I just came back from a consult with Dr. Enrico Fazzini of New York
for my mother. The Upjohn salesman was in his office as I was there.
He told Dr. Fazzini that Pramipexole will be available in three weeks,
and Dr. Fazzini gave me a prescription to give my mother's pharmacy.
There also might be a slight delay from the time the drug is released
by the FDA (in three weeks) until the supply reaches the pharmacy
through their supplier.
Dr. Fazzini told me that he had a munber of patients that were on
the trial of Pramipexole, and that it worked better than Permax. He
felt that 2/3 of the dosage of Pramipexole would be the correct dosage
to exchange for a full dosage of Permax. So, for example, my mother
who takes .75 mg of Permax 4 times a day (a pretty high dosage!),
could start exchanging each dosage for .5 mg of Pramipexole.
A "side effect" of Pramipexole, according to Dr. Fazzini, is an
increase in energy (sounds good to me!). He said that those on
Pramipexole feel the need for less sleep and have more energy
throughout the day. He also said another 4 drugs should be released
this year to help with Parkinsons.
Let's hope Pramipexole works as good as advertised!
Sheldon Rothman ([log in to unmask])
