 |
 |
I have read all the recent e-mails earnestly dealing with moving away from Sinemet in early Parkinson's, and smiled to myself - a little sadly I must admit, at the thought of all the discomfort these people are having to put up with, and even the possibility of real harm. I won't go to the lengths of quoting all the detailed articles here; suffice it to say that a long and bitter debate is raging amongst the upper echelons of the neurologist fraternity, about whether moving away from Sinemet, or avoiding Sinemet for as long as possible is good or bad for you. Make no mistake - they can't both be right, and those who are in the wrong camp (The abandon Sinemet camp if you are not sure where I am coming from) are grimly leading their patients deeper into the quicksands every day. So: You can't trust the neuros ! They cannot all be right ! What can we do ? Obvoiusly there is no point in me or any of our other amateurs who write to the list running through our ideas - we could also be as wide of the mark as the professionals. Well, you might care to keep the following thoughts handy to try on someone next time the subject comes up.. How long do you intend to live ? If you start with that question, and work back, I think most of you will see that (even with the promise of stem cells) there is a long road in front of us ( I'm ahead of most of you, but not all, and it still looks a long road to me. I have already made my Sinemet go continuously for 20 years- it's easy, anyone can do it, all it takes is a little common sense. My writing on this subject is available to all, so I will say no more. What else? Well, I have made the Sinemet go even further, when it became impossible to use alone at 14 years, and six years on, I have to take 6 mg of Pergolide to balance the Sinemet, and I'm doing well, but I am sailing very close to the wind, and the message is: You cannot afford to play fast and loose with Dopamine agonists. They are, in my view, a lot more dangerous than Sinemet in their potential side-effects, and must be treated witth respect. There is a proper place for them, and I think it is later rather than earlier. One last warning; The New Agonists cost a LOT more than Sinemet don't they? When you get your next bit of advice (or read about how great Re-Quip , Mirapex, etc, etc is) just ask yourself who is paying their wages! -- Brian Collins <[log in to unmask]> (59/39/34)