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Get off Mirapex

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Parkinson's Disease
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Posted 10/19/2010 10:32 PM (GMT 0)
I'm going to try one more time to get my mom off Mirapex. I know it's the cause of her extreme drowsiness and constipation. I tried once before using Azliect as a substitution along with Stalevo but it wasn't strong enough. What I did instead was increase her Stalevo and added Mirapex back but in a lower dosage to balance the 2 out. They worked for the past year and a half but now my mom seems to be getting worse. She hunches over when she walks now and can't balance herself.

I'm taking her to her doctor on Monday and will ask to increase Stalevo more and take her off of Mirapex completely. I wonder if that's the way to go? I read that people over 65 really should not be taking dopamine agonist. It's meant for younger people who can tolerate the side effects better.

I know I'm not a doctor but seriously, who sees my mom more, her doctor or me? Everyone is different and doctors prescribe textbook style. If you have xyz then you should take abc

Currently on 150mg Stalevo 3 times a day
Mirapex 1.5 morning and night with .25 in the afternoon.

Stalevo has always been a problem due to the size. I tried taking her off that too and replace with Sinemet but wasn't strong enough. I don't know what 200mg looks like but maybe it's smaller? I hope.
confused
Posted 10/20/2010 12:23 AM (GMT 0)
Bella,Get prepared for a really tough time getting your mom off mirapex.My last try I lasted 2 days.it is a tough drug to kick.You definitely need to taper off it.Cold turkey doesn't work.Pathological gambling is my problem caused by mirapex,and the last study I saw involved 286 patients with a 89% rate of pathological gambling.On the other side of the argument it seems to help many pd victims control their disease,myself included.Scratch tickets is my weakness.I help control this by carrying no cash with me.Eliminate the means even if the temptation is there.
I take 100mg stalevo 4x ,and the pills are swallowable size.Instead of a 200 pill what about two 100's at the same time?You might also ask the Dr. about sinemet CR for your mom.The pills are miniscule in size.Wish you ,and your mom the best.Ed
Posted 10/20/2010 4:05 PM (GMT 0)
Oh yes, I know how hard it is to get off Mirapex. My mom had terrible withdrawals 5 years ago when her then doctor took her off cold turkey which was a stupid thing to do. I'm shocked he still has his license. He got an earful from me before he hung up the phone on me. My mother was also a gambling addict. Her thing was slot machines. She was going weekly before the dementia kicked in and she lost all train of thought so she doesn't even know how to work one now.

Stalevo is a very tricky drug. You cannot double up or cut it down because the entacapone part of the drug is the same dosage in each of the pill so if she doubles up then she's also doubling up the entacapone which then is too much. I never understood why some drugs are so big while others are tiny. She was on Sinemet 2 months ago and it wasn't strong enough. I think she needs the entacapone to level out and that drug alone is also big so what's the point in her taking 2 pills instead of one. The 2 weeks she was on sinemet she was much more awake which confirmed for me that it is Mirapex that's causing her extreme drowsiness. My poor mom has missed out 10+ years of her life by sleeping.
Posted 10/31/2010 12:12 AM (GMT 0)
Progress report - My mom has decreased Mirapex from 1.75mg a day to 1.00 and so far good with increase of Stalevo from 450mg a day to 600mg a day. Unfortunately the size of the Stalevo is even bigger than before so it's hit or miss whether she's behaving or not by swallowing it whole or chewing it up or just letting it melt in her mouth where it results in lots of phlegm and she chokes.

Her constipation problem is still on going. I'm getting real good with helping her relieve herself by using a gloved finger and "treasure hunt" since she won't push it out. I've also had her take Miralax with juice and after 4 days she finally went on her own this morning but she's still wetting herself in her diaper nightly and leaking. I tried Tranquility since it's suppose to be the thickest but didn't work either.

Her latest condition now is grinding her teeth when she eats. I don't know if losing her front tooth is shifting her teeth causing a total misalignment and improper bite when she eats. I tried massaging her jaw while she eats but it's not working. As I said before in my other post, her dentist doesn't want to touch her due to her dementia. It's always something....

Finally I just started her on CoQ10. I hope it will give her more energy. We'll see.
Posted 11/5/2010 11:42 PM (GMT 0)
Bella33

You are a Saint.

Dan
Posted 11/6/2010 12:35 PM (GMT 0)
No I'm not. Saints sacrifice for everyone. I only do this for my mom. Many times I want to give up and send her to a home but... what are they doing that I can't do? It's just removing the responsibility on my part and shoving it to strangers who will not treat her as well as I would because they don't have any emotional ties to her like me. The guilt would be worse than the freedom I would have by letting go.It's to no one's benefit. My life is not worth that much.

She can't speak for herself but I can see the fear in her eyes. I don't know what people's circumstances are that send their parents to a home but as long as I have a breath left in me I won't do it.
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