i'm going to think out loud and lindy i don't have it down either. This is not to be taken as fact.

the article says they give it to people when a chemical weapon is expected for protection. they give them the enzyme inhibitor - which blocks the AChE - then- what right here is what i am trying to learn.

why would they want the enzyme to stop breaking down acetylcholine? They are giving people meds to stop cholinergic activity during chemical warfare.

we know that acetylcholine is used in chemical warfare, so would the enzyme prevent the acetylcholine from a chemical attack from getting processed? it is offering some kind of protection that we haven't learned about yet, it seems. This is a contradiction to me so I need help with it.

next, lindy says she is getting dystonia when off since she started taking an anticholinergic. So your patch's job is to assist in keeping acetylcholine regulated as the enzyme does that breaks it down - namely it helps AChE which is cholinesterase. Acetylcholine needs to be kept low.

So lindy's patch is causing dystonia when off. Did you not have dystonia before this lindy or did it get worse? my dystonia is quite bad when i'm off and it sounds like this could be the imbalance of acetylcholine and dopamine and i 'm wondering if the type of dystonia we are talking about is from acetylcholine levels being too high when we are off.

But the anti-cholinergic activity from the patch should keep you from getting dystonia because it should balance the transmitters. it should be enabling the enzyme to break it down and keep the levels low. Nortriptyline has reduced the length and severity of my morning dystonia.

Therefore, I don't understand why lindy would be getting increased dystonia with an anti-cholinergic patch. Were you on an anticholinergic pill before you started the patch? Did you have a reduction in the dosage by going on the patch? is this an experimental med?

exelon has the patch.but it is not anticholinergic. it's anti-acetylcholinesterase, a cholinesterase inhibitor, an alzheimer med. and if so it's raising your aceptylcholine and that causes cramping and i think it causes the dystonia. So if your patch is exelon or any cholinesterase inhibitor and it is giving you dystonia, you have proven my point. this is not for people with pd unless they have a deficiency like franny. But even with the psuedo AChE deficiency franny felt the best with nortriptyline, which is not a cholinesterase inhibitor- but rather an anti-cholinergic to help lower acetylcholine. if you are on exelon and getting more dystonia, you have validated what i'm thinking based on my own experience. if not, i'm still confused.

donw -Benadryl quite a few pwp take benadryl and say it helps. it helps to keep acetylcholine low [as it should be]

i asked my pharmacist about giving pwp alzheimers medicines and mentioned acetycholine- asked him if i was speaking his language. he said they wouldn't do that or shouldn't or who would do that? something like that. i told him it was FDA approved for pd and they gave it to me and it made me very sick. he thought i meant sick to my stomach but i was getting the feeling that he didn't want to go against my neuro as he changed and said, 'well i guess it's an individual thing...have to try it and see." he also added, well it makes sense to give it to pwp. i didn't walk away with the matter cleared up at all. There were two people waiting so i gave it up.

my question remains the same. is the problem with using cholinesterase inhibitors too much acetylcholine? This is a deadly poison in access.

thanks for helping with your comments. it's very important. i'm confused about whether the sensitivity and polymorphism talked about in this article which is soooo technical is the same genetic deficiency as the one franny has? pseudoAChE deficiency? yet it sounds like it can be a result of the alzheimer-like meds.

keep the info coming - lindy i'm very curious about your patch.

paula