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Emily, you write:

>The Question: Are these side effects that will go away in time (how long?)
>if we just stick with it? Is it possible that he really doesn't need the
>1.5mg daily at this early stage in his disease?  His symptoms (tremor,
>mostly) are not too bad with the lower dosage, we found during these past
>weeks of titration; what about using the lower dosage as our regular dosage
>for the time being?  Is there some "magic" about this 1.5mg that we HAVE to
>reach it?

Dick's neuro, a movement disorder specialist, told him specifically that he
might titrate out at a level below the 1.5 mg.  He said if he reached a level
that worked well for him, he didn't have to continue to increase the dose.
 Or, we assumed, he could drop back down if he tried the higher dose and the
results weren't as good.

Dick stopped at .75 mg daily because that level seemed to work so well for
him.  Later on, he did try increasing it more, but the results weren't as
good, so he backed off to .75 again.

PD drugs, unlike other drugs your doctor prescribes that must be taken in X
amount to achieve a therapeutic level, are intended strictly to help the body
replace its missing dopamine or make better use of the dopamine already
there.  There's no "magic" quantity.  Only the PWP can decide what dosage
works best for him/her at that particular stage of the disease.

Margie Swindler     [log in to unmask]