Hilary, your schedule for taking sinemet really took me aback due to the
frequency and the habit of taking it through the nite. Is this something your
doctor has recommended?
For myself, I very seldom take Sinemet after 7 p.m. as I have found that it
has a tendancy to keep me awake, sometimes from the side effects.
In our current PD newsletter, Dr. William Koller from our local Center for
Excellence writes in his column in answer to this question--"Why do you
recommend the least sinemet be taken?"
The Dr. responds; "The goal of therapy in PD is to control symptoms with the
least amount of medicine. Therefore, we want the lowest dose that adequately
controls symptoms. This is because we think that taking too much medicine may
result in future side effects." Longterm side effects associated with
levadopa include motor fluctuations and dyskinesias. While we do not know
whether taking less levadopa will decrease the onset of side effects, "it
seems reasonable to limit the dose to only as much as is needed and later
increase the dose as symptoms worsen."
Of course, I might add what is often noted on this list, defining how much is
needed is very individual due to such factors as our physical response to the
meds and our personal tolerance for and perception of how we are functioning
with any given treatment regimin..
Regards,
Barbara Blake-Krebs 58/1984
Merriam KS
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Dear Bill, (may I call you that?
I am very interested in your comment about taking sinemet all through
the night.
=============================================================================
===================
William Heitman wrote:
> Also, do you really rake Sinemet around the clock? Everything I know says
that
> is excessive. You will probably do better with overnight abstinence.
> Therefore
>
> 3. Get through the night without taking Sinemet.
>
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====================
Because that is basically what I do. I don't sleep for longer than two
to three hours at a stretch, and I take sinemet whenever I'm awake. So
probably during the day I'm taking every hour and a half, and at night
maybe every three hours. No one has ever said anything against that, so
I'm very interested in what you have to say. Please dont think I'm
querying your knowledge - actually I'm asking your advice!
Hilary Blue
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