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hi all At 10:32 1999/09/18 CDT, margaret wrote: > The recent discussion about the half life of L-dopa brings to > mind the following: > I take generic sinemet (25/100) 30 minutes before I eat. > After 30 minutes I can tell that the med is working and I > am "on." I eat after 30 minutes and yet I continue my > on period for 2 1/2 hours. Does the L-dopa get dumped > into the brain all at once and remain there to be "used up" > during the next 2 1/2 hours or does it gradually enter the > brain as it circulates in the bloodstream? If it remainsin > the bloodstream why doesn't the food protein interfer with > it's absorbtion? > > If I take the sinemet within an hour AFTER eating it NEVER > seems to work and I remain in an "off" state until about > 4-5 hours after eating and then when I take the medicine > it will work within 30 minutes. hi margaret i'm not sure how the 'half-life' scenario plays out here but i can tell you a couple of things about protein and levodopa below is from a message i sent last year and dug out of the archives; some folks expressed appreciation of my bus metaphor janet ---------------------------------------------------- >>> Posting number 54443, dated 31 Dec 1998 09:08:43 Date: Thu, 31 Dec 1998 09:08:43 -0500 From: janet paterson <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Re: Intro / resources at harvard website hi rayna At 01:18 1998/12/31 -0500, you wrote, in part: >Guess this is my night to de-lurk... i love this term [thanks, bill!] and welcome to the list, rayna! >Long story short -- my husband (70 shortly/ I just turned 57) >was diagnosed one week ago today with PD. yikes, talk about a newbie! >He's had a resting tremor for almost a year, >which I strongly suspected was PD but until >it got worse, about a month ago, he made excuses >for it. Finally got him to a movement disorder >specialist and voila! Started him on low dose of >sinemet only because my husband insisted. aha i think i detect some denial here [did you know that denile is a river in egypt?] the diagnosis must be a shock to both of you i will send an article [psychosocial] separately to you in re coping with a diagnosis of pd i think its approach is one of the most helpful and encouraging i've seen >Doctor told him to make sure he didn't eat anything >with lecithin in it -- and now I hear Phil talk about >a low protein diet enabling the sinemet to work better. >Can you elucidate? in simple terms [or should i say goofy] the levodopa in sinemet is absorbed in the upper intestine into the bloodstream, whereby it gets transported [by commuter bus] to the brain and across the bloodbrain barrier to where it does its work the carbidopa in the sinemet keeps the levodopa from breaking down [and causing nausea] before reaching the brain the problem is that the commuter bus has a limited number of seats and protein is real pushy about grabbing them all viz: if i take sinemet 15 to 20 minutes before eating protein the protein gets left behind in a cloud of exhaust fumes and the levodopa reaches my brain no problemmo interestingly if i take sinemet with a sweet sugary beverage its effect seems to 'kick-in' faster [insulin and dopamine seem to use the same bus station] if i eat any protein shortly before taking sinemet the sinemet has no effect on me at all big problemmo if i eat a large amount of protein/fat [= bacon/cheeseburger!] any sinemet that i may take in the following 2-3 hour period is effectively ineffectual however, i take sinemet every 90 minutes or so because i need to - my pd symptoms 'show through' otherwise and that's because i am 10 years further down this road than your husband he probably won't notice this 'on/off' phenomenon and the connection to proteins and fats for many years i didn't for at least five years after starting sinemet his biggest problem right now is probably going to be dealing with nausea caused by the sinemet so in a newbie's case the advice is virtually opposite to what i've just described a newly sinemetized parkie needs to eat something with the sinemet to avoid nausea and it will take time to accomplish this during my first months on sinemet if i took a tablet on an empty stomach i would develop virtually instant ulcer-like pains which would dissipate as soon as i ate 'something, anything!' >or tell me where to find more info on this? the neuro website at harvard is an excellent resource: <http://neuro-chief-e.mgh.harvard.edu/parkinsonsweb/Main/pdmain.html#mainmenu> the pshychosocial article is there along with an algorithm on managing pd and some excerpts from the young parkinson's handbook and a caregiver's handbook >Thanks -- . You sound like a very special >group of people on this list! we are and now you are too! with much love from your and your husband's cyber sibling janet ---------------------------------------------------- janet paterson 52 now / 41 dx / 37 onset 613 256 8340 po box 171 almonte ontario canada K0A 1A0 a new voice: <http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Village/6263/> <[log in to unmask]>