ropinerole failing switched to pramipexol... - Cure Parkinson's
ropinerole failing switched to pramipexole,USELESS, reluctant to supplement with carbidopa/ levidopa, for fear of diskinesea, HELP, IDEAS
Can you give us some background? How long have you been diagnosed Professor and what have you tried up til now?
wordworks2001 0 minutes agoDelete
The two drugs you mentioned are dopamine agonists. I've been on both. Pramipexole worked well but caused me to be a compulsive gambler and I don't recall ropinerole working at all. They are supposed to trick the brain into believing it is producing dopamine. I liked another dopamineagonist when I took it before the FDA took it off the market for a while. It is the Rotigotine Transdermal System or Neupro patch. I may ask my neurologist to put me back on it.
I was on the MAO-B inhibitor Selegiline for a short time. I don't recall it working. I am now on Azilect (rasagaline) 1mg each morning, another MAO-B inhibitor and it seems to do the job it is supposed to, blocking an enzyme in the brain that breaks down levodopa.
I also take Entacapone, 200mg. Its brand name is Comtan and it is a COMT inhibitor. It delays wearing off by prolonging effectiveness of levodopa. My dosage of Sinimet is 25/100 and it has remained the same since I started taking it in 1998. For a while I was on the regular and long acting tablets but stopped the long acting several years ago.
I control any dyskinesia or dystonia that is induced by my medications by skipping a dose of Comtan. I was taking it every eight hours and began experiencing a pretty bad amount of tremors about 15 minutes after taking it. The tremors lasted about 45 minutes. When I changed the Comtan to every 12 hours, the dyskinesia and dystonia still occurred but not nearly as severely or as long as before the change.
Of course I consulted my neurologist before making any changes. There area couple dozen drugs used to treat PD. I think for many of us who have it, finding the right drugs and dosage combinations makes our lives much easier.
i recently switched from Pramipexole .25 to the Neupro Patch 2 mg and it made me very dizzy and was vomiting on the the 3rd i had to remove patch n go back on the other pill...wish the patch would worked for me bec i have alot of "wear off" time where i can't do anything. i also take sinemet. it almost felt like i was overmedaed but doc said that was good mg for me. i also couldnt focus my eyes felt like i was cross eyed
That's unfortunate TM. When I started the patch, years ago, I started at 2mg and eventually we increased it to 10mg a day. I had no bad side effects at all.
The dyskinesia isn't so bad and doesn't occur until much later. But everyone's different.
As a result of my participation in a drug study, we have reduced my Pramipexole 1.5mg @6am, 12N, and 1mg@6pm to 1mg@6am, 12N, and .5mg@6pm to combat some compulsive behaviors brought on by the combination of Pramipexole and Azilect.
Azilect is an MAOI which works by blocking the breakdown of dopamine. My results were dramatic when we switched from the placebo to Azilect. Within three days, my movement and balance were improved and have continued to improve over the past three months. I walk without a cane most of the time unless I anticipate being in a crowd or out for a long period of time.
Of course, I was diagnosed only one year ago after about two years of symptoms that I thought were deficits from brain cancer and surgery in 2007. PD hit me hard from behind and was taking its toll rapidly. With the addition of Azilect to my regime, I feel almost like I did at the time I was diagnosed. I am grateful for this drug and the positive changes it has brought to the activities of daily living.
We all have a different experiences of this disease, and I witness in awe the stories of those whose journey has been long and arduous. Thank you for letting me share part of mine.
Dear Professor
How annoying it is to hear that everybody's Parkinson's is different and we all react in different ways to medication. Frustrating or what?
However, perhaps you could think of this in a different way? What are your life goals? How do you rate your enjoyment of life, your independence, and your ability to do what you want? Are you prepared to try and improve this for what could be quite a few years and balance that against the chance of dyskinesia in the future?
Only you can answer this question. Perhaps others, with dyskinesia, on this site could let you know if they find their dyskinesia their worst symptom. Also, it would be good to hear from people with different levels of dyskinesia. I have friends who call it 'the fidgits' and think it was a good trade.
Not everybody gets debiltating dyskinesia and Michael J Fox has found a medication which is helping him.
My husband has decided to take sinemet and claim a functioning life. Who knows what tomorrow will bring? Taking a risk is all part of living. BUT only you can set the odds. Only you know how important your different symptoms are to you. Only you can do the Math(s) for you but we could help by being honest in our description of life before and after L-Dopa and with Dyskineas.
Best wishes and let us know what you decide.
Sue
I have tried all the DA's and can just tolerate a low (6mg) dose of Requip. But the drugs that make the most difference are Azilect and Amitriptyline.
I can walk smoothly again, type and write again because of those!!
Caroline.
Hello,
May I ask how many mg of Amitriptyline you are taking per day? Recently, I took up to 30mg per night and found I was sweating profusely during the night possibly because it messed my blood sugar up!.
Thank you.
Norton
Hi
i take just 10mg which has really helped with the neck and shoulder pain.
Thank you for your reply. When I initially only took 10mg of Amitriptyline I found it did not cause me to sweat profusely, but it has other downsides such as increasing weight and tendency to constipation. Fortunately, I did not need it for pain relief.
Norton
back on ropinerole, plus selegeline, wheezy swollen legs/ ankles really im completely fucked
sore back stiff getting worse, and thers no route to relief, my gp tries but it is a guessing game
humour is all stopping the life sentences horrific advances
wise man FUHKTIVVANO,,,say,,,, 2013 ...cure WHAT CHANCES
