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----- Original Message ----- From: Irene <[log in to unmask]> I must start a new medicine to augment the Requip I have been on for 2 and one half years. Which is the lesser of two evils, amantadine or sinemet?... ************ I use amantadine with Requip. I was started on amantadine and I had an increase in joint flexibility that surprised me. I was told it would help settle down the tremor. I really did not take notice of the tremor lessening, but it must have done so because I have handwriting samples that show legibility was somewhat restored after starting amantadine. The first thing I noticed was feeling the muscles on my scalp, near my ears and down to my eyes, tighten. My husband noticed my face looked different; a heck of a lot better. Amantadine turns people purple. I look like a purple blotch, one bullseye after the other from my fingers to my shoulders and from my toes to my hips. I think that my complexion also has had a minor, even-tone change in color with the amantadine. I have had to change all of my makeup colors, including my hair color; even wardrobe colors have had to change. All of that can be lived with. I have taken (only) the generic form of amantadine from at least 3-4 manufacturers and there is a difference with one of them, but I don't know who the manufacturers were or remember which one it was to tell you which to try to avoid. My neuro treats PD very conservatively and he favors the new dopamine agonists (Requip and others) saying PWP can do well on them for (10-15) years before needing to add sinemet. He thinks there are fewer potential problems with the newer drugs like Requip. Considering my "life expectancy" chart shows another 40 years, I'll go for the one with less problems over the long haul.