SINEMET is the most widely prescribed and most effective drug for pd. It has been in use since I believe the 1970's and I wouldn't doubt over a million people use it and do very well in the first few years, many continue to function as they did before they were diagnosed because of sinemet and most dose up initially to 300mg or higher. Search this board for NAUSEA and you'll find very few posts about it. Everyone is different and there is a chance it might make your mother nauseous but the drug has a very short half life so it won't last long, maybe 1-2 hours and she can discuss alternatives with her doctor if nausea occurs. The drug companies have to warn you about every possible side affect to cover their liabilities, if you assumed you'd experience all the side affects in the aspirin package insert you wouldn't take aspirin.
Nausea and low blood pressure are 2 things to watch but I assume your mother has to take something and other parkinson's drugs also have side affects so you cope with side effects no matter what you take, your're putting neurotransmitters in your brain.
. My opinion is don't mess with MUCANA and the HINZ protocol for your mother, do you want to be responsible for having your mother take MUCANA which is a legume, you have no guarantee for purity or % active ingredient regardless of what your're told, it's grown overseas in INDIA, MEXICO, maybe china. Others on this board obviously disagree, just my opinion.

Keep in mind sinemet contains two drugs, levodopa which is a naturally occurring amino acid and cabidopa, which is similar in structure to levodopa and slows down the breakdown of levodopa in the peripheral tissues so more of it gets to the brain. it's the carbidopa which minimizes the nausea. So this is a simpler drug than some OTC drugs.

buy a used copy of THE PARKINSON'S DISEASE TREATMENT BOOK by AHLSKOG, great reference book with very detailed prescribing guidelines for deciding which drugs to take, how much, how to deal with problems like nausea, and when to increase doses, switch drugs, add drugs.
join a support group, contact local branch of APDA to find one.

Thanks Soccertese! My mom is very conservative and afraid of taking anything so we will likely start slow and follow the doctors advice.

I think she likely has the generic of sinemet. . Does that still have both of the drugs you mentioned?

Thanks for all of the advice! I will take a look at the book you mention.

I would also highly recommend a book written by several of the long time members of this board:

The Peripatetic Pursuit of Parkinson Disease

Thanks Tupelo3, I found it on amazon!

If she had the brand name i'd be very surprised, last time i checked it was 3X the price of generics.. Yes, they contain the same 2 drugs. FWIW, I try to get TEVA brand, just trust their quality. Not to say other generics are worse. Generics can be quite different as to active ingredient so make sure you know if your mother gets a different generic, she might have to take more or less or the same. BTW, can you describe the pill, is it yellow and round? just general advice, i always try to keep at least an extra months supply around, it's not a drug you want to run out of and a backup supply in my car or separate from my main supply, accidents happen. if cost is ever a problem you can get a 250mg pill for not a lot more and easily split it. she should have a card on her saying she has pd her drugs and doses.
take meds with at least 6oz of water, read up on food and sinemet, with some people protein negates it's affect so she might have to time her meals, you won't know until she starts. communicate with her doc at the slightest problem or if it isn't helping, doesn't take months to find out and better to be a squeaky wheel. i was diagnosed at 48, started taking it in 2005 and felt great after the first pill and it's still working well at 60.

look into keeping her exercising and socializing, helps anyone with or without pd, and if she's under medicated she'll have a harder time doing both. her symptoms might disappear with sinemet, night not, everyone is different, tremor might not be stopped. it's a starting point.

If she is afraid of the sinemet...try fava beans/papaya/watermellon....
Get book "Natural Therapies for Parkinsons Disease by Laurie Mischley" and try some of the things she suggests first. Go with your gut feelings and hers. Also, sinemet can be cut in half or smaller ...some people get a lot of relief at first with a very small amount. If I would someday have to take it because unable to grow favas for some reason. ...I would put the smallest dose possible in a bottle of water with some ascorbic acid (vit C) in it and sip on it as needed thru-out the day. This is called liquid sinemet. Do research, PD is a life journey..not a weekend vacation or year's sabbatical. God Bless and guide you both. Aunt Bean

Are papaya and watermelon natural sources of dopamine?

anyone is free to do what they want but imho i would recommend to anyone they start with sinemet, a simple pharmeceutical grade drug which is safe and predictable, find out how well it treats your symptoms, and then try alternatives if so inclined.

fwiw, i've attended 2 presentations by Laurie Mischley to pd support groups in the last 2 months and both times she mentioned she highly recommends sinemet to her patients. FAVA and mucana might have been mentioned in passing. I don't think she's an expert on sinemet but she gets around and talks to a lot of neuros and pd'ers from what she says.

liquid sinemet is used to fine tune one's sinemet dose but normally that's suggested for advanced patients taking frequent small doses and is more difficult than it sounds and even then it is recommended you take it on a set schedule using some sort of measurement. imho it should be a last resort, not a first choice. less than 10% of l-dopa gets into the brain and thus less than 10mg gets into the brain with a 100mg tablet.

According to Dr. Hinz the nausea is caused by an imbalance of dopamine and serotonin. Adding the serotonin precursor 5-HTP in the right amount solves the problem.

The site is technical in parts but worth studying. I've been on the protocol for a couple of years with no problems.

Of course, her insurance may not pay and there is frequent mixing of powder with almond milk, orange juice, or whatever, but the claim is that as much levodopa as needed can be taken without side effects and that the disease doesn't progress. So far, that's been true for me.

Here is the article that got my attention originally: http://brainbodystore.com/wp-content...ns-article.pdf


Go Blue!