Brian Collins wrote: > > I think it's about time that we got a clear picture of the various dopamine > agonists, since they feature in most people's drug diet these days. For > instance; I take Permax (Pergolide) in addition to levadopa. Over the last > 6 years I have worked myself up from zero to 5 mg of Permax in order to > combat the steady deterioration which is the hallmark of PD. Now this simple > fact is of very little use if I want to see into the future, unless I can > relate my current intake of Permax to some absolute standard. Not only > that, how do I relate my situation to that of someone taking say Ropinirole > (Requip)? With your help, I think we can answer these questions. > > What we need is for as many members of this list as possible to complete the > response form at the end of this e-mail. I have not seen this attempted > before (maybe it can't be done) but let's make the attempt. > > Problem areas: A key question is 'What is the maximum safe dosage of > whatever drug you are using?' This is bound to be a moving feast in > practice: for instance; when I was taking 2 mg of Permax, my neurologist > told me that about 4 mg would be the maximum safe level. When I reached > 4mg , he told me that people were taking up to 12 mg. I am very grateful > to these pioneers for effectively opening-up my future by several years. > > If we get enough of a response to make a useful analysis I will attempt > to do so, and will make the data available to anyone who asks for it. Of > course any results will be published in the list. > > Questions: > > 1/ Which Dopamine Agonist are you taking? [pramipaxile] > > 2/ When did you start taking it? [1997] > > 3/ When were you diagnosed as having PD? [1991] > > 4/ What was your age when diagnosed? [40] > > 5/ When do you believe (with hindsight) that you experienced first symptoms? [unexplained limp which went away in '70's and again in 1986; then Jul 1990] > > 6/ What is your present daily intake of levodopa? (Sinemet, Madopar) > [50/200 sinemet CR 2x/day; 10/100 sinemet 4x/day] > 7/ What is your present daily intake of Dopamine Agonist? > [.25 mg pramipaxile 2x/day] > 8/ Has your neurologist advised you of the max. safe dose for your agonist? [this is the max dose for me now] > > -- > Brian Collins <[log in to unmask]>