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Subject: Parlodel vs Permax Hello all, Well, one by one the Parlodel people are popping up. I have a count of 5 people, two actually had negative reactions to Permax: and three are taking Parlodel and felt no need for a change. It must be remembered that for a period of maybe 2 to3 years Parlodel was the only synthetic Dopamine Agonist available (in the UK at least), and a lot of people used it in that time, including me. Remember also that I have never suggested that Parlodel does not deliver favorable results on PD symptoms, particularly when combined with levodopa. My problem with Parlodel is that it has the potential to produce such worrying side-effects. ( See the email from Martha Rohrer below.) So: There we are !!! Totally confused? Perhaps we should end by saying - Any drug that is aimed at defeating the blood/brain barrier is potentially hazardous, and we should trwat them all with deep respect. At least we have a tablet which attempts to directly replace the missing chemical in our brains (levodopa). You may not know that levodopa was cleared for general use as late as 1970. We are really still on the learning curve for all these drugs. We have the choice of not taking any of them. (I can think of one prson who does that) or carefully investigating the various options until we find a suitable combination . And remember: we may be only a few years away from being able to throw our pill bottles for good. (I may have to make a special trip to the dump!) Regards, Brian Collins ======================================================================= From: "(Martha Rohrer)" <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Bromocriptine and Hallucinations It is no wonder that some PWPs report having hallucinations and episodes of paranoia while taking Parlodel (bromocriptine mesylate). Bromocriptine is an ergot derivative. Ergot is a fungus that develops on rye when there are favorable humid conditions. When grain contaminated with this fungus was ground into flour and made into bread in the middle ages, there were terrible episodes of mass madness in Europe, the so-called St Anthony's Fire and St Vitus Dance epidemics. Some have speculated that fungus contaminated grain was responsible for the witchcraft trials in New England. There are many derivatives of Ergot, some useful, like bromocriptine, and others destructive. One of the more prominent of the latter is Lysergic acid diethylamide-25, better known as LSD. Bromocriptine is commonly used in obstetrics to prevent lactation or to treat postpartum hemmorhage, for example. Other ergot alkaloids are used to treat migraine attacks or to improve blood flow in the brain after a stroke. My husband was started on Parlodel as a dopamine agonist when he was first diagnosed at Stanford in 1986. He did not have a problem with hallucinations, but he did with another of the side effects of this potent drug, a sudden drop in blood pressure. We became aware of that effect one day when he stood up too quickly and fainted. We switched to Permax several years ago. He has had a few episodes of nightime hallucinations this past year. Neither we, nor his neurologist can be sure what caused them. He still sees people that aren't there occasionally, but recognizes them as imaginary, thank goodness. Blood pressure swings up and down, but as someone said recently, Parkies don't get up quickly enough to have a problem with fainting. That's certainly true in Neal's case these days. The frustrating thing is that it is pretty much impossible to tell what effect the cocktail of medications PWPs take will have from day to day, or even hour to hour. These medications vary in effect depending upon how the gastro-intestinal tract is functioning, what stresses we are experiencing, how much sleep we got the night before, and the interaction of a large number of enzymes and hormones. The fewer potent drugs we add to the mix the better. While a medication can help most people with Parkinsons, anyone could be an exception. Even if it wasn't a problem the day before it could be today. We have to be alert all of the time and take care of ourselves to a large extent. The PDR and the internet have been life savers these past few years.