We recently recieved an e-mail from a woman married to a man with Parkinson's disease who experienced some compulsive behavior. We want to share her email with you in case you are one of the unfortunate few who confront this problem associated with Parkinson's disease medications.
My husband has had parkinsons for 12 years. Over a period of time, he used Sinemet, with little or no side effects. However, when he started taking Mirapex he became a dirty old man. I tolerated this behavior for years before I started divorce proceedings.
I think for some the process is so gradual, they don’t realize they are changing. Patients and spouses do not tell their doctors about these actions because most are probably too embarrassed and think they can work things out on their own.
Once Mirapex was removed from my husband’s body, I got the lovable person back I had prior to the Mirapex. His actions have not only changed toward me, but also toward the entire family and our friends.
Do you really think it's better for the patient to take these agonists when they are destroying so many other people and end up by themselves?
My Parkinson's Info Response:
What you experienced first hand is real and personal. You may not like the sterile and mathematic response that we read in literature. There are hundreds of people who have a bad experience because of impulsive behaviors such as gambling or being a "dirty old man." It is a real issue that goes much deeper than we can.
Many people take Mirapex and other dopamine agonists without experiencing these side effects. A small percentage of people taking Mirapex have experiences like your husband. Furthermore, doctors and people in the Parkinson’s community are now aware of those potential side effects. People who begin to experience the desires to do outrageous things tend to switch to other drugs quickly. Lamentably, that has not always been the case.
The gradual onset your husband experienced is an issue we must pass on to our readers. People need to understand the it can sneek up on them.
Considering my bias toward keeping medications like Mirapex on the market, there are other drugs that can often help people. Changing to a different dopamine agonist like Neupro may help. There are also MAO B inhibitors rasagiline, and selegiline. So far we have not heard reports of compulsive behavior associated with these medications.
There are some great choices if a person is concerned about dopamine agonists possibly introducing radical, life-altering side effects.