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hi to ivan and joanna;

the best med for dealing with pd symptoms is
levodopa combined with an extracerebral decarboxylase inhibitor

'Sinemet' is available in the usa
and combines levodopa with carbidopa

'Madopar' is available in europe
and combines levodopa with benseraside

sinemet is available in different proportions:
25/100 = 25mg carbidopa/100mg levopdopa
10/100 = 10mg carbidopa/100mg levodopa

we all know that the levodopa is intended to replace
the lost dopamine in our brains
the carbidopa is intended to reduce the nausea and other side effects
that levodopa will cause if taken by itself

the amount of levodopa that we require
depends on our personal sistuation re symptoms

the amount of carbidopa recommended is 75 mg per day minimum:
the Young Parkinson's Handbook
advises a range of daily dosage of 75-150 mg carbidopa

the reason sinemet is offered in different proportions
is to allow adjustment and fine tuning of your daily intake
of both levodopa and carbidopa

for example
several years ago, when i was suffering ongoing stomach problems
my sinemet intake was 5 x 10/100 daily:
carbidopa =     5 x 10 =                50 mg daily
levodopa =      5 x 100 =               500 mg daily

my pharmacist, and later my g.p.,
advised that my carbidopa level was too low
and was probably adding to the nausea situation:

so my sinemet was adjusted to 2 x 25/100 and 3 x 10/100 daily:
carbidopa =     25+25+10+10+10 =        80 mg daily
levodopa =      5 x 100 =               500 mg daily

at the moment my sinemet intake is 9 x 10/100 daily:
carbidopa =     9 x 10 =                90 mg daily
levodopa =      9 x 100 =               900 mg daily

if i were to add mirapex to my 'chemical soup'
and if i achieved a 25% reduction in my need for levodopa:

the sinemet might change to 1 x 25/100 and 6 x 10/100 daily:
carbidopa =     25+10+10+10+10+10+10 =  85 mg daily
levodopa =      7 x 100 =               700 mg daily


i hope this helps
the more we know about our meds the better
knowledge is power


with love from your syber-sis

janet

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