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I have noted with interest the comments and experiences of people concerning the various dopamine agonists. I have personal experience of only tywo of these: Bromocriptine (Parlodel) - BAD, and Pergolide (Permax) - Good. However, we do need to recognise two aspects of the performance of these drugs: 1. Does the agonist perform as claimed, by allowing us to reduce the amount of levodopa that we take? 2. Does the agonist generate any unpleasant side-effects while doing its job? As an example of what I mean, I will stick to my own experience: Even Bpomocriptine - the first of the agonists - worked as advertised as far as enabling a reduction in Sinemet to be made. (Of course, there is also the case where you don't reduce the Sinemet and instead enjoy the increased margins thus gained, but that is really just a special case of 1. above. Item 2 however is a 'horse of a different colour'! I (and quite a few others) developed cases of paranoia which could and in some cases did have severe effects on our lives and the lives of our close family and/or carers. Permax however, caused me no side effects at all, and I have been taking it for about two to three years. (Now up to 2.5 mg/Day). On the other hand, I know of at least two people who have had the exact opposite effect: Bromo - no problem; Permax : Bad side effects. This is the heart of the problem: No amount of surveying.can tell whether you, personally, will be affected, and if you are affected what the effect will be. Perhaps the most useful statistic would be: What percentage of users of a particular drug suffer side effects? It sounds simple, but I suspect that a meaningful representative result is beyond the resources of this list. It would be no use to usto have an inaccurate result, nor would it be fair to the drug manufacturers to point the finger at the wrong manufacturer. -- Brian Collins <[log in to unmask]>