Libido?

[kaypeeoh]

Sensitive topic for certain whether man or woman. My question is how does l- dopa affect one's libido. At age 66 I don't have much interest but I assumed it's from my age. BUT, since stopping the Rytary thing are different. Stopping rytary had several effects.

First, Suddenly my arms and legs hurt as if I've been spending hours a day in the gym and on the treadmill. I haven't been.

Second, 'morning wood' has returned. Not like a 20yr old but better than nothing.

Third, I'm not sleeping as much as I was when taking Rytary. . Possibly because I'm developing restless leg syndrome. My wife has had it for years and takes Ropinirole 4mg. I tried a dose of her her meds last night.

[Smittybear7]

Why did you go off that drug?

[kaypeeoh in reply to Smittybear7]

Years back I was diagnosed with MS. I took tysabri infusions weekly for two years then quit it, Then I was diagnosed with APS, antiphosPholipid enzyme syndrome which is a clotting problem similar to Lupus then quit that after a year. then PD.

[park_bear]

Is this muscle pain due to muscle tightness? If so that would likely be Parkinson's dystonia.

[kaypeeoh in reply to park_bear]

I'm not sure what the difference might be.

[park_bear in reply to kaypeeoh]

With dystonia discomfort is more apparent upon extension than flexion

[HekateMoon in reply to park_bear]

Thats interesting info, PB!

[park_bear in reply to HekateMoon]

It was an interesting thought but upon reflection, wrong. What I should have said is if stretching the muscle in question increases discomfort that indicates dystonia.

[Grumpy77]

Is Ropinirole also prescribed for RLS or does your wife also have PD? So you're suggesting that Rytary is the culprit for your lack of action, right? If you're not still sure, you could quickly start Rytary again and see if you're back to your previous state.

Ordinarily I would have said said no way, since these meds just dump dopamine to our brains which in turn gives us a feel-good factor

[kaypeeoh in reply to Grumpy77]

No, she has RLS but no PD. I plan to restart Rytary but wanted to find out whether I really needed it. I never had any of the typical signs; Stiffness, bradykinesia, balance problems. I've had a dominant arm tremor for 5 or 6 years. And poor handwriting. Probably some degree of cognitive malfunction.

I was a veterinarian for 35 years. I started making mistakes in dosing medication then poor decisions in surgery. These told me something was wrong but I blamed it on burnout. After 35 years working 6 days a week and seeing emergencies on Sunday several colleagues mentioned burnout was in my future. Even now I think my signs can be from depression.

[SilentEchoes in reply to kaypeeoh]

How about a trial of SAMe?

[JustJeff]

Interesting subject as an off shoot question i have often wondered how dopamine levels are effected regarding libido particularly as its the reward chemical......not sure how that could be measured and if its relevant....just a thought

[beehive23 in reply to JustJeff]

Dopamine and Male Sexual Dysfunction

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/118...

hang tough

[HekateMoon]

Its an interesting topic. For women with PD rarely spoken at least here. Probably in some PD women's groups maybe. Personally my interest is gone "pooof"or magically disappeared along with my interest in pretty clothes etc. . Not surprising as leading with pain, gastro issues and fatigue as well as life issues have its toll. The need to give and receive affection is there,thank goodness else i would start wondering if ive been abducted by aliens.... Have you drastically stopped rytary? Is it not dangerous? I thought it has to be done slowly...take care. Chelo

[kaypeeoh in reply to HekateMoon]

I'm still wondering if I truly have PD. The DAT scan says I do but I've read that 30% of people taking the DAT register false positive. I don't have typical signs like stiffness or balance problems. At the same time, I don't have "off" periods. No reaction to stopping the Rytary three weeks ago. I assumed there'd be a detox period.

[Farooqji in reply to kaypeeoh]

PD is mysterious disease and misdiagnosis is always a possibility. Here is an unusual case of a 91-year-old man with a clinical diagnosis of Parkinsons, but whose autopsy findings showed a ubiquitin-positive astrogliopathy without significant neuronal loss in the substantia nigraactaneurocomms.biomedcentra...

[xy-zt in reply to HekateMoon]

You have described my situation exactly.

[HekateMoon in reply to xy-zt]

😢🌞🙏

[Jebbie12]

I am also a 66-year-old woman with PD. My libido is about the same as before which is not too bad. I take carbo levodopa sinemet instead of Ritary. I’m also on Selegiline, entacapone and Amantadine. . I don’t know if this helps