i have been using Sinemet, leva/carb 200-50, for over 15 years! it was/is my main
med for P.D. Until recently it made me 3/4 normal. But now i've build a resistance to it.
so the funs over! It wears off without warning and leaves me barely able to move or do anything!
(Frozen Zombie) it has increased from 2 to 4 to 6 a day! i take half a pill every 90 minutes. i still have ''off periods'' without warning! i biggest concer is buliding a total resistance to the Sinemet and become completely helpless!! But that's taking it for 15 years, 56 yo to 71 y o.
I thought everyone with P.D. was taking leva/dopa. It's a miracle drug. It can take you off of Mars and back to Earth! Anyway, that's the way it was for me. But i'm still learning .P.D. is a full time study!!

@A MyParkinsonsTeam Member - you mean that wonderful post-menopausal sexual awakening I experienced was just compulsive behavior due to the side effect of my PD medication? Please! Leave me my delusions...

Mentioned Users

A MyParki...

Sorry you went through all that! It varies from individual to individual; Ive been on rOPINirole ER once a day combined with Rytary ER (carbidopa/levodopa) three times a day for two years without experiencing any of the things you did, although I didn't feel very well until we switched from regular doses of C/L to the extended release version.

I took Ropinirole before I was diagnosed with PD for restless leg syndrome. After reading about it I realized I most likely had PD and saw a Neurologist who confirmed that I had PD. He put me on carbidopa/levodopa 2 tablets four times a day. I have taken both ever since. That is about three years I don't know if they have side effects. I have problems with itchy dry skin and swollen feet and sometimes legs. Otherwise I seem to be ok. I have vivid dreams but not scary ones. Like I told someone it feels like I am at the movies all night.

I have been taking Ropinirole and Carbidopa/levodopa together and also Azilect (1 mg in the morning) for 13 years. In fact my motion specialist 2nd neuro took me off carb/levo for several months - just ropinirole & azilect until my dopamine levels got too low. Now my doses are up to one 2 mg Ropinirole tablet 4/day (I couldn't take the extended release form, because half dissolved pills kept showing up in my stools), and one & a half 25-100 Carbidopa/levodopa tablets 6x/day. The Ropinirole Is kind of weird. It helps to restore the balance of dopamine in the brain, improves your ability to move and decreases shakiness (tremors), stiffness, slowed movement, unsteadiness, & restless legs syndrome, & may decrease freezing & improve your sleep by decreasing the urge to move your legs and decreasing uncomfortable/unpleasant feelings in the legs. But it is too bad that it has such crappy side effects. I get strange vivid dreams (not usually bad ones), and I have to be careful of impulse control: saying things I might regret, buying stupid stuff I don't need (especially fake nutritional supplements or amazing "money-saving" appliances over the internet), wasting money playing Keno machines, reading & writing on the internet instead of doing housework (it's easier & more fun). But I Can control those impulses, they don't control me (I think).