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On Sat, 8 Jul 1995, Lisa Carper wrote: > Greetings: > My husband (age 45) is in a early to mid stage of PD (diagnosed 6 years > ago) and currently takes Permax, Eldepryl and Cogentin all at very low > doses. His main sympton are arm tremors and slow movement. > Although in the total scheme of things his symptons are relatively mild it > is becoming more of a nusience and he is considering introducing Sinemet. > The doctor has said he would know when he needed more medication and he's > beginning to think 'it's time'. > Here's our concern - we have only heard terrible things about Sinemet. > Most/all messages from this group talk about the negative side effects as > does all of our additional research sources. The doctor has said many people > take Sinemet for 10 years, do very well on it and suffer little or no side > effects. Question for those of you taking Sinemet: > How long have you taken it and at what point (1yr, 2 yr...) did side effects > become a problem, if ever? > We know Sinemet is inevitable (a cure?????) but we're trying to determine if > it's wise to delay Sinemet until ABSOLUTELY necessary or are our 'fears' a > bit overstated? > We appreciate everyone/anyone's response. Parkies are a quiet group and it's > tough to get anecdotal information. I also want to thank everyone for all > their efforts here. This group is far more helpful to many, many more people > than you know. Lot's of us quiet-types out here. > Have a great day, > L Carper > [log in to unmask] > -- > I was diagnosed with PD in 1970 at the age of 37. I began taking L-DOPA (Larodopa) the following year and switched to Sinemet a few years later (as soon as it became available), probably around 20 years ago. Some three or four years ago, I switched to the newly introduced Sinemet-CR. L-DOPA and Sinemet have been lifesavers for me. I hate to think what my life would have been like without them. Things are not perfect, but I do get several hours of "good" or "on" periods each day, which allows me to carry out most of the activities of daily life. About side effects: Years ago, in the days of L-DOPA, I had problems with nausea. I remember that certain foods would induce vomiting (spaghetti and tomato sauce, in particular). When I switched to Sinemet, this problem disappeared. Later, I began to have serious problems with involuntary movements (diskinesia), mostly flailing about of my arms and legs. This was probably the result of over medication: with the passing of years, the Sinemet became less and less effective. My "on" periods were of shorter and unpredictable duration, which led me to gradually increase my Sinemet dosage. Now I am using mostly Sinemet-CR. I have pretty much eliminated the diskinesia. The basic problem of lessened effectiveness of Sinemet is still present, and is presumably owing to the inexorable progression of the disease. But I've lasted 25 years so far and I hope to continue the struggle for at least 25 more. In sum, I would urge your husband to consider using Sinemet if his present medication does not adequately control his symptoms. While I believe in the conservative approach of not trying to fix something if it ain't broke, the time may come to try something new. For your general information, my present daily regimen of medications consists of: Sinemet CR (50/200) 5 tablets Sinemet (10/100) 1 tablet Parlodel (bromocryptine) (2.5 mg) 10 tablets Selegiline (eldepryl) (5 mg) 2 tablets Minipress (Prezocin) (5 mg) 2 capsules Propranolol (10 mg) 2 tablets Gaston L. Schmir