Goodpenny's Imitrex History

Goodpenny: Sex: F; Data Quality: 2 stars; Parkinson's: 9 yrs; Hoehn-Yahr 3 Type: Parkinson's disease On; Mouth/throat: mild; Arms: mild; Chest: mild; Legs: mild

Goodpenny: Female, 53 years; La Honda, CA

Primary Condition: Parkinson's

Type: Parkinson's disease

First symptom: Jul 2003
Diagnosis: Sep 2006

About Goodpenny

I'm a 52-year-old electronics engineer in the field of space sciences research, and I'm a lucky, lucky lady. I have a wonderful husband, a terrific son, and a loving and supportive family. I was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease in 2006, and it has changed the course of my life. The surprising part is that a lot of the change has been for the better! I'm getting stronger every day in some ways.

I've lived in the SF Bay Area all my life. Graduated from Gunn High School in Palo Alto in 1978, kicked around doing odd jobs for a couple of years, then started taking college electronics courses at night because I was working as an assembler and wanted to know more about what I was building. In 1984, my digital electronics teacher got me hired in to Lockheed in Palo Alto, and I fell in love, both with my job and with my future husband who happened to be working there too. I've been in love with both ever since.
When I started having Parkinson's symptoms, I knew something was wrong, but couldn't put my finger on it, and neither could my doctor. I had a slight heart arythmia; went to a cardiologist. Had a cardiological MRI; everything was fine. Had GI symptoms and anemia; went to a gastroenterologist. Had a colonoscopy & upper GI endoscopy, everything was fine. Had fatigue, dizziness, slight tremor and vertigo; went to a neurologist. Had a brain MRI; everything was fine. Meanwhile, I had memory and cognition problems and I kept falling and running into things. Broke toes on 4 or 5 separate occasions. Finally, the tremor in my left hand got suddenly worse and the muscles felt clenched and taut all the time. I found that my left hand and arm moved very slowly; I had trouble playing my ukulele. My walk was a bit strange; people kept commenting on it. All of this brought me to the neurologist again. He knew I had been researching things on the internet and he asked me what I was thinking it was. I said either essential tremor or MS that didn't show on the MRI. He looked at me kindly and said "have you thought of Parkinson's?" I was floored. I told him I thought that the MRI ruled that out. He said no, it doesn't show on MRIs. He said I should go home, research Parkinson's on the internet and come back in a week and bring my husband with me. It was exactly the right approach for me. I came to grips with the idea that I might have Parkinson's on my own, so when he gave me the diagnosis, I was as ready as I could be. It was still a shock, though.
This will be an interesting journey, and I think I'm strong enough to face it. Well, I hope I am anyway, because you either keep walking as long as you can, or you give up and sit by the trail. I want to keep going and keep healthy as long as possible, and enjoy my life. Besides, I want to be ready when they find a cure, right?

Profile Activity: 12,938 Views

Member since: Apr 10, 2007 Last Login Dec 10, 2012

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Goodpenny's Imitrex is for:

Migraine headaches

Goodpenny's side effects of Imitrex:

Sleepiness Sep 24, 2008

Goodpenny's Imitrex History (Ongoing)
Imitrex (sumatriptan)
As needed Feb 22 - Mar 30, 2008
As needed Mar 30 - Apr 23, 2008
As needed Jun 18, 2008 - Last Update
Stopped Doctor's advice Apr 23, 2008

Evaluations
Date	Dosage	Other Perceived effectiveness	Migraine headaches Perceived effectiveness	Side Effects	Adherence	Burden
Aug 11, 2009	As needed
Jan 30, 2009	As needed
Dec 05, 2008	As needed
Sep 24, 2008	As needed

Date: Aug 11, 2009
Advice & Tips: Take it as soon as your headache starts; don't wait until the migraine is in full bloom. It works very fast, though, so even if you wait, it still gives relief pretty quickly. It mostly works on the pain, not so much the other migraine symptoms (visual disturbances, nausea, sleepiness, sensitivity to light, etc.).
Cost: < $25 monthly

Date: Dec 05, 2008
Advice & Tips: There is supposedly a possible drug interaction between Imitrex and Selegiline. I take both, and have had no problems.
Cost: $25-49 monthly

Date: Sep 24, 2008
Advice & Tips: This drug absolutely DESTROYS my migraines. One is enough, and the migraine is gone. It sometimes comes back the next day, but I just take another. There is supposed to be a drug interaction problem with Imitrex and selegiline, but I take both without any problems (on the advice of my neurologist). I don't have problems with high blood pressure, though.
Cost: $50-99 monthly

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