Hi Mayhem welcome to the forum, reading your post brings back thoughts of my own diagnosis. After years of suffering from a variety of ailments and two years of tests that day in Aug 2009 was a mix of panic, shock and relief! It felt like the end of my world (my life as it was), but like others have said relief at having a name for what was wrong with me! The first question i asked through floods of tears was 'will i be able to drink alcohol on the meds'?! i know how strange this sounds (i'm not a big drinker) but it was the first thing to come into my head!

Nearly three years on life is good, of course its different and i have off days but im still the same person inside. My husband and children (23 & 25) just treat me the same as before. Having pd does have its advantages tho - when the lawn needs cutting, dish washer needs emptying or theres a big pile of ironing!


Maybe im lucky but seem to be stable for now (fingers crossed))
I hope you find the forum as helpful as i do,

Take care

Big C

Gosh I am overwhelmed by the support everyone is showing. It is good to hear positive things from people with PD. I no longer feel so frightened going forward.
Big C I must say I asked that same question when they gave me the prescription and like you I am not even much of a drinker. At first it all felt so desperate like everything good had come to an end. Feeling less anxious now.

Does anyone else get dizzy spells. I often feel like I am drunk, even though I have not been drinking. PD nurse said it is not uncommon with the condition. But has anyone found anyway of minnimizing the effect. I am only on Requip XL and take no other meds. My blood pressure is good.

Hi Mayhem,

Do you mean dizzy as in dizzy and nauseous or dizzy as in what I call a funny turn? As I understand it takes 300 odd muscles working in balance to keep normal posture and there can be a momentary blip. Balance problems are part of PD and as in many symptoms of PD it varies according to the individual. I have had split second "what was that"'s which come together and then nothing for months.

the simple answer to that is yes!!

dizziness was one of my first symptoms and a year on from diagnosis I still have it.

some days are better than others but I always have a level of fuzziness in my head that none of the medication has managed to address. So far

Tried mirapexin, I thought I was dying!!!. Then I tried Requip got some very interesting symptoms which included sleep paralysis, hearing voices and some very pretty sparkly vision accompanied by a stonking headache.

I am now on neupro patches, but too early to decide whether they are making a difference As I am on such a low dose as we titrate up.

I live in hope that we may stumble across some drug or another that doesn't cause me to suffer all these side-effects.

I do have every sympathy though, living with dizziness is not easy, but it can be done. Still, work full time, although some days are easier than others.

I remember AnneBernadette suggesting to me once to drink plenty as that helped her so maybe worth a try?

Hi Mayhem, a warm welcome to the forum. I had dx confirmed 16th April (1st day of PD awareness week 2012) guess this will always stick in my mind. Since then I have read most posts on the forum and am amazed at the level of support found here.
However for me to get my head around things I am attending the local PD support group in Aberdeen tomorrow - need to meet others to get it all in perspective.
Like you I am only on Requip XL, I also have a fuzzy head but I find drinking plenty of fluids help but coffee makes it worse, I also have nearly constant nausea Ginger nuts help especially if dunked in tea!!
Hope to see you around the forum and wish you well on your PD journey hope you have few side effects of med.
I am 51 and work full time as a Senior Charge Nurse - but have had no real dealings with patients with this disease so real learning curve for me and husband.

The dizzy spells are worse in the mornings shortly after taking Requip. I don't feel sick only very light headed. Sometimes it affects my ability to focus my eyes properly. But that may also be lack of sleep. oh well I will just have to learn to live with them.

I should probably stop worrying. I just don't want to start blaming every minor itch and scratch on PD.

Forward with positivity.

Yes as they say onwards and upwards
I found taking Requip with breakfast not the best, spoke to PD nurse who suggested moving the time forward by hour daily, I now take it at lunch time which seems to suit me better seem to be sleeping better so thats a big boost.

Hi mayhem....love the name!
I was Dx in march 2011. It was a shock but had had symptoms for nearly 2 yrs......never entered my head I could have PD.
I take mirapex 1.5 mg and azilect 1mg and amantadine 100mg twice a day. It's been trial and error but have things under control. I am beginning to get problems with balance and freezing but generally managing pretty well.
Don't let it define you....you are still the same person you were before you heard the dreaded words.

I have become much more spontaneous and really do make the most of everyday.

Good luck
Matilda