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Tag Archives: Ask the Doctor
So I’m Stopping the Requip
I went to my Neurologist today, and we discussed my digestive problems, hair loss LOL, and insomnia. His solution was to taper off the Requip until I have quit taking it completely and see what happens to my stomach problems. He also gave me a prescription for a time release version of Ambien. And, of course, if it was the Requip that was causing the hair loss, stopping the Requip will take care of that situation.
I told him about writing to the National Parkinson’s Foundation “Ask the Doctor” site, and what that doctor suggested. So he’s given me some samples of the medicine the NPF doctor suggested I try. I’m not supposed to use it until I’ve completely stopped the Requip, if I can possibly stand it. But I explained we were taking care of my Daddy, and I might not be able to put up with my impaired walking that long. He wants me to try, so he can get a fair assessment of how the new medicine works, but he does understand our situation.
He gave me samples of Zelepar, one of the brand names of Selegiline. It dissolves on the tongue, so it does not go through the digestive system at all, but straight into the blood stream. I have high hopes for this medicine. It is also a different type of medicine than I have had before. This one is an MAO inhibitor. I’ll have to do some research to fully understand what that means.
I am very thankful that all the research over the last few years means there are a lot more different types of medicines for him to try on me than there used to be for Parkinson’s. None of them slow down the disease, or do anything at all to cure it, but they do help with the symptoms. For now, that is a blessing. Hopefully, in my lifetime, they will find ways of at least slowing the disease down. And who knows, maybe they’ll even find a cure.
Another Great Day!
We had a wonderful Date Day yesterday, with beautiful Fall weather, and some really nice finds at a handful of garage/moving and Estate sales. Because of the direction we headed, DH didn’t have to deal with horrible Friday afternoon traffic when it was time to head home, like he usually does, so that made it even better.
We ate out at a buffet, so I was able to find plenty that I could eat, while he could get what he wanted. I’ve gotten in the habit of taking a couple of Beano caplets before I eat, anytime I even suspect that I’m going to eat something that might produce gas, and that seems to be helping, too. All and all, I seem to be settling into a pretty good idea of how to eat in such a way as to protect my stomach, as things have been pretty calm for several days now.
I wrote to the Ask the Doctor mailing list on the National Parkinson’s Foundation site last week, and my post showed up in the email today. It takes about a week between sending in a question and getting an answer, as these are practicing physicians, who take the time to answer the questions. I had asked the mailing list doctor if he could suggest any meds that I could take in patch form, to bypass my stomach.
The doctor suggested I try the form of Selegiline, called Zelepar, that dissolves under the tongue and bypasses the stomach, and also go back to Sinemet, with a larger dose of Lodocyn. According to him, Requip causes more nausea than Sinemet does. My Dr. S. had said he couldn’t promise that the Requip wouldn’t make me more nauseated, but that he wanted to give it a try.
So, for now, at least, I’ll stick to the Requip, but if the nausea and bloating start up again, I think I’ll make an appointment with the Neurologist for as soon as possible, and see what he says about the Parkinsons’s Foundation Doctor’s suggestion.