Posted by Rick on September 6, 2001, at 16:13:17
In reply to Re: DOPAMINE - SP and Parkinsons Disease » kregpark@yahoo.com, posted by Mitch on September 6, 2001, at 10:38:49
> > Mitch:
> >
> > Thanks for your input.
> > You are the first I've come across on the Internet
> > with both the SP and ADHD, but I wouldn't be
> > surprised if many people have both. You mentioned
> > mood swings and Cyclert helping that. Do you have
> > bipolar also? I saw an abstract suggesting some
> > possible strong similarities between bipolar
> > and SP. Would make sense to me, both are very
> > chronic disorders with the former clearly involving
> > dopamine dysfunction and SP with strong evidence
> > so far.
> >
>
> Yes, bipolarII was my first diagnosis 20 years ago, rapid cycling (there wasn't any distinction back then I think-but that best describes it now). The SP/panic became prominent a few years later. I have always had ADHD problems all the way back to 2nd grade. Anyhow, the BPII was the *official* dx, until I started changing pdocs around in the last 3 or 4 years. Then it got changed to ADHD. That is when I tried Adderall 5mg AM with Neurontin (100mg 3xdaily)-nothing else. My cycling interestingly flattened out and *disappeared*. I got rather quiet and attentive. I slept a very regular 7 hours at nite. I couldn't get over how well I could *listen* and I suddenly had this ability to plan things out and execute them in a stepwise fashion and be patient with the process. Interestingly, I *lost* the ability to juggle 3 or 4 things simultaneously (albeit in a half-ass fashion). But I was always somewhat edgy on the pstim and complained about anxiety, I was also a little "cold" towards others as well. We tried adding a tiny dose (.5mg/day) of Risperdal to the mix and I got dystonia and gait disturbances and it got stopped, about that time also I started to panic and I couldn't tolerate being around anybody I was so uptight. Then I got a thyroid tumor-so the Adderall got stopped and I was put on big doses of benzos to quell the panic and my dx was changed to SP. The thyroid tumor might have been just coincidental-since I have a family history of thyroid cancer. Strange, but writing this just now I realize the first panic attack I had was right after my pdoc (18 years ago)gave me 25mg/day of thorazine to help with some anger I was having. I had been taking it for a few weeks, then I had to change shifts-my sleep schedule got interrupted and the panic got triggered. The last big bout of panic (2 years ago) also occurred within 2-3 weeks on a low dose of a dopamine antagonist(!) Sorry for rambling on, but there is definitely a connection there.
>
> MitchMitch -
It doesn't work for everybody (lukewarm reception on this board, anyway), but based on all you've indicated, it sounds as if you might want to try low-dose Provigil as part of a cocktail with more trad'l SP meds. Even if it doesn't turn out to be a potent for ADD, it:
-- Has much less of a dopaminergic profile than
traditional stims, and has much more
localized activity in the brain.
-- Except at higher doses, it doesn't usually
cause anxiety. For me, it in fact adds a
whole new -- and very welcome -- dimension
to my Social Phobia treatment. As you know,
Craig can also attest to Provigil's benefits
in SP.
-- As Craig mentioned, some animal studies have
shown that Provigil may potentially
*prevent* or help treat Parkinson's
-- To the extent that BP really applies to you,
note that about half the patients in the small
study that showed Provigil as a powerful
AD-augmentor were BP.Have you by any chance already tried Provigil or its overseas cousin adrafinil?
BTW, I once saw an abstract where a doctor (or group of doctors) claimed to have determined that having a tremore side effect on an SSRI indicates that the patient is someone who will probably develop Parkinsons at some point (I think it WAS worded that strongly, can't swear to it). I'm a bit skeptical about this, at least in terms of the *degree* of correlation claimed.
Rick
poster:Rick
thread:36517
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010902/msgs/78054.html