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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Denise528 on January 24, 2002, at 5:49:07
Hi,
I'm interested to read any success stories with Mirapex, how did it help and how long did it take to work?
Denise
Posted by TSA West on January 24, 2002, at 17:13:48
In reply to Mirapex any Success Stories?, posted by Denise528 on January 24, 2002, at 5:49:07
I had poop-out from Mirapex. But for a while it did work. Here's what I wrote during that time:
Mirapex is a dopamine agonist that is most often used for Parkinson's Disease. But, it has been shown in two studies to have antidepressant properties in non-Parkinson's patients.
Mirapex started working for me in a little less than a week (possibly because I got up to 6 mg per day in two days' time)! I found out that it needs to be taken about every 5 hours, otherwise I relapse. I have no side-effects from it (thank God).
Though I start to feel a relapse after 5 hours on Mirapex, that is because I have a fast metabolism. Mirapex actually has greater than 90% bioavailability with a long elimination half-life of 8 to 12 hours. So, some people can take it two times a day without relapsing; others take it three-times a day (so they don't feel bad again).
But when I wake up in the morning--8 hours after my last dose), I still feel okay. However, if I wait two hours after I get up to take the Mirapex, then I will relapse and not want to go to work.
Here are some advantages of Mirapex:
--It has a benign side-effect profile, with most patients reporting nausea as the main side-effect. But that side-effect may have been from the levodopa that the Parkinsons' patients were also taking during the clinical trials.
--Mirapex is definitely less expensive than Prozac or Wellbutrin. 100 of the 1.5 mg Mirapex tablets costs $80 on insurance at the largest HMO in the US. Prozac and Paxil are definitely more costly.
--It has few anticholinergic effects.
--It is not known to cause sexual dysfunction.
--Though it probably has to be taken three times a day, so does Neurontin, Wellbutrin IR, Effexor IR, and Visken.
--Mirapex has two studies done on it in non-Parkinsons' patients--one for unipolar depression and the other for bipolar disorder.
--It has minimal drug interactions as compared to Tricyclic Antidepressants or MAOI's (& RIMA's).Thus, if it works for you, its a good deal...
-Studies on Medline:
2. Pramipexole augmentation in the treatment of unipolar and bipolar depression: a retrospective chart review Ann Clin Psychiatry. 2000
3:
Maj J, Rogoz Z.
Synergistic effect of pramipexole and sertraline in the forced swimming test. Pol J Pharmacol. 1999 Nov-Dec
4: Corrigan MH, Denahan AQ, Wright CE, Ragual RJ, Evans DL. Related Articles Comparison of pramipexole, fluoxetine, and placebo in patients with major depression. Depress Anxiety. 2000;11(2)
Posted by ChrisK on January 25, 2002, at 3:06:05
In reply to Mirapex any Success Stories?, posted by Denise528 on January 24, 2002, at 5:49:07
> I'm interested to read any success stories with Mirapex, how did it help and how long did it take to work?
>
> Denise
Mirapex started working for me within a week and has been a great help in my battle against anhedonia. At the time that was my worst symptom and the one that I actively targeted with my pdoc. he had never used it for one of his patients before so I was the guinea pig. I think we were both surprised at how it made me much more functional. That was a year ago and I still take 3-4 mg/day.I wouldn't consider it as a stand alone or first choice AD but I do think it is a good augmentor if you have found an AD that gives you some benefit but doesn't get you over the anhedonia/apathy hump.
I also wouldn't call it 'activating' although it did cause a little insomnia for awhile. That later wasn't a problem.
I'd recommend it for anyone who is still feeling apathetic and needs a little boost to get going or if you have become emotionally numb and would like to experience a few of the joys in life again.
Do a search using my name for the last year and you will find some of my other posts regarding Mirapex.
Good Luck with it,
ChrisK
Posted by Denise528 on January 25, 2002, at 5:55:30
In reply to Re: Mirapex any Success Stories?, posted by ChrisK on January 25, 2002, at 3:06:05
>
> > Hi Chrisk,Yes I have already found your details from the archives, that's what brought my attention to Mirapex. I was hoping there would be other success stories out there.
Thanks for the info so far.
Denise
Posted by Noa on January 28, 2002, at 17:40:50
In reply to Re: Mirapex any Success Stories?, posted by Denise528 on January 25, 2002, at 5:55:30
Thanks for the info, TW, Chris, Denise.
This is the end of the thread.
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