Just be clear, I was not attacking anyone for taking levodopa, or for not taking dopamine agonists.

Perhaps it would help if I gave a couple of examples.

First, withdrawal from levodopa can kill you, too. It can cause a life-threatening condition called neuroleptic malignant syndrome. I have never seen it mentioned in a news article, have you?

Second, there is now the same paragraph, word for word, in the sinenet product label as there is in the mirapex product label regarding impulsive behaviors.

This is really quite a bombshell and given the following:

1) There are at least as many people taking levodopa as there are taking dopamine agonists, and probably quite a few more
2) for the past six years levodopa has been consistently and specifically exonerated from any culpability in this sort of behavior
3) rather, in fact, it has been painted as a safe alternative to dangerous dopamine agonists in this context

Given how newsworthy this information was for dopamine agonists, and given that people have been led to believe that they are not vulnerable to these risks if they take levodopa, it seems odd to me that this paragraph was inserted into the product labeling without any publicity whatsoever. As far as I can tell, there wasn’t even a “dear healthcare provider” letter sent out to alert healthcare providers to this change in the Sinemet labeling.

My point is that, *in my opinion,* levodopa’s side effect profile is such that it could easily warrant is much bad press as dopamine agonists are getting – but it gets none.

And either most people with Parkinson’s don’t seem to mind that, or they don’t seem to find levodopa’s side effect profile as unacceptable as I do – that is what I find baffling.

So is not that anyone doesn’t take a dopamine agonist or does take levodopa that confuses me, and I would never criticize anyone for their choices in medication.

Whatever -- I’m sure I’ve said all this before. It has just bubbled up again because I found out about the paragraph in the sinemet label. It seems like just another example of the double standard – what is considered by those who are in positions to raise the alarm worthy of doing so in the case of dopamine agonists is not even worthy of a single news article in the case of levodopa.

I find that baffling, but I guess that's just me.

Regarding my qualifications to have a perspective on drug withdrawal, it seems to me that requiring one to have had personally experienced a phenomenon in order to have a perspective on that phenomenon is setting the bar a little bit high. If you extrapolate that requirement into life in general, things become very complicated.

Anyway, consider my question answered.