Requip and natural treatments

[Marcia123]

Has anyone used Requip? I am just starting to try Parkinson’s meds. I got a huge headache and was extremely tired. Also I do not want to lose more weight as I have already lost 12 pounds. Does anyone recommend any natural treatments? Does anyone connect Parkinson’s with lymee?

[park_bear]

Requip is a dopamine agonist. Dopamine agonists are associated with a variety of severe adverse effects. Personally I would consider levodopa based medications, either prescription or natural.

[Marcia123 in reply to park_bear]

Which natural do you recommend ?

[park_bear in reply to Marcia123]

I will defer to someone with experience with natural products to answer that question.

[Hikoi]

I started on Requip 12 years ago and I am still on an agonist with no severe adverse effects. It took some time for my body to adjust though. These are powerful meds. I dont follow your connection with meds and loosing weight. I think the opposite is true. No meds can lead to swallowing problems, slow gut etc that can impact weight.

[honeycombe3 in reply to Hikoi]

Hello Hikoi,

I have resurfaced briefly and the word Requip leapt off the page. Where you lead I follow - which means that any information should be reasonably informed. I have now been diagnosed for 16 yrs and the only med I have taken the whole time is Requip (currently Requip4). It is so important that any meds or treatments are slowly and carefully adjusted which is the point that things often go awry.

I think the reference to weight means that Marcia is hoping to gain weight due to compulsive behaviours.such as binge eating. I gained over 2 stones very quickly.

[bassofspades]

I used it for a few months. was up to 3mg, 3x a day. it helped a little, not much, but made me really sleepy, so I stopped taking it. I feel better when I dont take it. Be careful, it can cause you to use poor judgement and make dumb decisions without you even realizing it. I wrote a nasty letter to my boss and I felt petty good about it at the time, but boy did I regret it for weeks later, and she is just now starting to speak to me again. I hear stories of people leaving their spouse for easy sex and losing everything to gambling as well.

[Davor1]

Hi Marcia123, I was taking it for years before I began with Madopar, starting in 2013 after being diagnosed. It helped quite a bit, but after a few years I felt more and more tired during the day, had Audio-illusions and swollen legs. 3 years ago I started with Madopar and I felt much better....still taking 4 mg of Requip retard a day because of it‘s neuroprotection (which is not proven)....

[Hikoi in reply to Davor1]

I tstarted Madopar quite soon after the agonist. I find being on both works well.

Yes bassofspades is right, he is talking about compulsive behaviour which happens to a number of people. Need to monitor for it.

[bcowart]

Look for a book called “integrated medicine for neurological disorders” by Sidney Kurn. In the chapters about Parkinson’s disease you’ll find a lot of information about supplements and herbs and so forth.

[honeycombe3]

There are drawbacks to most new drugs and treatments including agonists. I have had problems with my dopamine levels identified in 1996. My consultant told me to expect to take Paroxetine for the rest of my life. This was the taboo drug of its day. It could make me suicidal, have compulsions etc.Yes but I am an adult I am capable of communicating these concerns to relevant people and make sure that these are monitored. Sorry this has triggered an unexpected reaction. Perhaps there is place for most things if we are receptive and informed.

[Beamishmom]

Hi, Marcia123, The most important thing you can do for yourself is exercise! Don't go nuts but read articles about cycling and PD; exercise and PD. Use Requip as little as possible and if you ever need to reduce your dose of Requip go very slowly and be prepared to experience withdrawal symptoms. You may find that Requip causes RLS symptoms to increase. At some point you take what is available, but diet and exercise will help!

[mgregor6]

Mucuna pruriens , B1 HCL. I think these are more or less all natural. I recommend them both.

[gginto]

EXERCISE - cardio and weight training...every day... as long as you can move you can exercise... It really helps against the symptoms of PD!