,how much. And does it help?

[park_bear]

Requip is a dopamine agonist ("DA"). Some people find DAs helpful but please be aware they can cause two different disabling conditions: Impulse control disorders ("ICDs") and orthostatic hypotension ("OH").

ICDs run the gamut from compulsive sex to compulsive shopping, gambling or eating. Someone needs to be watching over your behavior because /compulsive/ is the operative word here. Nonetheless, once started, some people become unable to quit DAs due to extreme depression upon withdrawing DAs.

OH is equally serious and less acknowledged. OH refers to a disability of the body's postural blood regulation system, as in - stand up, faint, fall down. This is often coupled with SH - supine hypertension. I suffered this condition after just 15 daily doses of the starting dose of a DA. How bad can it get ? Think BP 54/46 standing up and 264/157 lying down, with photos of the measurements to prove it.

OH can also be caused by PD. If you get DA caused OH the MD may well blame it on the PD, in which case you can get really screwed as a patient.

[MBAnderson in reply to park_bear]

Good advice. Do your own research. Then do more research. I've seen 3 neurologist at the VA and they disagree with each other re the various therapies. That says it all. You have to accept responsibility for your own health care.

[stevie3]

I was extremely nervous about taking requip, largely because I was very worried about the potential side effects and I held off as long as I could. However, the time came that I really needed something and so I cashed the prescription, took a deep breath and went for it. My neurologist tirated my dosage up very gradually - so, over a period of a few weeks, I went from 0.5 mg X 3 daily, up to 4mg. It wasn't the magic bullet I'd hoped for but it made a big difference to my symptoms. I eventually tirated up to 6 mg.

I had a close friend and my husband watch closely for behavioural changes and I also checked my blood pressure daily. It's all been fine. I think requip gets a bad press because of the potential side effects but these are relatively rare. However, I would advise caution and letting someone close know what's going on and having them monitor you.

[NanCyclist in reply to stevie3]

I take 8 mg daily and have had none of the side effects. I'm. told it extends the efficacy time of the Sinemet. I tried Mirapax first and. had all the horrid side effects, but no problem with either Requip or Neupro.

[jeeves19]

Like Nan 8mg with no side effects and yes it helps (I take Azilect too). Headaches to start but I took it at night thinking it'd dissipate whilst asleep. A nurse advised me to take in the morning as movement helps more with the dissipation around the system and the headaches stopped.

[Catlou in reply to jeeves19]

Ok this is all scarey.I now take 1/2 100 mg sineret + 1/2 2590 sineret extended release 4x a day. I tried ritary which works longer but it made me really unbalanced. Fallling over all the time. Tried it 4 times and same thing. Now it is happening with sineret too but less and maybe will get better with time. So im off rytary permanently. Just hope I didn't mess things up. In taking it 5x day now too. What else will help. If not reship is there something else.

[Catlou in reply to Catlou]

Sorry for

[Catlou in reply to Catlou]

The self correcting feature on the phone.

[park_bear in reply to Catlou]

Azilect and selegiline are MAO-B inhibitors that some patients find helpful. I have been taking one or the other all along and never have been convinced they made any difference in my case. (Hikoi says selegiline gives her OH but she takes it anyway) . Some patients find amantadine helpful. It aggravated my dry mouth condition so it didn't work for me, but no harm was done finding that out.

Since you have been experiencing falls it wouldn't hurt to get a blood pressure cuff and make sure you are not having OH. Are you falling due to musculature / balance issues or lightheadedness?

One more thing - Qigong practice has helped me personally, but I may be exceptional. See my post on that for more info.