Starting Mirapex: Input Appreciated
 

Sinemet didn't do much for my tremor & did give me bad dystonia only a few months after starting, so now my MDS has me starting Mirapex. I have much trepidation about this, since I've read several bad experiences here & on NPF Forums & heard them from people in my support group. Anyone want to share advice and/or good experiences (or otherwise), esp. with severe tremor? Thanks.

Be aware that possible obsessive /compulsive behaviors might happen.

Have close family/friends be aware for you too, so they can let you know if you don't realize it happening.

My dad did take it for awhile, but they changed his meds at some point - I think he was falling asleep too often during the day.


oh and you can use the search tool for more older posts about Mirapex too.
whole forum search link below -
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/search.php

My experience was miserable, compulsive behaviors, ups and downs, panic attack, getting lost, falling asleep. I switched to ReQuip XL and through cycling at a fast pace have been able to reduce my meds by 1/2. I only take 4mg of ReQuip XL and 1 mg. of Azilect. Mirapex was just flat out scary.

I looked up the side effects of Mirapex awhile back and all the symptoms that were bothering me were on that list of side effects. I also know that increasing my Mirapex by 0.125 mg. a couple of years ago gave me a lot of improvement. So now what does a person do?

My experience with it was not good either; fell asleep everywhere and had hallucinations.

I would thoroughly advise against mirapexin. It should be banned. Many more people have adverse reactions to it than care to admit, because the reactions are so extreme. And knowing that these things can occur doesn't help, once the chemicals take over.

Interesting ...
 

my experiences of Mirapexin have been good, take 6mg per day, no major side effects.

Different people, different results.

Neil.

Thanks for the input. All negative, except for one. My neurologist discounts my fears & says it works well for many of her patients, but I seem to hear mostly negative, both here on this forum & elsewhere. May be, as she claims, that those with bad experiences are more likely to report their complaints that those who are satisfied. My observation is that I know many with PD both online & in person and it seems some probably do suffer side effects (sleepy, tired, sudden blackouts while driving, cognitive, hallucinations, compulsions, etc.), but are unaware that they have problems or that they're caused by the meds they take. Since med effects are not really well tracked, it's impossible to know the truth. I would like to hear if you think it works well for you. Or if you've found anything else that works well for a severe tremor, let me know. Thanks.

Beware of Mirapex-induced somnolence while driving. After starting Mirapex I had a couple of scary sleep attacks behind the wheel...cut Mirapex dosage drastically (with my doctor's supervision) and the sleep attacks stopped.

Of course, PD can cause tiredness and drowsiness with or without Mirapex...but for me, Mirapex definitely made it worse.

I do find that a low dose of Mirapex taken with Sinemet extends the effects of Sinemet and helps control tremor.

I had to try Mirapex three times to be able to take it. Each time I cut back on dosage & the third time worked. Over the years, I gradually increased the dosage. I found it to be really helpful & took it about 8 years. It seemed to help with my tremor.
It had side effects that were not pleasant---edema, sleepiness, & toward the last year or two---hallucinations/delusions. I had to stop taking it because of the hallucinations. I'm now taking Sinemet (carbidopa/levodopa) but I've had trouble with it. I just cannot find the right dosage---if I take too much, I have a lot of dystonia in arm & leg. By too much, I'm talking about 1/4 of a tablet!! My tremor continues & I haven't found anything to relieve that.
I guess my main point is to experiment with the dosage & especially when starting (any of the meds), consider trying a small dose (smaller than is recommended). You can always increase.
Good luck! Mari