Good morning friends. Dad went to see his PD neuro. yesterday and I wanted
to give you an update and ask for help.
A refresher: Dad's on 5mg. Eldepryl and 200mg. Amantadine daily. *Only
symptom rt. hand tremor*. These drugs not helping the tremor.
So...,yesterday Dad sees the neuro and they discuss the possibility that the
tremor is not PD related. He thinks this because Dad has not responded to
the Amantadine. Neruo. decides to test Dad with Sinemet to see if he
responds, thus solving the "Is it PD or not?" question. Dad is now taking,
in addition to the above, 25x100 Sinemet twice/day for a period of 30 days.
After the 30 days, if Dad's tremor does disappear, he most likely has PD.
Sounds reasonable I guess.
In the case of a firm PD diagnosis, the neuro will either drop the Sinemet
dose to the minimum necessary (does that mean 10x100? I don't understand
these numbers) or try another anti-tremor drug. Probably not
anti-cholinergics because Dad has mild glaucoma and is 68. Side effects I
hear can be terrible.
I am curious about what dietary restrictions he should be aware of. Joyce
suggests taking the Sinemet with OJ, some people say take with water, and
others yet say to stay away from protein for an hour or so. I'm SO
confused! Please advise.
Also, does this 30-day trial period sound reasonable to all of you?
Thanks for listening. I'll be anxiously awaiting any suggestions and
comments.
Kristin
