Thank you, Kathrynne, for your input and concern.
To answer your questions: My mother is post menopausal but is not taking
hormonal replacement. She did take the hormone but stopped seven years ago
at age 50 because her periods were sporadic and she was unable to keep up
with changing herself, etc.
She is definitely undernourished and weak. Her appetite is not a problem.
As a matter of fact she is always hungry but because she has to take her
Sinemet within a two-hour span and the food is not completely out of her
stomach or digestive tract by then she will not eat larger meals. The
painful rigidity that results from the food interfering with the Sinemet is
too much for her.
She tried Ensure a year ago but she had a very bad reaction...in other words
the Sinemet did not work.
She tried a multi-vitamin about two months ago and, also, got a bad
reaction.
She is able to eat an egg but only at night right before she goes to bed.
We will attempt your other suggestions.
Thank you,
Teresa
-----Original Message-----
From: Parkinson's Information Exchange
[mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Kathrynne Holden,
MS,RD
Sent: Monday, May 03, 1999 4:55 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: reply to jaw and head pain
Dear Teresa,
Is your mom using hormone replacement therapy (if at age 57 she is peri-
or postmenopausal)? Also, does she take vitamin/mineral supplements? Her
present daily menu is very low in nutrients, not to speak of protein,
and she will surely suffer from this.
HRT can help keep her bones strong (bone thinning is common to PWP), and
some studies indicate it may even slow progression of PD in women. She
also needs adequate calcium, magnesium, and vitamin D.
A plain 3 1/2" bagel contains 7-8 grams of protein. An egg contains only
6 grams. Could she try an egg with some fruit or fruit juice, to raise
the carbohydrate content of the meal? Eggs have excellent protein, and
she surely needs that.
Could she try a snack of 2 TB raw nuts plus 1-2 cups of fruit? or a
low-protein, high-carbohydrate smoothie made of Ensure plus fruit and
honey/sugar? Or 1 TB peanut butter with jelly on whole-wheat bread plus
fruit juice?
If she is losing weight,she is almost certainly losing muscle mass and
probably bone mass also. It is very important to help her maintain
nutrient repletion and avoid serious problems and possibly
hospitalizations later on.
Pallidotomy can improve appetite and lessen need for medications in some
people, so it may solve some of these problems.
Good for you for seeking assistance to help your mother.
My very best regards,
Kathrynne
> She now takes 80 mg Sinemet in liquid form every two hours starting at 7am
> through 9pm . At 9:30pm she takes 10mg of Elavil. At 10pm she takes 15mg
> of Restoril and then goes to bed.
> My mother use to weigh a healthy 134 pounds. Protein greatly interferes
> with her Sinemet. Once she has taken her Sinemet she waits (usually about
> 15-20 minutes) until she feels the Sinemet working and then eats a very
> small meal. She avoids meat, spicy foods, and tomato saucy foods.
> Her 7am breakfast consists of one plain bagel and a cup of coffee.
> Her 9am snack is a bowl of oatmeal or cream of wheat.
> Her 11am lunch is usually two toasts with margarine.
> Her 1pm snack is a banana.
> Her 3pm snack is nothing.
> Her 5pm dinner is 1/2 cup of rice with 1/2 cup of green beans or other
> vegetable.
>
> Unfortunately, any food still in her digestive system whether it be of
> high-protein or low-protein interferes with Sinemet. Not surprisingly she
> lost weight and was weighing 91 pounds. She has gained about 2 pounds in
> the last month because she now eats a second dinner with a piece of yummy
> cake at 9:45pm. That last late meal does not seem to interfere with her
> sleep.
>
> It is extremely rare for my mother's "time on's" to link. If she links
two
> times in a row, then the rigidity and pain come back at an unpredictable
> time later to seek its revenge. The symptoms are horrendous. She prefers
to
> deal with the "time off" every two hours when she can expect them. During
> this time Her "time on" averages about 75 minutes at a time (that means
her
> time off averages about 45 minutes.) She, also, cannot take more Sinemet
> because the dyskenesia becomes worse.
>
> Besides the exploding head and neck symptoms she experiences internal
tremor
> (she describes it like an earthquake or tumbling grapefruits inside her
> body), severe rigidity, painful dystonia, blurred vision, bradykinesia,
> mental confusion, etc.
>
> She is scheduled for a pallidotomy this month.
>
> Teresa
--
Kathrynne Holden, MS, RD
Medical nutrition therapy
http://www.nutritionucanlivewith.com/
"We are living in a world today where
lemonade is made from artificial flavors and
furniture polish is made from real lemons." --Alfred E. Newman
