 |
 |
On Mon 22 Sep, [log in to unmask] wrote: > > > Here's another point of view from a patient now in her 33rd year of > parkinsons. Three years ago her dosage of sinemet had reached a point where > she had a violent dyskenias reaction whenever she took her medicationl. The > Movement Disorder Center at the University of Souther Florida, where we > visited occasionally, suggested the liquid approach which this patient has > been on now for three years, with very little problems, other than > occasionally missing an hourly dose. Her body pretty much tells her when > each hour rolls around, as it approaches near rigidity. And when that > rigidity nears, you can understand the need for medication which we hardly > would compare to alcohol addiction. Suffice it to say that the liquid > approach is worth trying if one is having severe ups and downs from regular > medication. (It has helped this patient to smooth out responses... and > sinemet cr, which was tried, never worked as well.) > A patient with 33 yrs of PD!! What suffering must lie behind those simple words. It is good to see that you are still in there fighting, and not giving in. I had not followed this Liquid Sinemet method to its logical end, by which I mean that by taking smaller and smaller doses at more frequent intervals, you are producing what is virtually a continuous flow system - That is what we crudely try to do when we start breaking tablets in half. I remember the late Alan Bonander describing to me his system (Which had been part of a research program: He wore around his waist a pump, which was plumbed directly into his lower intestine. It could be set to trickle a continuous flow of medication, to maintain a constant blood plasma level of levodopa. It was obviously a pain to set up each day, but it gave him a really fine control over his symptoms, particularly because he was by-passing the digestive system altogether, so meals were no problem. And what was his medication ?-- Sinemet and Orange Juice !! Regards, -- Brian Collins <[log in to unmask]>