 |
 |
Daisy Welcome, however, the really good news may be that you do NOT have PD. Amitriptylene is one of a class of drugs called tricyclic antidepressants. These drugs are notorious for causing PD-like symptoms after lengthy periods, and in any case, were not well-tolerated by the elderly. There are much better anti-depressants now available and the tricyclics are not much used now for this purpose. I strongly urge you to speak to your doctor about S-L-O-W-L-Y weaning yourself off it as soon as you can and prescribing something else for the neuralgia. Unless you really have PD like Margaret (who took Tryptanol for tension headaches many years ago), the PD symptoms should gradually abate. Take care, M. (C.G. for Margaret 65/27 yrs) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Daisy said: > I was seventy years old when I found out I had > PD, and it was great to find out why I was doing such strange things as > falling over backward, walking like Charlie Chaplin, and tipping forward > into counters. After some trial runs, I found that I operate very well > for now on a minimal dose of 1/4 of a Sinemet CR 25-100, 3X daily. I > also take amitriptyline 25 mg at bedtime, for post-herpetic neuralgia > which I've done since a hard bout with shingles three years ago. > > I womder how quickly or slowly I can expect to have a worsening > condition and how often I will have to change medication. I know how > lucky I am to have been 70 when I was diagnosed, after all the > pioneering that has been doe in medication and understanding PD. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mark Atyeo 51 Alexander Mackie Circuit Isaacs ACT 2607 Australia +61 6 286 2606