Parkinson's Disease Support Group

Parkinson's disease is a movement disorder often characterized by muscle rigidity, tremor, a slowing of physical movement, and in extreme cases, a loss of physical movement. The primary symptoms of Parkinsons are due to excessive muscle contraction, normally caused by the insufficient formation and action of dopamine, which is produced in the dopaminergic neurons of the...

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deleted_user 12/27/2012

I have been on Azilect since diagnosis and the side effects of it were worse at the beginning. My neuro added Mirapex because I have the misfortune of having the depression aspect of PD. i was on Pristiq before my dx for years and I desperately wanted to get off of it. Now I'm doing Azilect and small doses of Mirapex 3x per day. I have received messages and have read not great things about Mirapex and wanted to see if I could get input before I fully get involved with it. Any good things or really bad things to share? Also any good supplements to recommend and when to take such as CoQ10 and Ashwa...?

This whole thing with titrating and adding and removing is overwhelming.

deleted_user 12/27/2012

I strongly recommend you read up on Amantadine which has side effect of swollen purple ankles but may give you a year of relief and time to make up your mind about the other drugs. I have been avoiding Mirape x for almost 9 years now/ Mucuna Puriens is helpful.

deleted_user 12/27/2012

I had increased tremors and was very "hyper" on mirapex. It had no effect on my symptoms.

Joanee63 12/28/2012

I just had my neuro take me off mirapex. I had read two articles just lately about some testing they had been doing with people on miapex and found a higher rate of heart failure in people with PD who were on mirapex. Unfortunatly for me I have been on it for many years, but no more , She purt me on Ropinerol and we are working my way iup to a higher dose because right now it is not giving me the help I need.
About amantadine.................it worked wonders for me in stopping the body movements but gave me really bad dry mouth, to the point that my mouth was raw. Got off of it and my dry mouth is much better, but body movements are worse.
With these meds, it can be really tough choices and you just kind of have to decide what is best for you. Good Luck to you.

Joanee

hisknobs 12/29/2012

Debhopes, Mirapex worked great to control my hand tremors BUT, the side effect that is the big one to watch out for is compulsive behavior. These include gambling, eating, sexting, shopping, computer use. I was fortunate to figure this out before the gambling got totally out of control. I got off mirapex. If you have a compulsive personality to begin with share this concern with your family so they can watch you more carefully. Good luck and good health Alex

deleted_user 12/29/2012

Hi hoppe Iam taking Mirapex 5 x a day. do not have problem with that .
But I was changed to Mirapex ER and with that I developed compulsive behavior . So I got off it. and am back on the regular and am OK. Alex is rt , if you go on it ,tell your family to watch for the compulsive behavior. Q 10 I take 100 Mg with every dose of my PD meds. Good luck . Zlatica

PSullivan 12/29/2012

Deb, Mirapex was like a wonder drug for me when it came to my tremors. Then after being on it a year and a half I started a lot of compuslive behavior. Started spending a LOT of money... my doc took me off it immediately. I have also since bening off developed a heart issue and am wondering if maybe it's due to being on it for so long? I haven't read that research but intend to. Just be very cautious and on "compulsive behavior alert" good luck to you!! paula

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