I was diagnosed with Parkinson's 11 years ago at the age of 44. I am now 55. During those 11 years, I have been on the same, exact medicine ... as well as the same dosage (Mirapex 1.5 mg. three times a day and Trihexyphenadryl (or Artane) 1 mg. two times a day.


I was told, somewhere along the line, that once you start taking Sinemet (or Levadopa), you have between 5 and 10 years before the side effects of the medicine are almost worse than the disease itself. Does anyone know if this is true?

The reason I ask is because I am on the bubble of having to start Sinemet and I just got back from a seminar on Medical Cannabis that sounded promising. Under a separate category, I'll ask those who are currently taking legal Cannabis if they'd share their experiences with the drug.

Any insight into Cannabis is appreciated. Thanks!

There is some evidence that it can be beneficial; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24614667 .

I've had a prescription the past 6 months. I take the indica form plus a high cbd (cannabidiol) version, primarily for sound sleep. It has been very beneficial in that regard. The cbd component has recently been given extra attention for it's medicinal value. More clinical trials are needed. But as a soporific, it certainly is effective.

check this video , and the comments are quite positive too:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QgBrOYaVOk

I have been able to titrate down on Sinemet while introducing cannabinoids. If I could pick one drug over all others it would be cannabis.

The ideal ratio seems to be 1 to 1 cbd/thc. That seems to be the go to ratio for neurological disorders. The cbd counters a lot of the psychotic effect of thc. It's a pleasant feeling but you don't feel "high" as much as a recreational strain.

Tinctures (any method works, super critical co2 is the best) and edibles work for a much longer duration than smoking or vaping. Smoking/vaping is damn near instant relief but everyone's puff is different. Trying to find a dose with edibles is tough too and you can easily over/under medicate but it will take an hour to find out. With tinctures you can easily find a dose that works (about 5-20 mg of 1 to 1 per dose). Dose only as much as you need, sometimes smaller is better. Tinctures work in 5 minutes under the tongue and peaks in 45 minutes but the effects should last longer.

I will try tinctures starting this week and will likely start a thread of my own in this forum. I feel so much better than I did a year ago on strictly pharmaceuticals.

Thanks very much for sharing your experience. Could you tell us about what symptoms the cannabis alleviates? Is the effect similar to Sinemet?

Sinemet has worked well for my tremor. I can sometimes feel when I am "under" dopamine"d". Having said that Sinemet doesn't work the greatest for my symptoms and I went all the way up to 7 pills a day (currently 2-3) . The symptoms include sleeping issues, constipation, depression, anxiety, apathy, pain, rigidity. The cannabis works well for all minus the constipation.

Along with the cannabis, I do bike 4 times a week (15-20 miles per) at a pretty good clip. I recently started the GAPS diet and finally have had a breakthrough on constipation.

A little at a time but I feel so much better than 6 months ago and 12 months ago. I attribute changes to my three part approach (gut, exercise, natural meds) but things were very noticeably better with cannabis.