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Subject: Parkinson's
Forum: The Neurology and Neurosurgery Forum
Topic Area:
Posted by Debbie White on April 07, 1997 at 21:53:09:
My mother, 67, was diagnosed with Parkinson's about 2 months ago. Her symptoms are: cannot do much with left hand (she can squeeze you with it,
but not use it to lift a bottle, type of a keyboard, etc.), the "weakness" in her left hand is moving up her left arm, her left toes drag after
having broke her ankle from a fall about 4 months ago, her speech is ever so lightly slurred, her movements are slow, and (the most annoying one, she
says) she feels off balance (not a spinning sensation, she said). Her MRI showed nothing unusual.
She was diagnosed by a neuro who put her on Sinemet 25/100 3x/day, later increasing it an additional 1/2 tablet every time. She then saw a movement disorder specialist. The Sinemet was not helping much with the symptoms
(although she has missed some doses since and definitely feels the difference when not taking it). She was then put on the following drug program: 1 and 1/2 25/100 Sinemet first thing in the morning, followed by 1
25/100 Sinemet 3 times in the day. She is also now slowly introducing Permax into the equation (currently she's at 1/2 tablet .25 mg., 2x/day). The goal is to increase the Permax to 1 100 mg. tablet 4x/day. Although he
doctor assures her that she doesn't need to pay particular attention to diet at this time (she's in the early stages), she nevertheless has cut down on protein and consumes most of it at night.
My question is this: The drugs sometimes help with the off balance (some days are better than others). However, when they don't work she feels the off balance problem is worse than it was 2 months ago. Also, nothing has helped with increasing mobility in her left hand (which, under stress, tremors slightly).
Is one drug more effective than another in treating balance problems? Does this sound like a typical Parkinson's scenario? Does this drug program sound right? Is it worth it, under a doctor's guidance, to quit all drugs to see if the Sinemet is really helping? Can Permax on it's own every be effective in treating these types of symptoms? Thanks for any insight into this. Debbie White
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