Questions
 

I have had P.D. for 4 years. I'm on sinemet, Azilect, and Mirapex. I have been doing fairly good except for my balance. I use a cane. A few days ago, I had some very strange happenings. 1. I noticed that my vision was really blurry. I went to the Opthalamologist (SP) and found out that my vision was really down. He kept me there for about three hours doing tests and the longer I was there the better it got. by the time I left, everything was fine! 2. the next morning I was getting out of bed and almost fell to the floor. I had no strength in my legs at all. Could not get up out of a chair all day and felt like I could barely walk. My knees were incredibly sore. I have never had that happen before. by the next day, I was much better. My knees are still hurting and feel a little weak, but much better comparatively speaking. Has anyone ever had this happen before? Would the weakness in the legs be "wearing off" that I have heard about, but never had? Any thought would be appreciated!

some possibilities
 

first, yes i deal with both problems on a maddeningly unpredictable basis.

any changes in the couple of days just prior? meds? stress? infections?

blurred vision is a common side effect of meds, the legs issue is tougher and mine seems to be tied to something i have eaten just before. suspicions vary from contaminated grain products to blood sugar to msg.

rick

Last week, I had bronchitis and was extremely sick. the blurriness has gone, buy my, oh my, are my legs hurting. the feel like they are on fire from the knee down to the ankles.

Last week, I had bronchitis and was extremely sick. the blurriness has gone, buy my, oh my, are my legs hurting. the feel like they are on fire from the knee down to the ankles.

infections
 

That bronchitis may be your key. One of the ascending schools of thought attribute PD to decades of damage to the brain by an overzealous immune system. The chemical soup that comes with an infection can really derail a PWP. Somewhere on here, Ron Hutton describes an experience similar to yours but with an abscessed tooth. Try searching for it. Less than six months old.

Ron was unable to walk for several days but recovered with help of his standby curcumin, an excellent anti-inflammatory. Other things that might help are ginger and green tea extract. Good luck.

I can relate
 

I can identify with the leg problem. If I get sick (sinus infections are most likely), get over-tired, or skip a few days worth of supplements (Rick, I pretty much take your regime) - I find myself absolutely unable to cross the floor and to go out is unthinkable. Bed rest, good food and getting back on my supplements - with just the tiniest bit of gentle stretching of legs - seems to help. And I also get the burning - frequently - below the knees. Wake up with it. Exercise seems to help that one, but I can't exercise if my legs won't work.

Wish I had an answer to all of this.

One of the things that get little attention in PD is brain chemistry, as ridiculous as that sounds. We hear about dopamine all the time. And serotonin crops up when we mention depression. These are called "neurotransmitters" and are message carriers. There are others, dozens in fact. We think of them as being products of the nervous system, and some are. But there are others. The endocrine system produces them and we call them hormones. The immune system produces them and we call them cytokines. The names are less familiar - cortisol, TNFa.

Most of us know how messed up we can get from the messages carried by hormones such as cortisol / stress. It can take us off our feet.

Cytokines can do the same thing. Plus you have the added factor of toxins from bacteria.

They say that if you only have a hammer, then everything looks like a nail. I guess that when all you have is levodopa, things are going to look like dopamine.

Thanks for your input. I really appreciate it. My legs are still swollen, my ankles are really bad. I get up with them that way and I am still having some pains shooting down my legs below my knees to my ankles. I'm beginning to think maybe something else is going on. It has been over a week and my ankles and legs are still really swollen. But, it is nice to hear from someone else that you are not the only one who has problems like this!

MaryCAngelLady -
 

The swelling in my ankles was really bad when I took 1mg of Mirapex 3 or 4 times a day - they cut it back to .5 mg. and the swelling has all but gone away. The pain is there when I wake up and then fades during the morning. Anyway, my point is that some meds can cause swelling of legs and ankles.
Do talk to your doctor about it and good luck. I hope something helps.