On Tue, 11 Feb 1997 15:36:34 -0500 Bill Bell <[log in to unmask]>
writes:
>Friends,
>Could someone pleasee let me know the half life of Sinemet CR and what
>that actually means.  How long is it generally effective, etc.
>
>Also, has anyone had any experience with Paxil as an antidepressent.
>
>Thanks in advance and best regards\
>
>Bill
>--
>Bill Bell ([log in to unmask])
>
Hi BIll,

On Sinemet CR:

       I am posting this to the whole list, hoping that this account of
how Sinemet CR tends to work in me may be useful information for others
besides Bill.

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       I think in terms of "How many minutes of relief   will I obtain
by taking CR tablets?
And secondly, what quality of relief does each tablet  provide?

       In my body,(as you know, each person has a unique response) one
100 mg. Sinemet CR tablet (the pink one) lasts me about 90 minutes.  A
200 mg Sinemet CR tablet (cafe-au-lait ) lasts about 180 minutes.

      So, I can think in terms of 0.9 minutes of relief  for each 1
milligram of CR swallowed.

      However, the 200 mg. CR tablet tends to  give me dyskinesia after
about an hour. I think that once it starts dissolving, too much medicine
is hitting me all at once.

   .  So  I  have learned to divide the 50/200 CR along its crease,
ending up with 100 mg.  This half-tablet still seems stronger than the
pink 100 mg. tablet.  It also seems, generally,  to last a bit longer,
maybe up to 120 minutes. Usually, neither CR pill is as strong as the
effects of the  conventional, lemon-yellow 25/100 tablet.


       Both can at times  leave  me slightly undermedicated.  So I have
to nibble or take bits of a conventional yellow  25/100  along with
taking the CR, to jump start my body until the CR tablets take over.

      If  Sinemet CR kick in perfectly, it's sort of like a
cruise-control button in a car.
You sit back and relax. and go for a  really nice ride.

      Sometimes, the CR  doesn't work AT ALL..  The shiny sealed surfaces
seem to act like a barrier to the L-dopa  inside  the tablets.  Then I
feel like I'm stuck in a tar pit, and can never really get free to move
normally.

       CR is  sometimes helpful to me during the night, and is used up
slowly enough to help somewhat , with sleeping longer.

       Dr. Abraham Leiberman wrote an excellent and detailed report on
Sinemet CR about  5 years ago.  IF you call the APDA at 1-800-223-2732, I
think a copy can be mailed to you.

Ivan Suzman
Portland, Maine           land of lighthouses