Half Sinemet CR25/100 SR

My husband has taken this a few nights and not slept well and feels really groggy in the morning and not quite"with it"
Anyone had this effect
Thank you
Kay

Hi @KK1

I am sorry to hear that your husband is experiencing this. Sleeping problems are listed as side effects of Parkinson disease medication, you can find more information here:

If the situation doesn’t get better, please consider sharing your concerns with your doctor or Parkinson’s nurse. You can also call us at 0808 800 0303 for free and confidential one-on-one support.

I’m sure other members will jump in to share their experience with you. Meanwhile, I’d encourage you to look around and see what you discover.

Best wishes,
Federica
Moderation Team

Hello Kay, just picked up on your post re Half Sinemet. My husband (diagnosed 7years ago) started to take this med last Thursday. He was prescribed it by PD nurse as she felt he was going too long between his last meds at 5pm and next dose at 7am. He has to take at bedtime. So, last Thursday, he took his first tablet. I woke up to find him lying on the bedroom floor as he’d rolled out of bed. (Have to point out that this has happened a few times before he took this new drug though.) He couldn’t move and as before on this type of occurrence, I had to call paramedics. They noted he had very low blood pressure but other obs seemed ok. They had to take him to A&E as he simply couldn’t get up and stand without support. He was in hospital for 3days. I mentioned he’d had falls before but they were accompanied by water infections but on this occasion they said he didn’t have a UTI. He came home on Monday. Physically he seems ok and is walking well and up and down stairs by himself, however I’m concerned about his mental state. He has been saying very strange things and is quite confused. This seems more apparent than usual for him. I’m wondering if this drug is to blame. However he has been taking Sinemet 125/100 since he was first diagnosed so surely the half Sinemet wouldn’t be the cause of this sudden onset decrease in cognivity? We have an appointment with PD nurse next week but I feel this needs addressing before then. I’ve tried ringing them but line is busy. I’m reluctant to contact our GP as we’ve found in the past that they aren’t very experienced with Parkinson’s. Any info or advice from anyone would be gratefully welcomed. Jean

Hello all, I’m really hoping someone will post back re this topic. My husband has been taking CR Sinemet at night since last Thursday. He’s seeing things and very confused. He was thought to have a UTI by an out of hours Dr on Friday but wasn’t actually seen. He was diagnosed as to his symptoms of confusion and past history of UTIs. He’s taking antibiotics now. He doesn’t seem much improved so I’m concerned it’s this new addition of CR Sinemet that’s causing it. I mentioned the Sinemet to the Dr and she did say try leaving him off it but in other ways he did seem to have a better night and I thought I couldn’t find out if it was the UTI or the CR Sinemet that was to blame so was waiting to see how he progresses. I won’t give him the CR tonight. Just tried PD helpline but not open… Jean

Hi Jean. My Dad is currently in hospital having just had a UTI. He is also on Sinemet and has been for a few years. We tried treating him at home but he got worse on the antibiotics and had to be admitted. He also hallucinates. It’s a symptom. The sinemet over the years has helped for sure. But very sadly now my Dad has very advanced PD. He’s 89. I would like to mention that the GP was not great at seeing him regularly and updating his meds. He was on Stage one meds for far to long. We ended up last year taking him to see a consultant Geriatrician with a special interest in PD. He has transformed Dad’s dosette box and I would say that this last year Dad has been better at moving and way more cognitive than before all these changes. UTI’s are a plague for PD sufferers amongst all the other terrible things that they have to endure. From our experience I would say keep being on your doctor’s radar and get them to review his meds regularly. Good luck.

Thanks Mall22, we are currently engaging with our GP and have PD nurse appointment Friday. He has been taking Sinemet 125/100 for the past 7 years with no real side effects. This new CR Sinemet was prescribed for bedtime to ‘bridge the gap’ between his last med at 5pm and the next dose at 7am. We had to call out of hours Dr on Sunday as he was in a bad state of confusion and who suggested we stop the CR Sinemet at night and speak to PD nurse on Friday. He’s currently taking antibiotics for suspected UTI but as the fall coincided with him taking his first CR Sinemet the night before, we’ve no way of knowing if it is the new addition drug or UTI that is causing it all. This is such a horrible disease. It causes so much more for some sufferers than just the motor symptoms, indeed it’s the non motor symptoms that cause him and me the most distress. Thanks again for your input. Best wishes Jean