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Positive Dopamine Agonist Experiences
Has anyone tried any dopamine agonists that they consider very beneficial for their PD rigidity, bradykinesia, and dystonia symptom relief? I’m on low dose Sinemet (one tab 25/100 twice daily) and one 1mg Azilect daily. The meds don’t ever seem to alleviate my symptoms very much but I do feel worse without them. I’ve tried generic Mirapex (pramipexole), generic Requip (ropinirole), and Neupro (rotigotine) previously but got spooked early from side effects and never got to therapeutic dose levels. I don’t want to up my Sinemet dose yet, so I might give dopamine agonists another try despite all their potential problems.
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4 Replies
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See my reply to Bob.
The pramipexole worked for me for a while but then when the edema got too much we switched to Rytary and it has been great. But it is expensive.
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Thanks Russell. Last year I started on generic 0.375mg pramipexole (manufactured by Dr Reddy labs) once daily at bedtime for a week and had mild visual disturbances (seeing brief flashing lights upon waking in the dark) the first few nights. After a week, my MDS bumped me up to 0.750mg at bedtime and I experienced the same flashing lights 5 nights in a row. My ophthalmologist said it’s nothing to worry about and something about switching rods and cones and it could be a sign the medication was working. It spooked me though so I tapered off. I may talk to my MDS about giving pramipexole another try. I tried Rytary for a month and didn’t notice any difference from generic Sinemet. Maybe I’m not patient enough.
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Actually I thought I saw a few flashes at first; I had forgotten about that. In my case, they didn’t persist. But, as I said, we all react differently. I formerly worked in the pharma field.
I wish there were generics from more reliable suppliers. You should read up on why Ranbaxy was fined $500 million by the FDA. (That is not a typo, it is a half a billion dollars. And I thought that was letting them off lightly.) I have many Indian friends but when I worked in the pharma industry I had uniformly bad experiences with ingredients and manufacturing equipment from India. However, in fairness, Dr. Reddy was not one that I worked with.
To make it harder to identify the generic manufacturers as of Indian origin they use names that sound American or Scottish, etc. But you can check the board of directors and find they are all Indian.
My rant for the day. I love their food and know many exceptional people from India but I wish I didn’t have to use their generics.
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Hi I live in Europe and have no idea what drugs you all talk about, as the terminology is maddeningly different. However I was started on Modopar (levidopa benesaride) last May, then three months later he put me on an agonist called Entecapone. taking them together.
Good news and bad news… Good news was my non-motor symptoms almost disappeared – though only when the drigs were “on” – and the bradykinesia diminished. Bad news : overwhelming apathy, fatigue, depression. Since January, he’s got me on Amantadine and Mirzatapine as well. Seems to be doing alot to reduce fatigue and re-establish a semblance of psychological “normalcy.” But also, I have refocused on activities that used to cause me pleasure (can’t play piano any more) such as cooking and gastronomy generally… that helps alot to get me out of bed.
My advice to all PD patients, as a former medical journalist, NOT a medical professional, and totally a newbie in this our PD World… deal with your sleep issues! Sleep deprivation causes depression, fatigue, apathy. It’s why it is used as torture… I am still wrestling with mine, but overall much better now. I keep some Ambien handy just in case… but I don’t usually need it. I will take it when I need it, however.
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