Sunday, July 17, 2011

A Bit of a Rough Patch

So far, not so good.  I have been having some pretty rough "off" times, although the side effects from the Requip have abated a bit.  I think I need to give it another couple of weeks to let the system settle out before deciding whether to declare victory or give it up, though.  It's a pretty stressful time for me, and as we all know, stress can magnify symptoms enormously.

The good news is that I'll be on vacation soon; next Saturday we're off to Lake Tahoe for a week.  My brother Drew and his wife Debra will be there, as well as a large contingent of my husband's family.  Fun!

In the meanwhile, though, I have an impossible deadline looming over me.  Some people say they work better under pressure.  I wish I could say that...

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Less medication... for once.

I went to my neurologist, and walked out of his office with a prescription for less of one of my medications!  I've been having some side effects that I don't like (slight hallucinations, sudden sleepiness, edema in my legs and feet) and the doctor thinks it's from the Requip.  So, he cut me back from 12 mg a day to 10mg; that is, 5 pills instead of 6.  Kind of nice to be decreasing medicine rather than increasing for once.  That means that instead of 17 pills a day, I'll be taking 16.

So far, I've had no reaction to the change either way, really (except for some symptom fluctuation, but I was told to expect that). One of the things I've learned about Parkinson's medications, though, is that I have to be very patient.  It seems to take a long time for the system to stabilize after I change something.

So, now I take these every day:
6 Stalevo
5 Requip XL
2 Amantadine
2 Zelapar (selegiline)
1 carbidopa/levadopa

and that's not counting the Ambien I take for insomnia, the Baclofen I occasionally take for muscle rigidity, the Sumatripan I take for migraines and the B12 and D vitamins I take for vitamin deficiencies.  Oh yes, and then there's the study drug I'm taking for a clinical trial.  It's amazing that I don't rattle when I walk!  Well, I'm just grateful that it all works as well as it does.
 "Better Living Through Chemistry",  right?

About Me

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I'm a lucky lady. I have a wonderful husband of 27 years, a fantastic 25 year old son (I'm so proud of him!) a loving and supportive family, the best friends in the world, a job that I love, and... Parkinson's Disease. I was diagnosed in September 2006. That was a jolt, but I'm learning to deal with it.