Janet, thanks for your "curiosity." Here are my answers - and through the
list in case anyone else is having similar  problems; scroll down, please.
-----Original Message-----
From: Janet Paterson <[log in to unmask]>
To: Multiple recipients of list PARKINSN <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Monday, September 21, 1998 12:20 PM
Subject: Re: Prayer&Wing / back pain / tasmar / under- / over- /
sinemetization


>hi bruce
>
>you wrote, in part:
>
>>...Was and am having mobility  [I keep typing nobility!] problems.
>>Momentary freezing, causing stumbling, falling, etc.  Described
>>this to the doc as my main, main complaint.  He feels Tasmar will
>>help.  Hope to start in a couple of days...
>
>i'm supposed to start tasmar soon too
>it's violently expensive here $300 cdn per month
>and is not included on my provincial drug benefit plan [yet]
>
>as a comt inhibitor
>tasmar acts by inhibiting the l-dopa-hungry comts in the bloodstream
>from their greedy quest to ensure that more l-dopa
>reaches the brain un-gobbled
>and in a 'smoother' manner
>
>so maybe an interesting mini experiment for you
>might be to try improving your current sinemet dosage
>by taking the same amount but in smaller more frequent doses
>
I HAVE BEEN DOING THIS AND IT I SEEM BETTER FOR IT - 1/2 TAB 25/100 EVERY 2
HOURS.  GOT THE IDEA FROM BRIAN COLLINS DEAL (BUT NEVER WAS ABLE TO RECORD
MY DAY ACCURATELY ENOUGH TO GO THRU WITH HIS WHOLE PROGRAN,

BRIAN, IF YOU READ THIS  - ONE OF THESE DAYS.  THANKS FOR THE SECOND OFFER!

. >if that doesn't improve your symptoms
>maybe a small overall increase of sinemet would do the trick
>
>what doseage of sinemet are you taking now and how often?
>does your mobility improve and worsen thru the day?
>maybe relative to your med timing?
> TAKE A TOTAL OF 4 /1/2 - 5  25/100'S A DAY. BOB BOWLING, THE ALAKAN SALMON
FISHERMAN, ALSO SAID MY DOSAGE SEEMED LIGHT.  THE NEW DOC WANTS TO TRY OTHER
THINGS BEFORE UPPING THE SINEMENT.
bigger problem affecting my mobility is the chronic back pain
>>I have developed since May, caused [self-induced?] by bad posture
>>I just slipped into [tests have ruled all else out].  Steroids and PT
>>didn't work and I have now had 3 of 8 acupuncture sessions,  and so
>>far - phluetfpt.  Nada. All that's  left is hypnosis, which I will try, if
>the
>>acupuncture & the rest of the PT is a bust.
>
>the reason i'm harping on the sinemet doseage level you are at
>is that when i am 'kicked out'
>[my loss of benefit from sinemet is usually fast and profound
>like a clock winding down to a full stop in a matter of minutes]
>besides being basically 'frozen' and unable to walk
>except with great difficulty and discomfort
>i get intense back pains and pinches
>which ease off
>['melt' along with the muscle stiffness]
>as soon as the sinemet benefit 'kicks in again'
>when i can walk, run, jump like an almost normal person
>
>[i do believe that this drives my cats nuts because they never know
>when mom is going to metamorphize from a reliable stationary lap
>to a feline-chasing-tag-playing-cat-ambushing goofball]
>
>my neuro recommended tasmar to me
>specifically because of my profound on/off response to sinemet
>he feels that tasmar's best feature can be the 'smoothing out'
>of the sinemet levels reaching the brain
>
>however, in your situation this may or may not mean
>that you will get the benefit of just plain More sinemet / l-dopa
>which it sounds to me like you need
>
>do you ever have dyskinesia, which would indicate an overdose of l-dopa?

I HAVE NO ONS/OFFS TO SPEAK OF - JUST A GRADUAL WORSENING OF SYMPTOMS
THRUOUT THE DAY. NEVER HAD ANY DYSKINESIA,  [NEVER HAD ANY SIDE EFFECTS,
NEVER HAD ANY DEPRESSION EITHER]  THIS NEW DOC SAID THST  BECAYSE I DON'T
HAVE STRONG ONS.OFFS MY LIMITING PROTEIN DURING THE DAY IS A WASTE OF TIME!!
>and then you had the nerve to write this:
>> So ve sager, hey hey pa dej.

OLD SWEDISH GOODBYE. LOOKING FOR A N OLD SWEDE TO GET A LITERAL TRANSLATION
>huh? translation please.
>
>disclaimer
>i am not a medico
>just perennially nosey about how and why our meds work
>
>your cyber-sibling
>
>janet
>
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