 |
 |
On Sun 23 Mar, James Myrick wrote: > In the article in "Pharmacy Times" I learned that the Sinemet CR should not > be crushed or chewed, no explanation. > That was Wednesday evening when I read the article. I have always chewed the > CR for no good reason other than it doesn't taste bad. That night I started > swallowing it whole. It was an over night sensation. My tremors are much > less extreme. My balance has improved and my stamina has increased > dramatically. (Before Wed I could barely walk a quarter mile without having > to sit and relax for a few hours. Now a quarter mile is nothing.) > > My question is this: does anybody have an explanation for this? Why must the > CR be taken whole? > > Jim Myrick > [log in to unmask] A survivor; never a victim. Not today anyway. > > Jim raises a serious point about what instructions should be given to patients by their doctors when some new medication is given out. In spite of that, however, I could not prevent a vision of the inventor of the CR formula proudly presenting it to the test panel.,then having to watch while they chomped it to powder with comments like 'mmm, tastes nice'. (Sorry Jim) For any others who may be unaware of it, Sinemet CR tablets are designed to disolve at a controlled rate in the lower intestine, so that it reaches the brain at something approaching a constant flow rate. (This is basically what we are trying to achieve). The most used CR tablet has 200 mg of Levadopa and 50 mg of Carbidopa. It is thus like 2 sinemet 25/100 tablets in one container, but because of the CR formulation it gives up its levadopa over roughly twice the time period. You should not expect the CR tablet to last forever, and in your case Jim, switching to one a day represents a much lower dosage over the whole day. You need to experiment a bit to find the best option for you. If you need any more information, email me and I will try to help. Regards -- Brian Collins <[log in to unmask]>