Fine tuning the medications

I went to my neurologist on Thursday and discussed my "wearing off" and dystonia problems with him. He suggested I try a little Amantadine to smooth out the peaks and valleys in my levadopa response, and if that is well-tolerated after a week or two, I'm going to try a little Baclofen for the dystonia. Hopefully, if the Baclofen works, I can take it when I get up at 3:30 or 4:00 in the morning, and it will kick in before the dystonia starts. He cautioned me, though, that dystonia is very hard to treat and the Baclofen may or may not work.

So, I've been taking the Amantadine for a couple of days, and so far I just feel exhausted. I did about an hour of housework this morning and I feel like I just ran a marathon! I always have to give a medication adjustment some time to work, though. Sometimes it takes a few weeks for things to settle out.

It's amazing to think of all the drugs I'm taking in my daily "cocktail": Zelapar (selegiline), Stalevo (levadopa, carbidopa and entacapone), Requip XL (ropinerol), and now Amantadine, too. Then there's the Ambien for insomnia, and the Imitrex for the occasional migraine. Whew! And to think I used to complain about having to remember to take one pill every day!!