Medication by Patch

Hi gtm
Ive tried Neupro patches.
They come in 2mg 4mg 6 mg and 8 mg / 24hr strengths. The trouble I found with them is the size and the poor adhesive properties of the larger patches. The 2mg patches are approx 2.5 cms square but they increase in size to 10 cms for highest dose. They need to be stuck in a smooth wrinkle fee, hair free site (not a lot of those!) and cant go back on the same place for 14 days. Rubbing of clothes and movement made them come unstuck and therefore ineffective. I also developed an allergic skin reaction to either the plastic or the adhesive On discussion my dr said this was common.
In my personal experience of all the medications Ive had I found these to have poorest symptom control and to have the most side effects (difficulty walking, slurred speech, mental confusion, swelling of legs and feet) It was sad because the concept of 1 no pill treatment a day was exciting.
In Uk the cost of Neupro also meant special funding had to be granted before it could be prescribed.

Different PD medications suit different people therefore they may be great for others - the above is only my personal view and should not stop anyone from seeking treatment

Mayfly

diax 2000

Post Edited (Mayfly) : 6/11/2007 11:43:46 PM (GMT-6)

I have been on the patches since October last year and have just gone up to 8m from 6 mg. Yes I have marks from the patches but I keep my sreas of use well oiled with 0.5% cortisone cream and moisturiser and keep the areas well shaven. Arms, legs, backs of shoulders backs of claves. I have mild oedema but nothing to write home about and all in all I manage relatively well on them. I have the added difficulty of osteo arthritis and suffer severe pain from that and until my hip is replaced we won't really know the true extent of pd affectation. I accept that my progreassion has been slow and this will affect the efficacy of the patches but try them by all means, I have had no metal confusion, no real difficulty in walking other than OA and the marks are manageable. I could probably have more effective meds but I am putting off till as late as possible the heavy duty stuff preferring a little difficulty whilst it is manageable for morre effective relief later - my choice supported by my neuro.
Hope that this is helpful.
The Bear

Unfortunately my daughter had a violent vomiting attack on just one 2mg patch and a bit under 24 hrs. It was absolutely exhausting for her and me. She wanted to go to bed right after I cleaned her up. No patch tonight. Hopefully, she'll be back to her "normal" in the morning.

Thanks Bear. I have a 7 day box of trials, so I may try again when I plan ahead for a difficult Saturday night. Sunday and today have been hard days for me personally as a caregiver. I think I finally figured out why. I was talking to a friend over a glass of wine tonight and I always hang on to the hope that every new med will "cure" her ... that she'll walk in my bedroom in the morning and say "Look Mom, no wheelchair". My friend, with all good intentions, said, you need to stop expecting the cure and just hope for her relief. Hard to do, but she's right!

Hi

I'm new here. From the UK. Dx 2003 aged 46, now 51. .I'm affected by tremor but my biggest problem is extreme difficulty walking. This has been developing for years before dx. I cope pretty well - no depression despite (perhaps because!!) of the divorce fron hell. Adrenaline's a good medication! In April this year I was one of the first people in this health authority to be prescribed the Neupro patch and I'm interested to read of others' experience and to contribute my own, for what it's worth. (Sorry re typos - takes me ages to type and I'm too impatient to correct them all)

 I had high hopes - but sadly not been realised. I'd been on 10mg selegeline for a couple of years but didn't really notice ny improvement or slowing down of progressiion. At Easter I started 2mg patches, gradually building up  to 8mg. No  problems up to 6mg - but no physical improvement either - but at 8mg things went v pear-shaped. All the PD symptoms - tremor/rigidity - got worse and spread to usually unaffected right side. Scary! Shortly after going up to 8 mg I got a horrendous photo sensitivity skin blistering reaction all over the exposed areas my body - tho no problems with irritation under the patch. I also felt the beginnings of dyskenisias - one of my greatest fears. I folded the patch to reduce the surface area but was persuaded to stick (no pun imtended) with 8mg. I got so ill I've been off work since then. I gradually - by doing NOTHING; which goes totally gaianst the grain!!! - became able to tolerate it more. I've developed numbness/ tingling in fingers and feet. The specialoist said it wasn't a side effect of the patch and I had nerve conductivity tests whch were ok. I've since found the drug info leaflet gives numbness /tingling as a side effect in 1 in 100 to 1 in 1,000 people. (Why didn't the specialists know? They had a conference about it and rang me to say it definitely wasn't a side effect, must have tests etc!) Nausea has been largely controlled with Domperidone.

Now here's the bit that I'm struggling with. The  specialists say that they think the fact that the 8mg makes my symptoms worse (not the side effects the actual disease symptoms) means that I'm under dosed and should gradually increase to 16mg. I dutifully added a 2mg patch to my 8mg last week and, hey presto, within 48 hours was so much worse it was horrible. I persisted for nearly a week and then reduced back to 8 and within 48hours was back to my 'normal' level symptoms. I feel that the specialists think it's somehow my fault! but I'm really not Mrs awkward squad! I'm actually a psychology lecturer(perhaps should say 'was') and am very aware of all the many influences and individual differences that inflluence drug actions/interactions within the person. It just seems totally counter-intuitive to say thast bcuase a drug is making your disease symptoms worse you need more of it! I've now taken some unilateral action  and intend gradually to reduce the dose using the appropriate size patches and keep a diary of symtoms to discuss at my next apptment

Incidentally I was badly bitten by a mosquiro  on the  eyelid 2 nights ago and the next morning and this morning I walked completely normally for about 30 minutes!!Haven't been able to do that for years and years. it was absolutelt fantastic - felt like I was floating; then I gradually stiffened up again. NOrmally I'm worst in the morning. . Should |I invest in a mosquito breeding farm??

I'd love to hear from others re their experiences - it strikes me we're all feeling our way in the  dark with these patches.

Keep on movin' & shakin'

Janpen99