Just been put on sinemet 12.5 so that I can lower ropinirole slow release tabs ,am now on 16mg of rop .
Symptoms of pd got worse , walking not as good . Got in touch with Parkinson nurse she said to add from 1 sinemet 3 times a day to 2 x 3 times a day , doing this gradually , which I have .

I am at the moment taking 2 in morning , 1 lunch and 2 in evening ,
to my family s amazement My facial expression s are exaggerated when talking ,I do a lot of silly expressions which is not like me !!!! My speech is mumbled and Im constantly moving ,not sudden twitching just hand on my face or through hair for example.

Has anyone else gone through this or just me , is it because my body hasn't adjusted to new drug , I am doing it slowly .
I know sinemet has side effects ,but suerly not on such small dose.

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated

Hi lw and welcome.
Sounds like it could be dyskinesias you're experiencing with the constant moving. I'm guessing a bit here but does it come across as a kind of restlessness to others?
Do you feel at this stage you need that amt of levodopa or could you perhaps take a little less than what was recommended?
Also do you have young onset parkinsons?
I found I got dyskinesic very soon after commencing Sinemet but as PD progressed I preferred that to the offs.
DBS several yrs ago for me hasn't seen a return of any dyskinesia and I take a reduced amt of meds so hang in there ok?

what is sinemet 12.5? how many milligrams of levodopa are you taking/day?
if that's 12.5mg i doubt you are taking enough to even get any into your brain.
how much requip are you still taking? from what i've read, you normally slowly dose up on sinemet and slowly wean yourself off the agonist.
when were you diagnosed?
how old are you?
what was your first total daily dose of sinemet in milligrams when first prescribed?

just curious, why are you switching?

Soccertese, hi
I assume it's a typing error and was meant to say 120/25 mg.
Is that right lw?

hi , the dosage on box says 12.5 mg/50mg carbidopa and levodopa sinemet, very small dose an introduction to the drug , then increase from 1 3 times a day to 2 3 times a day, but as soon as I took 2 morning 1 lunch and 2 evening the side effects began , on such low dose !!! My speech slurred and facial expressions were allover the place .
I am 42 diagnosed 5 years .
Parkinsons nurse visited Friday , going to try Madopar as this has different drug to sinemet to help release in body .
Anyone else had same problem

Hi Madeitup,/Soccertese,
Levodopa decomposes in the body before it gets to the brain, by what is called a decarboxylation reaction, (loss of carbon dioxide) forming dopamine.
Carbidopa is added to the tablets to stop this side reaction. If you use a 50mg Sinemet tablet it is labelled 62.5 which means 50mg levodopa and 12.5 of carbidopa.

I have been able to reduce my sinemet to around 75 to 150 mg of levodopa
as I have become extremely sensitive to levodopa. At this level, I still suffer terrible dyskinesias with a half 50mg tablet, ie 25mg levodopa. Strangely
eating seems to trigger the start of dyskinesia
I am sorry I don't have a solution to the dyskinesia problem, I only wish I had.
Ron

[QUOTE=Ronhutton;974640]
I am sorry I don't have a solution to the dyskinesia problem, I only wish I had.
Ron[/QUOTE

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread171294.html

These blue lensed glasses help....

Ron-
I know that this was discuss`ed a time or two according to the archives, but I don't recall anyone really giving it a trial. It might be worth looking at. It seems that smoking would be superior to the patches - more control and you can get the good Cuban forms.


Expert Review of Clinical Pharmacology
Can Nicotine be Used Medicinally in Parkinson's Disease?

Claire Thiriez, Gabriel Villafane, Frédérique Grapin, Gilles Fenelon, Philippe Remy, Pierre Cesaro
Disclosures

Expert Rev Clin Pharmacol. 2011;4(4):429-436.

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/746713