I have been monitoring the correspondence of this group for a short while, as
my mother has Parkinson's. I must say the information has been enlightening.
We have also prepared and mailed letters to the Wisc. senators.
 
My mother is 85 and was diagnosed with PD 3 years ago. She does not have much
tremble (only slight in the arm) but she has difficulty getting her walking
movements started and has poor balance.
She fell several years ago and broke a hip...and has been more anxious ever
since. The medications she is taking are listed below.
Since these drugs don't seem to be doing much to help her get movement
started at this point, I want to try sinemet with her again. (Note, she also
sleeps a lot in the afternoon....I wonder if this is a side effect of one or
more of the drugs below....or just a side effect of her senior age.)
 
She had trouble taking sinemet in the beginning....with unacceptable
nausea...but since she was never given particularly clear advice on taking
it, I think incorrect medication timing and interaction with the wrong foods
may have been the problem. (for example, she was not told to take the pills
1/2 hour before or after meals and she was not warned of milk
products...etc...I'm surprised the medical community does not seem to have a
nice informative handout on "how to start" what appears to be a fairly
complex medication program).
 
Currently, she is taking the following medications (note, she is physically
small....100-105lbs) :
  - Parlodel....7.5-10 mg/day ... 2.5mg tablets, 3 to 4 times/day.
  - Eldepril(Selegiline) ...10mg/day...5mg tablets twice/day.
  - Amantadine was just discontinued...she had been taking
     one 100mg capsule/day....It also should be noted that this
     medication had caused some problems. It had been twice
     increased to two capsules (200 mg) by the doctor and
     created significant confusion, (ie she couldn't even tell
     what day it was), and instability was considerably more
     pronounced (she fell several times...during periods when
     the dose was increased). She also has some purple skin
     blotches on her arms that have sometimes opened up and
     may be from this drug, based on my reading reports on
     this net.
 
With regards to other medicines, she has been prescibed and is  taking:
   - Persantine...75 mg/day for heart/blood pressure ??
   - Dyazide...37.5/25...twice a week to prevent a reoccurrence
      of a leg swelling edema 3 months back (this may have been
      caused by the Amantadine too.)
   - K-Dur/Potassium...10 mEq to replace salts lost to to
      dyazide ??
   - Ferrous Sulfate...650 mg/day to add iron....diagnosed as
      anemic
   - Zantac...150 mg/day....not sure what this is for.....If its
     a stomach antiacid...will it cause problems with
     Sinemet ??
   - Ascription...1 tablet/day....?? Aspirin product...possibly
      prescribed as a coronary protective
We also recently started her on some vitamins:
   - 1500 mg of C, 100 mg of B-1, 400IU of E
 
To start her on Sinemet again, she has been prescribed to take 1/2 of a CR
25/100....two times each day along with a 25 mg Lodosyn (carbidopa) tablet,
if necessary to eliminate nausea. Other than the discontinued amantadine, she
is apparently supposed to continue the other medications.
 
I would appreciate any advice on getting her started on Sinemet and have the
following questions:
 
  - Is a total of one tablet a day enough ? It doesn't seem so,
     based on my reading. Does anyone see any problems,
     cautions, or interactions with the other medications ?
  - When is the best time to take the medicine and how long
     between doses ?
  - Is Nausea really a problem if the sinemet is taken well
     before a meal ?
   - What makes a good breakfast ? If a muffin is made using
      milk, is it off limits ? What kinds of cereal ? Is toast or
      bread with jam a problem ?
   - What makes a good lunch ?
   - My mother likes sweat foods...cookies, cakes, pies, etc.
      (I know too much is not good...but its tough to change
      at 85) How restrictive should she be, if the medicines
      are to be useful ?
   - It seems that all vegetables and fruits are good. What
     about salad oils ? butter ? (I assume cottage cheeses,
     mayonnaise, etc are out due to milk base ?)
   - What foods are considered high protein...and are these off
      limit ? If you want to eat some high protein foods or ice
      cream...is it best to eat at night...say have the medication
      at 5:00 and eat at 6:00 ?.....or eat earlier and have some
      final medication before sleep ?
    - What side effects does Sinemt have ? It seems I've read
       that it causes sleep problems ??
 
Thank you all for your continued help and advice.
 
Best Regards,  Mike Salter ([log in to unmask])