mirapex
 

May I ask what you know about mirapex? Has anyone had any experience with this drug that they wouldn't mind sharing?

Mary Frances

My dad has been on it for about 4 months now and it seems to be good for him. More active, less anxiety about going places and doing things.
He's been on sinemet for many yrs & a antidepressant also.
Mom is much happier too as she can't drive and she is still pretty active.

I was on Mirapex when I was working...left the work force in 2000. I didn't stay on it long since I felt like a zombie and couldn't think or concentrate.

Then I was on Requip. I had a sleep attack on the Interstate at 65 miles and hour, but didn't realize that was what it was until I reached Paula's and told her about what happened. She told me about sleep attacks while driving and I quit that day.

I am back on Mirapex for about a year now. It is like taking a sleeping pill for me, but it is better than taking more carbidopa/levodopa...700 mg a day now. I could use more of both, but what I take is just enough and I don't want to up as long as I can put one foot in front of the other.

Although if I was still working I wouldn't take an agonist at all due to the sleeping pill effect.

Mirapex
 

Mary Frances,
Mirapex = so far, so good but it's only been 3 weeks.

My MDS added Mirapex in addition to the Azilect when I finished the Azilect Phase IV trial on 24 April. I titrated up to .5 MG x 3 of Mirapex over 2 weeks. Just as the Mirapex starter kit recommends--.125 MG x 3 the first week, .25 MG x 3 second week and now .5 MG x 3 for the last 7 days. This is in addition to the 1 MG x 1 of Azilect.

Azilect only had very minimal improvement as a monotherapy but my MDS firmly believes it neuroprotective so he wants me to continue taking it.

So far I'm very pleased with the results of Mirapex. I'm moving much better, almost no stiffness, my handwriting has improved and some tingling/numbness in my rt foot has disappeared. I feel better and some minor anxiety I had is gone. My action tremor has also improved significantly. I can now manipulated my computer mouse and type with almost no jerkiness.

And so far, very few side effects.....did suffer some sleepiness the first 2 weeks and still get a little sleepy in the afternoons if it's slow at the office. Now I having a little insomnia for the last 4 nights, in that I fall asleep OK but wake up after 3-4 hrs and then toss and turn a little for the remainder of the night.

So again, I'm very happy with the results so far. Just hope it lasts for many months or even years.

Next appt with my MDS is Monday as follow up on Mirapex so we'll see what he recommends.

Slumpy (Larry)

Mirapex kept me ...
 

working in v. pressurised environment for 3 years.

Drawbacks, fatigue, just got to fight your way through it as it is better than the alternative.

Not perfect but the best I have seen.

Aftermathman.

Watch out for obsessive-compulsive behaviour. Mirapex is said to induce gambling in people who never even bought a lottery ticket.
I was affected in a very surreal way: I found it difficult to leave the house before the mailman arrived, for instance. Since the mailman usually comes around noon, I wasted my mornings at home, even if I had to run errands.
That was a scary part, but not the worst. It made me very fidgety and nervous to the point that I was afraid to ride in a car when somebody else was driving.

mirapex
 

Thank you all, so much for sharing.

obssessive-compulsive behavior
 

at the first sign of it cut back on your dosage. Quit it if your OCD doesn't subside. about 25-35% (my estimate) of mirapex users exibit OCD. I know women and men who have thrown away great mates due to sexual OCD. Be VERY careful!! there are many people who are sex addicts due to mirapex. I have a dear friend who has gambled away over 100K also.
Sleep apnea is a real problem too. There is a "upper" originally marketed as an anti-anxiety drug that is helpful.
Can't recall the name of it though.
If you exibit any OCD-type behavior, tell your doctor immediately!!

Charlie

Hi I have been on Mirapex for about 6 months, plus I continune to take my sinemet with it. At first the Mirapex was great. I felt great and people commented on how well I looked. My energy levels were up I had way more energy, my balance improved as did my mood. It was almost like a miracle.

BUT... (there always seems to be a but). I have developed compulsive eating disorder. Never in my life have I had a weight problem or an overwhelming desire to eat eat eat. I can finish a full supper and wonder what else I could eat. I would wake up in the middle of the night and finish off a carton or ice cream (and I'm talking 2Literes). My 5'8" weight has gone from a comfortable 135lbs. to 165lbs in about 3-4 months. I want off this drug but I am trying accupuncture to see if it will help the cravings.

Good Luck with your decision. Keeping in mind everyone has different responses to drugs. This is just mine.

paulie

mirapex
 

Thank you all so much!

Mirapex comments
 

I googled for comments on Mirapex. I have been on it for a few years and didn't think it did much. Then one night I upped my dose by .25 and my meds kicked in like clockwork. I am now upping my dose as per my Neuro's instructions and sometimes it's good and sometimes it's not so good. and looked up comments for some other input. No two people have the same experience (like everything else on the PD menu). All you can do is try it ( or not) and watch for the side effects. Compulsive eating, gambling, sex, and whatever else were mentioned by several people who had developed that problem. Hmmmm...yet another product from the Alice in Wonderland selection of brain treats.

my dad is sleeping much better thru the night now with mirapex.
Besides being more active during the day, he is now having dreams some of them are pretty funny.

One where he is stacking firewood and he is trying to lift up moms head in his sleep thinking it is a piece of wood??

another nite he was dreaming that he was tamping in a fence post and was thumping mom on the head??

maybe she needs to sleep with a helmet on- LOL

Before mirapex he had been waking up 4-5 x during the nite - they though it was bladder or prostate troubles - all OK there

turns out he was waking cause the other meds wore off and since he was awake he would go to the bathroom anyway.

spent most of the time before mirapex dozing in his recliner - because he wasn't getting his deep REM sleep.

Maryfrances........
 

At the first sign of any hypersexual feelings drop what you are doing... and... call me at home:D :D :D :D :D :D .

Seriously, I found it "tolerable" upon a very long titration up (and i stress very long , because the first time i tried to go up fast with the dose, it was almost as bad as my horrible experience with requip). You might be lucky and find no "Warts" with it, you may come back to the board with no more questions and find it quite useful. A lot of PWP are successfully using a mixture of mirapex and sinemet. A neuro will often add Mirapex if you are on sinemet alone and the "smooth" effects of sinemet are starting to wane. It was chasmo who clued me in on upping the dose to therapeutic levels VERY slowly, but it still made me sleepy, so i dropped it, but it did work OK in bringing my sinemet levels down.

I'm very sorry if I offended :mad: you with the first comment, however someone recently did say that we should "lighten things up around here":)

mirapex
 

No offense taken!!

Thanks for the info.

;) Mary

My experience with Mirapex
 

I've had PD since I was 47. A few years ago my life was hell on earth. I thought I was losing my mind. I am a moral person with spiritual values. The "fog" I was in with these agonists lasted about 16 months. Never gambled before - lost over $27,000 at casinos. Was a virgin when I got married almost 40 years ago. Under the influence of these drugs I did unspeakable things with call girls, massages, and gay encounters. I am a tea-totaler. I ended up drunk as often as I could manage. I lied to my wife and didn't tell my doctors even when they asked. If it wasn't for God's grace and my wife's tough love I don't know where I'd be today.

If the drugs work for you - fine. But I am convinced the numbers of people suffering in this addictive fog are shamefully silent. Don't take this lightly. For the rest of you who have been where I've been....speak up.
Sincerely,
Slowmo

dear mary frances -
 

Mirapex and I did not mix - perhaps I will say it this way -It was the worst drug - I unfortunately was ever put on -
I was superwoman - I was insane... I finally had a type of situation -where I was sitting in front of a slot machine in the middle of the night -
and the words -What Am I doing? came to my mind...
and it is not the money I lost -because I won many jack pots...

when I found out what was going on with the drug... I stopped cold turkey, perhaps not the greatest way to stop a drug ,
and I do recall some - crawling on the floor episodes - weak shakey withdrawal...

but I will say - the levodopa carbi dopa, has some very addictive side effects as well, so what I DISLIKE about PD besides Mr. Parkinson's himself! :D -
I DISLIKE with a PASSION - THE ENTIRE PILL POPPING DRUG EVENT ...

~~~~
yet so far I am still on very few in comparison to my before list,

Mirapex to me is the real life nightmare drug... so if you get the side effects of low blood pressure -or falling asleep at the wheel, from sudden sleep attacks - or you start feeling invincible! (like Superwoman)

Stop -& drop the bottle in the trash , and fly over to your doctor's office...ASAP! http://dl2.glitter-graphics.net/pub/...ibk2yf8c3s.gifhttp://dl2.glitter-graphics.net/pub/...ibk2yf8c3s.gifhttp://dl2.glitter-graphics.net/pub/...ibk2yf8c3s.gif

Maryfrances,
 

Are you OK? Did you pursue the Mirapex or other agonist route? I had not thought about you until this got bumped up.

Also, Terextu/Teresa; are you still with us? Haven't heard from you in a while.

Robert

The Short Story - not a pretty one
 

I was on Mirapex for nine years, most of that time at "maximum dosage," whatever that means. When she put me on it, my very prestigious doctor (also MJF's doc) said 'This has a lot of psych effects - you'll be up cleaning closets.' I'm someone who always balanced my checkbook every month, never went into debt...during the 5-years after initiating Mirapex, I lost probably $100,000 - was sued numerous times. I wound up with out of control behavior which led to me being raped - in a gay bar of all places. I was not even capable of opening my mail or filling out a form.

I am finally off Mirapex, and it was really, really hard to get there. My mind has begun to clear up to the point where I am no longer in debt, and am having the semblance of a coherent life. I have many people who saved my life from this, including my family, wonderful friends, shamans in South America, and other unexpected helpers. I am so grateful to them all, and live to repay these debts somehow. The panic attacks in getting off the Mirapex were horrendous and almost did me in. But you can get away from it, and I feel INFINITELY better now. You could not pay me enough to ever take that again.

MAry Frances and Theresa
 

Mary FRances is barred from contacting any of us by her husband, I am guessing.

Theresa was supposed to have a DBS last fall. If she is like the majority of us, she is out enjoying life, this is my hope anyway. I will get her email from Lee and see how she is doing.

Charlie

No problem!
 

Been on maximum dose for several years now without a problem. Now, if I could just tear myself away from the blackjack table... (just kidding.) No side effects at all.

only about 25% of us experience OCD while on mirapex.

I'm still taking it (almost a year) and I am showing some obsessive tendencies... but I think that my behavior could certainly be attributed to the emotions surrounding my diagnosis. I'm still very tight with my purse strings, and no more interested in food or sex than I've ever been. I would, however, look into the alternatives; I feel that my supplements do as much or more for me as the mirapex. Anybody had experience with more than one agonist and can compare?

Mirapex & Azilect
 

I am on .05mg 4 times per day of Mirapex, and 1.0 mg per day of Azilect.
Been on Mirapex for 3 years, and Azilect for 1 yr.
My shaking (left side only) has stopped , but I can tell when I missed my dosage b/c I start shaking again. I had cramps in the toes at night before Mirapex, they have for the most part - gone! I do stay awake every night. can't sleep. I get 5 hrs of sleep a night, if I'm lucky. I blame the meds for that. I feel sleepy when driving in the afternoon, but during the morning or at night I'm wide awake. Gambling and sexual side affects....i have not seen this with me. But my Dr, asks me every time I go about both of them. So I think there is a real concern there. Mirapex for me has got my mind thinking too much. I play a lot of chess lately, due to it. It keeps the brain exercised.
Good or bad, yet to be determined!
Dan