Sasha,

Mirapex definitely has anti-depressant qualities. My neurologist has confirmed this.

best,

that Mirapex has anti-depressant qualities.

(As I started to write this and noticed Jean had already replied, however I thought I would back her up on this one )

Neil.

Thank you both! Your comments that Mirapex does indeed have an antidepressant effect explains a lot of things - such as how I've been able to carry on, not only with the Parkinson's, but also with a lot of family, work, etc. problems and not just crumble! Now that I'm on a half dose, I am crumbling, but maybe I'll adjust and it will still be helpful. I remember someone saying they wrote grants while on Mirapex - it's never taken me that far, but it's made me want to write grants (which I did 30 years ago!) again.

thanks a lot. An interesting and very useful but trecherous medication.

1, How many good years, from my own experience, (and yes, we are all different), I had around 10 years before the dreaded dyskinesia side effects crept in. Now, after 16 years, I can hardly be "on" without having dyskinesia.
2, Is it likely that someone will benefit longer from L-dopa if you have previously been on an agonist
Same as Ol CS
3. Does the 5 year 'honeymoon' period that people write and talk about include the time on Mirapex?
I had 15 years of Pergolide before Mirapex. I define the honeymoon period as the time when if correctly medicated, only you would know you had PD. I worked for the first 5 years at a very stressful job. It was essential that I did not show PD symptoms, otherwise, I could not continue. I retired after 5 years at 60, I would say it was about 8 years before I could not hide my PD.
4. Can she still get benefit from higher doses of Mirapex? I read some of the trials which seem to indicate that the benefits max out at 1.5 mg per day. Are there folks who benefit from higher doses
It seems around 1.5 mg is a good optimum. I have tried other levels, but have settled on 1.2mg per day. I believe the max is 4.5mg, but there seems to be much advice to say don't go that high.
Tell your wife to take each day as it comes, and enjoy it. I hope she is slow to develop and one of these days, there will be a breakthrough, it has to, I'm 70 now!!!
Best wishes
Ron

Mirapex which I am trying to use in place of Requip seems to be quite intolerable and dangerous for some patients. I highly recommend browsing through this site.

http://www.askapatient.com/viewratin...7&name=MIRAPEX

you said ...

"It seems around 1.5 mg is a good optimum. I have tried other levels, but have settled on 1.2mg per day. I believe the max is 4.5mg, but there seems to be much advice to say don't go that high".

As you say we are all different however I am on 4.5 mg of Mirapex and believe it helps me greatly to stay lower on the L-dopa.

As you say, we all respond differently to the meds however my advice is, if you can take the side effects, go as high as possible on the agonists and stay as low as possible on the L-dopa.

Neil.

Pergolide, mirapex, requip agonists, MAOI-b inhibitors, selegiline and rasagiline, apomorphine injections for immediate rescue, tried Comtan, the C to O methyl transferase inhibitor. that sent me into my first wrestle with the dyskinesia monster, years before it showed up every day. I nearly totally flicked up my family because I was forced to retire in 2003 and was dx'ed in '97. I let PD get to me much too early. When it gets bad, you had better make sure that you have learned to accept your fate, and there's no time like now to deal with the things thar seem to visit so many of us YPWP. Things like broken marriages, dealing with living alone and forced to take ever increasing amounts of whatever, just to try our best to keep what human dignity that we have left before plunging over the event horizon. It's a tough row to hoe, but may the force of life be with you. Only YOU have the power to become empowered to develop the proper coping skills that will enable you to optimize your future. Depression WILL strike you. You will suffer loss after loss. I found that drugs can help, but do not offer a long term answer to anything. Just remember, PD treatment is currently limited mostly to treatment with chemicals, powerful substances that can lead to development of what amounts to drastic personality changes, and if you don't take charge of your mind, you'll lose it.
I can't stress enough, if you think you know that you have "pre-diagnosed" PD, or perhaps you have seen the monster in an aunt or a grandfather and just know what your first visit to a neurologist portends, then for gobs sake get long term care and life insurance NOW!!!

I managed to get both life and LTC just prior to DX 13 years ago but the companies are dusting off their old playbook and are going to screw we Boomers real good. It is working like this- My LTC was with GE and was the best available. Bragged that they had never raised their rate on an existing policy holder. Then somewhere along the line GE sold it to an in-house entity called "Genworth". Genworth discovered, much to their horror, that the Boomers are living longer than expected. So they have started doing like they did for the individuals who used to believe in that one too - they have begun dividing us up into pools of similar ages and jacking the rate up on a given pool as they approach the age where they will need it. You will be forced to let your policy lapse just before you need it. My premium went from $1000 a year ago to $1400 and now to $1700 and have made it clear that it ain't going to stop. The big insurors have milked us and moved on.

In today's world, things were are not like they once were. But. I wouldn't give up on getting any protection that you can. The loss of financial assistance can be one of the factors which drives us to bizarre behaviours which can be our undoing. That is why there should be more financial aid to people living with health issues which are crippling. Along with raising money for disease research, there should be more public empathy for those who struggle to survive because they can't take matters into their own hands. One has to be practically a paraplegic before assistance is offered, and we all know that PWP, have a difficult time because our problems are often masked by the fact that on a good day we can appear well enough to work, but only for short periods before our symptoms reappear in full force, and the nature of our disability shows it's true magnitude.
BTW Rev, can't you collect reduced " benefits for home- care" right now? Some LTC policies state that if you are incapable of functioning at a certain level, they will start your benefits and stop you paying any more.

olcs- Thanks for the partial claim idea. I will try that out before I give up. Here is a joke for you: <Note standard Dept of Household Security Disclaimer: It's a joke you thugs.> :
Q: What do you call a shakey old man in a wheelchair with an incurable disease and a shotgun? A: "Sir."