Has anyone experienced panic attacks as a result of Azilect for Parkinsons? I am in early stages of PD and after 6 weeks of Azilect I started having panic attacks one hour after taking the one-a-day dose in the morning. I changed to night time, but the attacks continued randomly during the day. After ceasing the Azilect altogether, the panic attacks no longer occur. Azilect was the only medication I was taking so there was no drug interaction.

My neurologist was astounded and had not encountered this before. She decided I must be very sensitive to medication. At this stage, I am taking nothing but will try Madopar at sometime in the future when I get my courage up.

[QUOTE=mareem;

My neurologist was astounded and had not encountered this before. She decided I must be very sensitive to medication. At this stage, I am taking nothing but will try Madopar at sometime in the future when I get my courage up.[/QUOTE]


Mareem,

You will discover year by year that you have an immense supply of courage, and what is especially amazing is that it is a renewable resource. In fact, the more courage you summon up, the more there is in reserve.

I don’t know anything about your panic attacks. I cannot speak of them from this distance and I ain’t no doctor.

We all have the same symptoms but at different stages, in different sequences, and at different intensities.

Some have anxiety that is not too bad; some hide in their rooms in anxious fear; some flip out completely with terror-stricken fear-filled dread – the ultimate panic attack.
I consider myself to be well-rounded, as I do all of the above. I have been taking sinemet, mirapex and seligilene for something like 10 years; but I was 5 years into it when I started having panic attacks.

So how come you take Azilect and crash-land in a few weeks, right at the very beginning?
I have no idea. He said, helpfully.

But one thing I learned about my panic attacks (which may be weeks apart; or several in one day) is that I learned not to panic about the fact I was in a panic. I can sort of observe myself from above, observe the panic attack in progress, and say, “Well there he goes again. Another panic attack.”
It can be very painful, and very disrupting, and no one around you understands what is happening to you.

But it goes by. Each panic attack begins, follows certain variable pathways that you come to recognize, and it comes in like a lion but goes out like a lamb.

It is dread-ful, literally full of dread….. and then it stops.

So I learned that it will stop. But although I hate it, I hate it, I hate it; I no longer fear it. I know I will survive it. I know it will stop. Getting rid of the fear helped me immensely. I still have pounding on the wall quasi-hallucinatory flee or fight panic attacks. But they are now less severe than when I was dreading the next one; - do not get in a panic about being in a panic.

Mareem, let us know how your panic-situation evolves. And do not fear it. You will find you have depths of courage that you did not know about, whereas the disease is cowardly.

I hated Azilect when I started it but was very motivated to take it due to the potential for neuroprotection. On 1 mg., I stayed in bed all day instead of doing the activities I enjoy as well as don't enjoy but need to do. I was fine on .5 mg which I took at night and eventually went back up to 1 mg in the morning. I had been a crying, freaked out mess before but it definitely had an anti-depressant effect once I adjusted to it. I feel more motivated to do the things called life.

I have have been taking Azilect (1 mg/day) for over a year and almost wanted to quit because of the headache it gives to me almost everyday. Since my neurologist suggested me to take at night recently, it has become 90% better. For those if this doesn't work, maybe there are other ways to work around...