Meds;early or late ?

Hi all;dygnosed last November; not on any meds yet;been taking supplements; b1;mannitol etc;finding it difficult to fast walk;which is part of my regime; foot bends in;toes curling.Iam confused by;the conflicting opinions;whether to take meds or battle on;wud like to hear other pwp;opinions experiences thanks

Hello,

I was diagnosed last August a few months before yourself and the meds haven’t done anything for me yet, so my advise would be to soldier on. I think by enlarge most people will probably benefit from the medication and I still remain hopeful that I will hit the right note with them and get some symptomatic relief but to date lady luck hasn’t been on my side.

Hi Jimmy. We’ve all faced this. My experience is to start meds asap, there is no need to suffer unduly. I started on rasagiline, once daily which helped a bit. After 6 months I added Sinemet 3 times daily and the effect was amazing; Within a week I got my legs back!. I am on minimum medication, which hopefully will allow for future increases as required. I’m 5 years in and no tremors yet! Start meds and see if it works for you, if not contact your Parkinsons nurse (GP if you haven’t got one) and try something else. Hopefully you will find something that doesn’t have too many side effects (constipation, urinary urges, swallowing problems, speech problems etc!). Exercise every day and above all smile as best you can. Good luck.

I was diagnosed in September and started medication a week later (I phoned every day to chase the medication). As soon as I started medication I started to feel better

Sorry things aren’t working out yet;im sure things will improve

Thanks peter very encouraging reply;visit nuero soon mite try some meds :+1:

Thanks i’m sure they will, still plenty of options in front of me so still hopefull of a successful outcome. I have opted for the dopamine agonist route to date but levadopa is more effective. Pros and cons of each and everybody seems to have a different opinion so its not easy.

Yes;levadopa;is the gold standard med;think were all a bit scared of the meds;but there are lots of myths about levadopa;probably give it a try ;good luck my friend

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Hi, I was diagnosed three years ago March this year and started prescribed drugs straightaway. It took some time to get the balance right etc but apart from the odd wobble occasionally I have my life back. If your consultant / parkinsons nurse advice taking some form of medication it is worth trying as we ‘Parkies’ don’t have to suffer unnecessarily. Good luck.

Diagnosed early 7 years ago aged 59, had a few tremors in my hand and other things not quite right. Was put on Rasagiline which really helped. My consultant wanted me to stay off meds as long as possible which was fine by me. He said because of the side effects. I had a physical job and never lost any time because of my Parkinsons although the last year before I retired was difficult. I have been on a low dose Sinemet a year . I feel better in myself but not sure it has helped me much physically. The consultant doubled the dose in April but it made me pass out so went back to the original dose. I think it’s all a matter of opinion by the medical staff and yourself.

Hi, everyone is different. I started on Rasagiline when diagnosed a year ago- which helped slightly but I did get worse. Because Rasagiline just utilizes the dopamine you have left more efficiently whereas the levadopa ones are to help replace the dopamine lost. I am on the lowest dose of Sinemet at the moment and it does help especially with cognitive symptoms and tremor. Talk to pd nurse and neurologist about the best way to go.

Thanks sèeing nuro in a few weeks will talk to him

Hi, it is all a matter of what you think is best for you. Given that most of us know nothing about the meds pre diagnosis it is a difficult situation to address. I decided I was not going to take anything for as long as I felt able to carry on relatively normally. It was 3 years before I started so as you can see from the comments there is no hard and fast rule. Your body will tell you when you need to start.
Whatever you decide be determined to try and do all the things you usually do and stick to it. If you are determined enough you can have a life. Best wishes .

Thanks; thinking the same as you;if im ok;will stay med free;best of luck