Sinemet /other options

Hello everyone, am currently taking 250mg of Sinemet each day with no real improvement yet. Wanted to ask what is a fair amount of time to give the drug to work, is it weeks, months? Also interested to hear from anyone who has had no success with Sinemet and who was prescribed another drug instead which did help.
I am really struggling with the morning stiffness / lack of strength and wondered if anyone had any suggestions for this? Also if anyone has had any success with sports massage / physio? Just feeling very fed up and dejected and want something to work.
Thanks, Pete.

Hi Peter,

Welcome to the community forum. You will soon hear from the group, as Sinemet and Co-Careldopa are common topics of discussion. In the meantime, do have a look at our support services on our website here: https://localsupport.parkinsons.org.uk/. We’d also recommend having a search using the bar in the top right of the page, as this will bring up previous discussions on the topic in question.

Hopefully the community can help you feel a bit better. At the very least we can assure you that you are not alone.

With our warmest welcome,

Jason
Forum Moderator

Good evening Peter … I was diagnosed with Atypical Parkinson’s following a positive datscan in June 2023. I am 71 years old. I was first put on Madopar & then another drug. Neither helped. I am now on 375mg of Sinemet each day [2 pills x 3 times a day]. I do genuinely feel it makes a positive difference for me with what I can do each day but the side effects I think I get [sleep issues / exhaustion] are troublesome. But I have other health problems & take other medications so I don’t know what causes what.

My Parkinson’s symptoms are mainly gait freezing.

You don’t tell us your age, how long you have been taking the drug. I started with 1 pill a day for a week before increasing.

One of the “proofs” that we have PARKINSONS is that the medication helps. But we are all different & react to drugs differently.

I did do a 6 week course [once a week] with a Parkinson’s physiotherapist which helped, but when the 6 week course is over you do need to carry on with the exercises.

You also might have neuropathy as I have. Up to 55% of Parkinson sufferers also have neuropathy. I take Amitriptyline for this which helps.

Any questions please ask.

Best wishes
Steve2