Medications “treating” Dystonia are like mediocre relationships – we make do notwithstanding their pitfalls because there’s nothing better waiting on the horizon. Admittedly, we tend to engage in a bit of a juggling act, no one pill supplying everything we need. Similar to Romeo and Juliet, we lack the official seal of approval and must carry on our affaires de coeur “off label.”
My main squeeze is Trihexyphenidyl, a mouthful. He’s famously known as Artane but you can call him Art. Think of him as the steadying influence in my life. His ethnicity is anticholinergic. No, he’s not from Anticholinergia but harkens from the same family as your friendly allergy meds, blocking the work of a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine that seems to have a hand in screwing up my muscles. Just as women haven’t figured out men, no one knows why Art’s so effective. Believe me, not every Dystonia patient falls under his spell. Our relationship is fraught with issues – all his doing – but I’m not giving up on him until someone better comes along.
Sinemet is an old flame I keep around for kicks (or avoidance thereof). Our chemistry’s rather simple: he introduces a pop of levodopa to help me synthesize dopamine, a sine qua non for treating Parkinson’s – on loan to little sister and no one’s miracle cure. The underlying secret to our success remains a mystery (neurotransmitter balance perhaps) but why fiddle with a good thing?
Finally, meet Zonegran (“Z”). His politics include anti seizure, which is an interesting perspective on the machinations of my muscles. Z is a relative newcomer to my stable of suitors. He replaced a childhood sweetheart in my mad-capped game of Spin The Bottle and I never paused to consider whether I needed anyone new in my life.
This medical “three-way” adds a crazy sideshow to my three-ring circus. Like all Dystonia therapies, they wax far from ideal, but they’re the ones I love to hate and hate to love!
Chronicles Of A Dystonia Muse 