Beware the drugs that can mimic Parkinson’s
When Larry was diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), his doctor decided to try a drug “off label” to treat it.
There is nothing unusual to this – lots of doctors do it.
The drug Larry was given for his IBS symptoms was a powerful medication, Stelazine, used to treat anxiety and depression. Again, as bizarre as that sounds, it’s not uncommon for antipsychotic drugs, to be prescribed for all sorts of conditions.
A bitter pill to swallow
Several months after beginning his treatment, Larry started having other problems: Tremors, rigidity, problems with certain movements, slurred speech… and the prognosis wasn’t good.
At 58, Larry was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. He was then put on L-dopa, the first-line treatment for it. For seven years Larry faithfully took his prescribed medication, but showed no real improvement.
He finally saw a specialist, desperate for a miracle and he got one. This doctor knew exactly what to do to “cure” Larry… and it only took 6 months.
The specialist Larry saw didn’t try some amazing new drug on him that wiped out his Parkinson’s disease. In fact, he just took away Larry’s Stelazine prescription…
Stelazine, is just one of over 49 drugs that are known to produce a disease remarkably similar to Parkinson’s. The name even sounds similar: Parkinsonism. Or for the long version, drug-induced Parkinsonism.
The good news about Parkinsonism is that most cases are totally reversible when people stop taking the drug that caused it to begin with.
Unfortunately, even though the link is well known – and has been for quite a while – many doctors haven’t heard about it.
Luckily, the specialist Larry saw had seen other cases like his. In just 3 years he saw and “cured” 38 other patients who were diagnosed with Parkinson’s.
Experts say that we have no idea how many people may have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s but instead, actually have drug-induced Parkinsonism. And if you’re older, and especially if you’re a woman, you have a much bigger risk of getting it.
And as I said, there are around 49 different drugs that can cause it.
Two of them, Compazine, and Reglan, are often prescribed to treat acid, nausea and vomiting. Reglan is well known to cause drug-induced Parkinsonism in people under 50.
Other drugs that can trigger this disease include Zoloft, Paxil, Wellbutrin, Prozac and Abilify. In fact, any drug that can affect your mood, treat anxiety or that can be used for bipolar disorder or schizophrenia – any one of them – can cause this disease.
It’s absolutely unbelievable that this condition, one that’s been known for years, can continue to be so misdiagnosed. A study found that that when researchers carefully examined over 1,500 people with Parkinson-like symptoms, they found that in 120 it was absolutely clear that their “disease” was caused by the drugs they were taking. That’s nearly 10 per cent of the participants!
Imagine 10 per cent of all people diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, being misdiagnosed…
That’s why it’s vital, if you or a loved one is suffering any symptoms of Parkinson’s, or has even been diagnosed by a doctor as having the disease, to check the medicine cabinet first.
It’s possible that the miracle “cure” you’ve been praying for could be as simple as discontinuing a drug.
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Sources:
“Drug-induced parkinsonism” Worst Pills, Best Pills newsletter, worstpills.org
“Dining out? Do you know which restaurant tabletop item is germier than a toilet seat?” Elisabeth Leamy and Vanessa Weber, Good Morning America, abcnews.go.com
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It’s shocking to think that we are taking drugs that mimics Parkinson’s disease. I wonder how many people have been misdiagnosed with something they don’t have? Thanks for a great website.