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My mother, age 78, was recently diagnosed with PD.
 
Actually, she figured out about a year ago that she had PD (by reading some
of Harold Klawans' books) and persuaded her GP (with difficulty) of this.  He
looked up PD in a book and prescribed 25/100 Sinemet twice a day.  She took
one cap, which made her violently nauseous, and she never took any more.  She
also did not go back to the GP.  She also (clever lady) used what knowledge
she had about PD to try to conceal her symptoms.
 
In July of this year, when my father, suffering from metastatic cancer, began
declining, my sister (who is on one coast) and I (who am on another coast)
began alternating visits to our parents' home in Texas.  When it became
apparent to us both that my mother had also become very frail, we pressed her
to get a physical checkup.  She finally revealed what she thought was the
matter, and a neurologist has since confirmed the diagnosis.  However, she
was adamant about not wanting to try Sinemet until Dad's situation had
resolved itself, so the neurologist put her on Eldepryl twice a day, with
instructions to try one half 10/100 Sinemet twice a day when she was ready.
 
My father finally died on August 26, and we held memorial services for him in
Texas as well as in Missouri where we all formerly lived.  Now she is back in
Texas, willing to try the Sinemet.  She took a half tab this morning, which
made her feel somewhat nauseous, but not in a disabling way.  However, about
an hour after the afternoon tab, she again got violently nauseous and only by
lying flat and not moving could she avoid throwing up.  A phone call to her
neurologist led to a suggestion that she skip a day and then try again the
following day.
 
Duvoisin suggests that the preferred strategy would have been to go from a
25/100 to half a 25/100, rather than to half a 10/100, since the higher
carbidopa dosage helps offset the nausea.  He also suggests that the
medication be taken after a decent-sized meal, possibly including protein
(which, however, may interfere somewhat with L-Dopa uptake).  Any other
suggestions?