Hello this is my first time on this board and website.
I went to the Neurologist on the 12th a week ago for termors I was having in my right leg & right arm/hand. The doctor aked a lot of questions and ran me thru the test making me walk,turn,write & background information. anyway he said he thought I had Parkinson's and wanted to start me on Mirapex.I started the meds that day & have to work my way up each week on dosage. The problem i'm have is I don't like the feeling of nerviousness & anxiety + can't sleep much. When I wake up I'm like wired or shakey. I know i need to give the drugs a chance to see if they will help but hell I'm suppose to double my doseage tomorrow. They say the only way you know for sure if to have PD is if the drugs work.....so if I give the drugs a chance, who know's if I keep taking them and they don't work maybe I was miss diagoised and don't have it I know I'm reaching, but this all started with a stifff neck 9 months ago, now I have PD. What should I do?
welcome to Healing Well.I would definitely get a second opinion from another neurologist,preferrably a movement disorder specialist.I was DX with PD in 98,and got a 3rd opinion. generally PD meds are used if and only if other diseases with similar symptoms have been eliminated.In order to eliminate them other tests such as blood EMS are necessary.If all other diseases with similar symptoms are eliminated then pD drugs are used to assume you have or dont have PD. Like Alzheimer disease only an autopsy provides 100%proof of PD,and we aren't ready for that.Like many other neurological disorders it is extremly complex affecting almost every victim differently,as do the PD meds. i have been on mirapex for 4 yrs and I can tell u it has side affects.Above all Don't abruptly stop Mirapex .I can't stress enough to ask your neurologist for a referral for a second opinion.If your neuro balks at a 2nd opinion go to your G.P. ps you did not ramble and we are here to listen.Ed
Ed
Post Edited (yekkimo) : 9/18/2005 4:14:01 PM (GMT-6)
CE, You did not ramble or complain. You're probing and learning, which is fabulous ... and that's what this site is about. Please ask away.
I was dx with PD in 01 and have been on Requip, one of the dopamine agonists like Mirapex, since the beginning. I agree with Ed and also got a 2nd ... and 3rd opinion. Fortunately my 1st neuro sent me to a movement disorder specialist (MDS) for a 2nd opinion. He said could be PD or could be ET (essential tremor). Saw 3rd neuro, also an MDS, and she said PD. She's right and I've stuck with her since.
There are a few tests that can be done to eliminate other things - nothing to definitely dx PD. Other tests,especially for tremor, include: MRI to eliminate brain tumors, EEG to eliminate stroke, and a multitude of blood tests. Some docs will have the patient try a drug called Sinemet for a bit. The results of Sinemet are more quickly recognized than Mirapex, so it's often used as a 'test'. However, long-term I would save Sinemet for later and start out on a dopamine agonist like Mirapex or Requip.
Everyone's symptoms are different with PD and everyone's responses to meds are dif. What works well for me may give you significant side effects or not be effective at all. Don't give up. You are not alone. You are your best advocate. Ask (as you are here), read, listen ... question your doc. It's your life.
The best part of the disease for me has been the wonderful folks I've met. If your dx is PD, I hope you'll find the same to be true.
Best of luck, lizzy4451
Life is a dance. Don't sit it out. --- H. Jackson Brown
I know I'm reaching, but this all started with a stifff neck 9 months ago, now I have PD. What should I do? 