Hi there,

My dad is 4 years into his diagnosis. His main symptom is tremor which is getting worse now. I am interested in getting him started on an agonist. I wanted to hear the pros and cons of the different ones. I have read about sleepiness with requip etc.

Any recommendations on what he could start with.

Any advice is much appreciated.

Thanks,
Shar

Hi all,

Just wanted to see if anyone has any advice for my question above.

Thanks!

Dear BubblyShar,

People are not ignoring your post. It is a question with as many answers as their are members who post here. Every one has a different biological make up and no two people react the same to the different agonists. It would be better to suggest to your father that if he does not trust his treatment recommended by his doctor, that you would be happy to help him find a physician whom he would be more comfortable working with.

Vicky

For me, I repeat, for me, Dopamine did not work. I did however get very sleepy after taking them. It got to the point where I was sleeping more than being awake every day. Once the Agonists were stopped the sleepiness stopped. I also put on about 30 pounds during this time.

Bubblyshar
Your father will only know through trial, there isn't a huge choice. Many of the Parkinson Associations have good information on what is available, it depends which country you live in. A search on this forum may give you some more info on peoples experiences.
I take requip. It works ok, i do get sleepy. Havent tried anything else. From my experience i'd say start low dose, progress slowly and give it time. Domperidone is great for nausea.

For me, Mirapex was like speed, and I lost 30 lbs. Evil drug!

Hmm weight loss and energy..... Hmm maybe I need an agonist review.

It was the darkest period of my life! I don't recommend it.

Blue dahlia and dilmar I too lost a huge amt of wt on agonist.
Greg, I wish it'd caused sleepiness in me!
Instead at my most manic phase on it I went 4 nights without sleep busily writing poetry which I believed due to agonists unfortunate side effects was absolutely brilliant poetry btw!
I did heaps of silly things on it and my thought process reverted to boring old insecure me when agonist was stopped.
Bubbleshar, be conscious of the mind altering effects that agonists may cause in your Father.
You seem like a very astute caregiver and perhaps it will help improve his PD symptoms, anyway these are just some of our experiences and under your watchful eye he may react well to it's introduction but if he starts to suddenly doing things which are out of character that could be why.
Best wishes.

I tried many agonists . They made me bat ***** crazy. OC behavior, felt like I had been hit by a stun gun, and the worst orthostatic hypotension, much worse than dopa a induced. Some do well on agonists , others will be forced to not use them.. Always titrate up slowly. Don"'t sacrifice movement for being properly medicated, and don't be afraid of dopa. It is still the gold standard.