Parkinson- insomnia & increase in sexual urge

[Iambest]

i am 50M and have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s some 2 years back. Taking pramipixole since then . My doctor has not yet started levodopa saying its effective for only 4-5 year so will give only when symptoms worsened. One symptom/ side effect which I have not read anywhere is the increase in urge for having sex, not sure if anyone else has experienced it. Other worrisome symptom is my sleep time has reduced to 3-4 hrs,

[chartist]

This is generally related to the use of the drug pramipexole as discussed here :

psychiatrist.com/pcc/treatm....

And here :

drugs.com/tips/pramipexole-...

You might talk to your doctor to see if a dosage reduction may be helpful.

Art

[20fatcats in reply to chartist]

Pramipexole effected my memory and I feel asleep at 7pm every night. Wouldn't recommend it .made me worse

[park_bear]

>"not yet started levodopa saying its effective for only 4-5 year"

This is a myth that has been disproven. See: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/250...

50% of dopamine agonist (e.g. pramipixole) users experience impulse control disorder after 5 years. That is what you are experiencing in terms of increased sex drive. In some cases this has gotten out of control and people have gotten into legal trouble. Any physician who prescribes dopamine agonists without warning about impulse control disorder is negligent. Dopamine agonists can also cause orthostatic hypotension, which means loss of blood pressure upon standing.

I recommend working with a doctor who is willing to prescribe levodopa medication.

[MarionP in reply to park_bear]

Yes you want to take Park Bears and shakin's warning in here very very seriously, all parts of it.

[shaken-not-stirred]

Please heed Park Bears warning - my husband was put on this for over 6 years - we managed to get him off it in December 2023 - this drug made his Parkinson's worse, he had nasty falls and broke bones and nearly drove him crazy. Find another Neuro - he is wrong - my husband has been on Madopar for 12 years and it works fine - to the extent he has reduced this from 187.5 x 4 times a day to 125 x 4 times a day. Pramipexole in my opinion should never be given to Parkison sufferers - the manufacturer states if this drug is given in treatment for Parkinson's make sure it is only a low dose,

[Iambest in reply to shaken-not-stirred]

Thanks, will certainly change my doc. May I know at what age your husband was diagnosed and what is his age now.is there anything I can do to slow the progression.your experience will certainly help.

[shaken-not-stirred in reply to Iambest]

Because my reply will be a lengthy one and most here have already heard most of his journey already - as well 2 things you mentioned in your post I will answer your questions in depth via Chat and post a reply here in regard to your questions.

[00Mark]

I've read that side effects can include increased libido and even compulsive behaviour including gambling, shopping etc.To be honest though, the stuff just made me very sleepy and I had to stop it.