Posted by ben on January 25, 2002, at 2:22:53
In reply to Re: Levodopa (Madopar) for fatigue/RLS relief., posted by OldSchool on January 24, 2002, at 14:44:42
Levodopa is approved to treat RLS in Switzerland as in many other countries. I can give you the monography. Levodopa has a very short half life and thats why it is predestinated to treat RLS during the night.
Levodopa can do nasty psychiatric side effects, but in low dose it can be a mood booster (remember MAOIs and Venlafaxine do affect dopamine too ! and they are often used to treat serious depression !) SSRIs are leading sometimes to dopamine depletion (- > anhedonia, apathy) and Levodopa can be used in this cases ! It is very selden yet, but some pdocs are using this strategy. Bromocriptinecan make nasty psychiatric side effects to !> > Hi
> >
> > I tried Levodopa to Paxil because of restless legs (unclear diagnosis yet) from Sept.- December 62.5 mg up to 125 mg at night. It is still unclear if I have RLS or periodic limb movements (PLS) so we decided to tapper of it. Now I am off (for 2 weeks) and feel more fatigue and depressed in the morning and during the day. The problem is that I had to come off Paxil too (from 30 mg in 6 weeks) because I developped a bad liver reaction (like a hepatitis) from Paroxetine. My liver is okay since I am off ! Could the Madopar have been an interesting augmentation adjunct to the SSRIs or do I really have RLS/PLS ? I read of dopamine depletion under long term SSRI treatment ! Should I go back to Madopar ??? At the moment I try Aurorix but dont feel stimulated !
> > See also:
> > "http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020116/msgs/90853.html" >
> >
> >
> > many thanks for your thoughts an inputs
>
> I have never heard of levodopa being used for restless legs syndrome, fatigue or EPS. Levodopa is a serious medication usually reserved for parkinsons disease. If it was me, Id try other medications for restless legs or EPS type problems. Anti-cholinergics are good, as are some of these dopamine agonists like Amantadine, Mirapex, bromocriptine, etc.
>
> Moclobemide has some dopamine in it and that might be a good drug for mild movement disorder problems. Levodopa sounds pretty extreme to me unless you have real deal parkinsons disease. Keep in mind that levodopa can have some pretty strong psychiatric side effects in a person who doesnt have parkinsons. It can induce psychosis, hallucinations, paranoia, confusion, etc.
>
> Old School
poster:ben
thread:91234
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020124/msgs/91511.html