>
> From:          Nicole Gall <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject:       Exiting the Tasmar Twilight Zone
>

> I just wanted to share my experience w/the funky little brown pill....I
> started out w/the smaller dosage of 100 mg, 3X a day.....felt great!! Had more
> energy, could really move............after awhile tho things leveled off so I
> bumped up to 200mg, 3X a day while cutting back on my Sinemet from 50/200 to
> 25/100  3X a day.......but things stopped being so rosey  after awhile.......I
> started feeling weak when I would take the Tasmar........it felt more like my
> symptoms worsened after taking it......I eventually got to the point where all
> I could do was l lay on the couch all day....it was extremely hard to
> breathe...I was lucky if the meds kicked in enough for me to fix some
> lunch........I had nightmares every night......and always felt
> "befuddled".....barely able to answer a question.......I got to the point
> where it was too miserable to exist that way any longer......I gradually
> weaned myself off & feel like a new person......I no longer have to wait hours
> for my meds to start working.....I feel so much stronger now.....able to think
> and form sentences...I realize we all have our different responses to these
> wonderful drugs........I just wanted my experience to be shared so that others
> might know what possibilities may lay ahead of them.......here's hoping I am
> the exception.........Nicole Gall  38/

Hi Nicole
 I exited far sooner . I have been diagnosed with PD for just over
two years and was prescibed L-dopa straight away ( Madopar ) . I
suffer from beggining and end dose dyskinesia . If my L-dopa level drops
during the day for whatever reason  ( stress ,tryinmg to do too much
etc)I get both end of dose and begging of the next dose running
together . The extra stress of this prolonged dyskinesia means I need
more L-dopa so I double the amount to get out of the hole . My
situation is that I must stay either above or below dyskinesia level
. 18 months ago a 125 cap kept me above dyskinesia level for 3 1/2
hours now it is approx 1 1/2 hours and I am falling into the
dyskinesia hole more often . So I tried Tasmar ( at the suggestion of
my neuro ) . It extended  the " on" period above dyskinesia level but
made the dyskinesia worse  . I persisted believing that this increase
in dyskinesia was temporary .  What made me stop was that I was
becoming seriously bipolar manic .  When " on " I was full of great
plans that involved organising everyboby else to do my ideas . After
the end of dose dyskinesia and " off" ( a hour or so later ) I had doubts even
effecting the smallest of ideas . Because I sleep in an " off " state
this depression was seriosly affecting my sleep .
      L-dopa does affect  my emotions . I used to refer to it as my
happy pill . The worst thing about an Ldopa holiday was not the
increase in movement dysfunction but the emotional downturn
characterised by an overwelming feeling of dread . I can handle this
side effect of L-dopa ,just . I could not handle the emotional side
effect of Tasmar .
     peace
          Alastair     ( [log in to unmask] )