David, I think my reaction to Sinemet is really strange.  I had a real
abnormal fear of taking it due to my allergic reactions to chemo and  PD
agonists so no placebo effect should have been in effect. After the first
half dose I felt great, thought it would be great,  "normal" could walk to
mailbox, etc. so I know what you guys mean about being "on" and why you take
it despite dyskinesias.  It never helped again and I took it for a year and
later tried several versions including CR, carbadopa/levadopa, regular,
different dosages and Comtan and I only got twitching in my abdomen.
Ray
----- Original Message -----
From: "DAVID LEWIN" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, March 12, 2006 7:20 AM
Subject: Re: redefining toxicity


> Recently, because of a change in my insurance coverage, I tried to fall
> back
> on an old prescription bottle of dopamine CR that had no effect in the
> past
> of easing my muscle spasms and rigidity. By the end of the month I was in
> constant physical agony, and only the return to my regular dopamine 25/100
> 10 pills a day brought me out of pain, and the effect was instantaneous.
> Go
> figure.
>
>>From: Ned Gardner <[log in to unmask]>
>>Reply-To: Parkinson's Information Exchange Network
>><[log in to unmask]>
>>To: [log in to unmask]
>>Subject: Re: redefining toxicity
>>Date: Sat, 11 Mar 2006 06:08:31 -0600
>>
>>mackenzie wrote:
>>>I recently cited the ELLDOPA study which concluded
>>>that question of levodopa toxicity was still
>>>unresolved.
>>>
>>>However, upon closer examination of the study and the
>>>terminology used, it turns out the question of
>>>toxicity as you and i define it was not even
>>>addressed.
>>>
>>>Instead, the authors redefined "toxic" to mean
>>>"hastens disease progression."
>>>
>>>i can see how they got there - if you define disease
>>>progression solely as the loss of dopamine neurons and
>>>you define toxic solely as something that kills
>>>dopamine neurons, you have a nice, neat "if A=B and
>>>B=C, then A=C" thang going on.
>>>
>>>But toxic is not defined as "something that kills
>>>dopamine neurons," and toxic things do not, by
>>>definition, hasten disease progression - for example,
>>>the toxicity of chemo is undisputed, and it,
>>>obviously, is used to slow disease progression.
>>>
>>>Medline Plus medical dictionary defines toxic as a
>>>poison (or a toxin, but toxin has a very narrow
>>>definition) and a poison as:
>>>
>>>1 :a substance that through its chemical action
>>>usually kills, injures, or impairs an organism, or
>>>2 : a substance that inhibits the activity of another
>>>substance or the course of a reaction or process
>>>
>>>anything that causes the kinds of side effects
>>>levodopa does can surely be said to be injuring or
>>>impairing people (keep in mind that the only place
>>>dyskinesias occur without drug inducement is in
>>>Hungtington's disease, with the emphasis on
>>>*disease.*) it is such a no brainer, it has baffled me
>>>how the question can still be under debate.
>>>
>>>Now i know - the question of toxicity isn't under
>>>debate at all.
>>>
>>>So if you see any headlines claiming that levodopa is
>>>not toxic, question how they defined "toxic." it
>>>probably does NOT mean that it has been shown that
>>>levodopa is not harmful or injurious.
>>>
>>>And I have one question - every single one of those
>>>authors has an MD, or a PhD, or both, which we
>>>generally take to be in indication of intelligence.
>>>Sooooo... are they being disingenuous, or are they
>>>just stupid?
>>>
>>>Either way, it is not good for us.
>>>
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>>
>>mackenzie:
>>
>>I think that what you have exposed is another example of how those
>>responsible have been chosen for their inept leaderless quality s in an
>>effort to prove the point that government just cant serve the people,
>>and they don't mind stepping over a few bodies in the street, as they
>>have demonstrated, in an attempt to convince the majority of that
>>misguided conclusion.
>>
>>Ned
>>
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