 |
 |
Carol: The question of Protein intake relative to Sinemet was one of the first I tackled when my neuro prescribed SinemetCR 2x/day. I learned from this list that protein interferes with the L-dopa's effort to cross the blood - brain barrier because it does the same thing and takes up some of the 'transporters' which would be otherwise available for the drug. There seems to be two schools of thought in the PD/Dietician community about how to distribute protein intake throughout the day. One says to distribute evenly at each meal and the other says to reserve the bulk of your intake for that meal nearest to which no Sinemet is taken. Since you are taking it three times/day, it seems that you would lean toward an even distribution. I do however, wonder at the timing of your meds. Conventional wisdom says to take the pill BEFORE your meals, anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour. I take mine an hour before eating, with a full glass of water. I can't tell if your 7:30 AM pill is before or after breakfast but it would seem as if both your subsequent pills are after your meal and probably not sufficiently after for the protein from the meals to have cleared away. Perhaps you could discuss with your neuro either cutting the late PM pill out without substitution or substituting a Sinemet 50/200 CR for the morning pill, leaving you free (for now) to minimize protein intake at breakfast and lunch and maximize at dinner. Keep in mind please that I am not an MD and give this advice only from my personal experience. Make changes only on Neuro advice or confirmation. Now that I'm comfortable with my protein regime, I have begun to address the possibility (really probability) that even though Sinemet works like a charm for me now, in all likelihood, it will start promoting problems of its own over time. I am attempting to wean off Sinemet and on to Requip. I am in my fourth week of my reduction process and have managed so far to cut my morning Sinemet in half from 50/200 CR to 25/100 CR. By the way, daily protein requirement seems to be about from 0.8 -1.0 grams of protein per kg of body weight. I'm not sure if that is a US or European standard. If US, then divide your body weight by 2.2 . If European, divide by 2.0. I think it is US. Anyway, multiply the resulting answer by first 0.8 then 1.0 and you will have the range of required daily protein intake in grams. I try to limit breakfast and lunch to 6-9 grams each and have the balance at dinner. There is also a strong recommendation to balance your protein grams with carbohydrate grams 7:1 (7 carbo to 1 protein). To do it right, you'll have to get a food values book somewhere. Hope this helps. Feel free to contact me on or off line for any clarifications or more info (If I can furnish it). Attention all dietitians on the list. Please correct any errors both for Carol's and my benefit. Paul H. Lauer