Drug induced Parkinsonism

[38yroldmale]

I’ve made lots of posts highlighting lots of thing to do with natural treatments like B1, Vitamin D and Restore Gold. I’ve been diagnosed for about a year but it a while to get diagnosed. C/l did nothing for me and it’s the “gold standard”. Mao-b inhibitors also pretty much nothing as well.

I started taking Lexapro around 21 years old. (I’m 39 Now)I needed it to get it through a tough time, Should have got off but did not. Fast forward to 30 years old, I switch to Celexa.

Both of those doses were the lowest. When I turn 33 my dad died suddenly and I was forced to take over quite a large business by myself. Very stressful. I went from a 10 mg to 20 mg. People around me that time noticed I started moving more rigid,More robotic like. Not really bad but when I turned about 37 it became noticeable to me. My gait was a little off. I held my arm up against my chest, like lots of Parkinson’s patients do. My fingers also would not move as fast on my right side than my left. During this time my mom was also dying. Dr. google told me Parkinsons. After my mom died and about six months before I was diagnosed I raise my antidepressant double to 40 mg. Maximum dose. My symptoms got worse overnight. I thought that it was the Parkinson’s progressing. I had an official DatScan that was positive for Parkinson’s, while I was on the high doseOf antidepressant. They gave me medicine but I never felt it was really working. I started to slowly taper off that antidepressant and had an immediate positive impact. And my symptoms improved the more I got off of the antidepressant. I slowly stopped improving while completely off of antidepressant but on my Parkinson’s meds. I decided to check My progression they getting off all Parkinson’s meds. Not only did I not feel any worse, I felt much better. That was about a week ago, every day I feel a little better.

Drug-induced Parkinson’s does not respond to typical Parkinson’s medication. (Like

Me) I’ve learned in rare cases SSRI antidepressants can cause DIP.

DatScan’s are typically used to differentiate between Parkinson’s and DIP. I had a positive DatScan. That means I have Parkinson’s. I’m confused?

I now wonder if I might have just unmasked Parkinson’s early. About 15 to 20% of people who get drug induced Parkinson’s does this.My dad got Parkinson’s in his 60s. My question is in those 15 to 20%, Will They ever respond to Parkinson’s meds?

I am on zero pharmaceuticals and haven’t felt this good for years? With my long-term use of antidepressants, my improvement while getting off antidepressants, My lack of responding to typical Parkinson’s meds, and my improvement getting off all Parkinson’s meds needs me to believe I might have DIP.

There’s a ton of smart people on this board, I’d like to know your thoughts.

[park_bear]

Well done analysis of the situation. I suggest you get your genome checked by 23 and me to see if you have mutations linked to Parkinson's.

[MBAnderson]

Sounds to me like you figured it out about right.

Re 'will you ever be responsive to Sinemet?' If you're not, I wouldn't worry about it too much. I, too, am unresponsive to C/L, so we have to work around that, i.e., figure out alternative therapies.

There's a lot of people on this forum for whom Sinemet does little or nothing who have found a regime and are doing fine.

[cflloyd]

Found this on Google - “DaTscan is an imaging drug that will be injected into the bloodstream to help your doctor assess dopamine transporters, which help recycle dopamine, a chemical involved in controlling movement.”

So, Datscan is a imaging test used to determine dopamine production....but is not necessarily proof that you have Parkinson’s. My husband’s Dr also had said this. I personally believe that many meds may responsible for Parkinson’s onset. My husband was on two blood pressure medications and I believe one was responsible for his condition or maybe for intensifying the situation and causing earlier onset.

Glad that you’ve been able to get off of the SSRI. I took Lexepro and then Celexa as well for a time. It made me not really care about anything. My housework went by the wayside and I’m still trying to dig myself out of the mess. I really feel that the increase in suicides is a result of us always trying to find a pill to fix everything and these antidepressants give us the ability to give up... if that makes any sense.

Good luck with everything and so glad to hear that your symptoms are resolving!

[chartist]

38yroldmale,

Perhaps an analysis by Dr. Laurie Mischley's dogs that are purported to be able to sniff out PD patients might be a way to add confirmation to the DatScan result?

Art

[health_detective]

Your situation sounds similar to mine. I was on antidepressants for many years, mainly Wellbutrin XL. However, I developed a tremor after taking Cymbalta for 2 years (during which it put me in a deep depression!). I was then diagnosed with Parkinson's (2012), but I've never had a DAT scan to confirm that diagnosis. My tremor is entirely on my left side, so the doctors take one look at me and say, "You've got Parkinson's."

While my tremor does respond to C/L (Sinemet), I've had very bad reactions to 2 different PD meds, Mirapex/pramipexole and selegiline. I've just recently begun trying HDT, and I'm already seeing some positive results from it. I've also discovered (through this forum) the fightingparkinsonsdrugfree.... site, and your case and mine have some similarities to his: long-term stress followed by a diagnosis of PD. I've also had issues with my electrolytes, which correlates with his belief that PD is primarily an electrical problem, not a chemical one.

My dad has also developed a tremor in the last few years, but he did not respond to C/L. He did have a DAT scan, which looked fairly normal, but he was told that those scans aren't always conclusive. So, we're not sure what to make of that.

No answers, just more information from a fellow traveler on this path. Blessings to you.

[38yroldmale in reply to health_detective]

Thanks man! How are u doing currently?

[health_detective in reply to 38yroldmale]

I'm not doing too badly, all things considered. I was 50 when I got my diagnosis, and I'm 58 now, so I'm still on the young side for a PwP. My condition appears to be tremor-dominant, so I don't have a lot of other symptoms to deal with. That said, I have to take a fairly high dose of C/L - 2.5 tablets (250 mg) 5 times per day - and it doesn't keep the tremor completely at bay. It got much worse about 15 months ago (after my reaction to selegiline), and I've been on medical leave from work since then as it has been bad enough to prevent me from typing on the computer when it's active (I'm a programmer). Since I started this current dosage and HDT, it seems to be much better - less severe when it is active, and much more predictable. So, I'm hopeful that I'll be able to return to work in a few months or so. In the meantime, I continue to search for other helpful treatments. My MDS told me that DBS may be my next best option, and I'm not ready to go there yet.