Agonists

[David Langridge <davidl@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

 Brian Collins has suggested that all agonists are much the same except for
their side effects.My own experience is that there could be differences.I
have mainly been on Pergolide but  had a little flirtation with
Ropinerol.The differences showed up in an 'objective' test I had devised for
myself which  involved screwing a bolt all the way up a 2 inch thread and
timing my performance right hand against  left.Right hand has always
remained reasonbly constant under all conditions but left hand performance(
it's my left side which is effected) can vary greatly according to the
efficacy of my medication At times the left hand has been almost as good as
the right hand but at it's worst four times as slow.There is some
correlation between  the results of this speed test and one's own more
subjective assessment of 'how do  I feel and how well am I functioning.'

Now whereas  sinmet only gave me a poor speed result, sinemet plus
pergolide at 3 mg a day gave me excellent left hand results so that I was
able to resume piano playing.Sinemet and Ropinerol at full dose however did
not help my left hand speed which settled at very much slower than my right
hand.Ropinerol also resulted in more dyskenesia.Pure speculation suggests
that this might be something to do with the different receptors sensitive to
the agonists.Of course little amateur experiments like the above proove
nothing and need to be properly done under controlled conditions.But they
can be fun.

David Langridge