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John, to my knowledge there are three prominent medications for tremor: (1) alcohol, (2) propranolol (Inderal), and (3) primidone (Mysoline). The first two are mentioned in Duvoisin's book. Both anecdotes and professional opinion vary, but common thought is that these three work on tremor caused by other than PD, such as 'Essential Tremor', but not on the tremor of PD. I got interested when I found that a glass of beer or wine promptly suppressed my tremor, leading me to suspect that I had something other than (or besides) PD. I got my neurologist to prescribe Inderal, which is normally used to treat tachycardia. My resting pulse was already about 55, and the Inderal suppressed the tremor just fine but reduced pulse rate to an alarming low 40s, so we switched about a year ago to primidone (Mysoline) normally used to prevent siezures of epilepsy. It is a sedative related to phenobarbital so I took it at bedtime (50mg). Worked just fine, and I cut the dose to half (25mg) about a year ago. Recently the duration of effect began to decline, so I now take an additional 25mg in the morning. It doesn't seem to affect alertness. It does seem to work, because tremor is now most prominent just before taking it on arising, then reappears gradually during the day to peak at bedtime. I enjoy a drink more often than I used to, but the effect on tremor only lasts a couple of hours. Hope this is of use to you. J. R. Bruman (818) 789-3694 3527 Cody Road Sherman Oaks CA 91403 On Thu, 17 Aug 1995, John Cottingham wrote: > I seeking information from those who are now, or who have taken > primidone/Mysoline for tremor. > > 1. How long did you take it? > > 2. What difficulties did you have in taking it?(side effects) > > 3. If you have discontinued it, what made you quit? > > 4. How long did you take it before its lack of effectiveness started? > > 5. Were the sedation effects/sleepiness overcame while on the drug? > > 6. What was your dosage when you quit or now taking? > > I have tried it twice, but that was 6 years ago and I am unable to remember > the details. Perhaps your answers will fill in the pieces of my spotty > memory. > > > > > John Cottingham "KNOWLEDGE is of two kinds: we know > [log in to unmask] a subject, or we know where we can > OR find information upon it." > [log in to unmask] Dr. Samuel Johnson >