JUST CURIOUS

[TEAH35]

Since joining this forum I have been so well educated and so well informed, but still I find myself coming up with questions. I am beginning to realise that maybe I have been very lucky, in that I have been taking very heavy medications for many, many years, and it's only now that I'm heading towards augmentation. I've been on Madopar for over 20 years and a heavy user of Sifrol for 7/8 years. Is there somebody on this forum that could say that's a long time to be taking them without complication. Yes I know, that's a very difficult question to answer, as our experiences are many and varied. BUT .... is it possible to give me a ballpark figure? As the heading says .... I'm just curious. I know the replies won't change anything.

[restlessstoz]

I began on levodopa about 12 years ago but it didn't seem to do much so I was put on Sifrol and it was about 8-10 years before my symptoms started stretching to the morning and early afternoon, as well as evening and night . I didn't even realise that this was augmentation- or that there was such a thing, until I joined the forum 6 weeks ago. I had increased the dose about 3 or 4 years ago from 0.025 mg in the evening to twice that dose, and the neurologist had approved my increasing it further however, I don't know that he even understood or had heard about augmenting on it until I raised the issue last week. Now he also tells me that you can augment on Tramadol which I've been on for just as long and increasing the dose gradually over time.

Now I just want to decrease everything and start again but I know that's probably not practical or even desirable. One develops a distrust of medications very quickly...and doctors!