I read in a posting on this forum advice that we should avoid taking Sinemet. Why? How is it harmful?

I do take Sinemet, and my complaint is that while it allows me to move faster and, along with Amantadine, takes away my tremor, it also makes me clench my teeth. I am afraid that this clenching will have a negative effect on my teeth. Also, surprisingly, my handwriting suffers when I am ON Sinemet.

I would appreciate some input on Sinemet and how if affected you.

AnnT2

sinemet is the "gold standard" in drug treatments for PD.
It does have a finite life span, where it works without side-effects, principally dyskinesia.

The thought these days is to stay with the adjuct drugs first, for as long as possible, so you can get as much benefit (time wise) out of one's sinemet as possible.

Charlie

Do you want a great reponse (if you are lucky enough to be a "responder")for a shorter "period" of PD, a more "Stable" (meaning start with an agonist, like charlie says above) response to PD medications, a or a quick and dirty "honeymoon"'
The 300mg/day, usually gives a goood therapeutic response for 0-3,4,5,6,? years. After that you can count on not working a very physical job, so one should plan for this. During the "honeymoon" (if you're even lucky to get one) one often barely perceives that they are very symptomatical. Around 0-2,3,4? -years, one becomes aware when they are with low blood levels of DOPA, and start to experience times of "waning", I used to say that we are "candles in the wind". These are the on/off periods. The disease always goes in one direction (usually); downhill. With increasing time we can become quite disabled without medication, and living the life of the unmedicated, can leave one in a wheelchair, unable to function.
Dopamine SHOULD never let us down (remember this was asked from Googy, about Bill Pough (sp?), and googey said that Bill could still function minimally only with sinemet?)
In the 10-perhaps 30 years after dX, Sinemet still usually works. Not great in many cases, but there's still some hope there. I chose to go for the gold , because i was quite bad when DX'ed and I had a life to get tied up before i could "Retire".
So pick your pick, but , remember, if ya start taking sinemet, you'll be on it for the rest of your life. Sinemet can contain the beast for just long enough periods during a day when you'll feel OK, but it won't stop progression. That is the factor that gives parkies trouble. PD is a moving target of always varying intensity; a difficult disease to treat with current pharmacology. Close monitoring and changing drug regimens as we go to obtain maximum comfort is a duanting endeavor indeed, but DOPA still reigns supreme cs

Ann, Ive been taking Sinamet since last March..For a couple of months I did have a tendency to grind my teeth a bit, but it ceased..Recently Ive been doubling up on my Sinamet dose just before I go out fishing for one dose, and the teeth grinding came back for a short while..Seems like my body adjusts to the medication, and the grinding stops

Steve

Hello Ann,

The common thought is to avoid taking Levodopa (Sinemet) for as long as you can - while other avenues are still open. At diagnosis 6 years ago, (age 44.5) my Neurologist recommended the agonists first, (Requip and Mirapex) but neither did anything for me.

So, about a year later my symptoms were causing me trouble at work, so I went ahead with the L-dopa. I haven't regretted it ... I knew the score on side-effects, but I needed relief.

The first 4 years of L-dopa was like magic ... PD symptoms under control and no side effects ... but, things have went downhill quickly for me these last 2 years.

So although the Levodopa - induced Dyskinesia I experience currently has reached a severe and dibilitating level, it still isn't as bad as the Bradykinesia I suffer without it. It's a lesser of 2 evils.

I am planning to have DBS surgery early next year.

MikeTTF

P.S. Teeth clenching and handwriting that is near unreadable? Yep, I got that, too.

[QUOTE:AnnT2;35889]I read in a posting on this forum advice that we should avoid taking Sinemet. Why? How is it harmful?

I do take Sinemet, and my complaint is that while it allows me to move faster and, along with Amantadine, takes away my tremor, it also makes me clench my teeth. I am afraid that this clenching will have a negative effect on my teeth. Also, surprisingly, my handwriting suffers when I am ON Sinemet.

I would appreciate some input on Sinemet and how if affected you.

AnnT2[/QUOTE]