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Sinement/Stalevo ~ sleepiness connection

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Posted 4/9/2007 7:02 PM (GMT 0)
HI!

I was wondering if anyone has noticed a conection with Sinemet/Stalevo and sleepiness?  It seems that about 1 hour after I take my meds I get so sleepy that I can barely keep my eyes open.

Any of you out there have any similar experiences?

THANKS!

 

Posted 4/16/2007 8:41 PM (GMT 0)
Hi my name is Koki

 

I am on stalevo 3 times a day and also mirapexin, and yes I feel sleepy after taking stalevo
Posted 4/16/2007 8:44 PM (GMT 0)
Any more similar experiences, please ask, or any other
Posted 4/21/2007 1:50 AM (GMT 0)
Lux,must have missed your prior post.Welcome to Healing well.I'm guessing you are from England as in U.S. mirapexin is marketed as mirapex.Wish you the best.Ed
Posted 4/22/2007 6:09 PM (GMT 0)

To yekkimo - ed

Lux is from England in UK, hence the difference in marketing of drugs.

Posted 5/10/2007 3:09 AM (GMT 0)
(new member as of 5 minutes ago) I take sinemet and requip.  I can be wide awake and then out like a light.  I have to drive but I am very worried that I am going to have a serious accident.  I drink coca cola and other drinks with caffeine to combat the sleepiness but it doesn't help much and they tell me that I shouldn't drink caffeine.  Also-I wake up anywhere from 1am to 3am and can't go back to sleep.  My neurologist is a nice guy but hasn't been forthcoming with a lot of information.  I've been to a Parkinson's support group, but I'm not getting a lot from that either.  Suggestions?
Posted 5/14/2007 3:28 PM (GMT 0)

gtmriviera,

Thanks for your reply.  I wish that I had suggestions for you to cope with the sleepiness, but since I am dealing with the same issue I do not.  I have also noticed recently that I am getting severe headaches off and on.  They, like the sleepiness, have no seeming rhyme or reason.  Some days I get one, others I do not.  I take my medication at the same time each day, and stay on the same dose.  Both of these symptoms are new, within the past three or so months, and I have been on the same medication for about 1 1/2 years now.  SO, I am wondering what is going on. 

I read the post on this forum about help for dyskenisa and am wondering if I were to break my dosage down and take it more frequently throughout the day, that would assist with some of my symptoms as well.  I think I will check with my neuro about that.

Blessings to all!

JB

Posted 5/15/2007 1:03 AM (GMT 0)
That may be a possibility, but I take requip, which is shaped to make it almost impossible to divide, and sinemet which may be a coated tablet although I've never cut one to find out.  I really don't know why I'm still taking the requip because the only noticeable effect is extreme sleepiness.  At one point the nurse told me to just stop taking it and two days later this had an interesting  result when I was awake but totally unable to move or speak.  This was when I took my first ambulance ride and I've been back on the requip since then.  I am convinced that I'm going to have a terrible wreck any day.  As of the last few days I am also now advised that I may have cancer in a couple of areas and I will be having two biopsies soon.  Nobody believes it because at 58 I have no wrinkles, all of my hair and I'm not overweight.  People that don't know me think that I'm about 40.  I'm the picture of health as I drive down the street in my new Cadillac.  I'm the luckiest guy that I know.  That sounds bitter but I'm serious.  I think that the only thing that really worries me right now is the possibility of hurting someone else in an accident. 

Post Edited (gtmriviera) : 5/14/2007 10:27:56 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 5/16/2007 12:59 PM (GMT 0)

I was taking Reqip for 2 years and was nauseous and tired the entire time. Vomiting in the morning became a regular routine. But I felt good physically and the tremors were under control. Recently  the effectiveness of the Requip deminished, I needed a stronger dose (again), and I couldn't take the nausea anymore so I eased off the Requip and just now am onto SInamet only.   The nausea is MUCH better, the fatigue is still there. I thought side effects were suposed to deminish after you take a drug for a while. I'm hoping the fatigue will go away. Am I kidding myself or what?

Linda

Posted 5/16/2007 11:34 PM (GMT 0)
Is the sinemet doing the job by itself?  How long have you been taking it?  How did you decrease the requip dosage because it would be difficult to take half of a pill the way that they are shaped?  I understand that sinemet, while being the most effective, will stop working eventually.  If you stay off of it awhile and then go back to it, will it work again?  As far as cutting the sinemet pill, I had not noticed until today but the pill is grooved and can easily be cut.  One more, and I hate to change the subject but this is a big one.  There seems to be a difference of opinion about dbs.  Is it a case of the sooner the better or is it ok to wait?  I talked to one man who said that he was told that he had waited too long.  I heard from Shands today and they said that it would be about five months before they could see me.  Bummer.
Posted 5/17/2007 9:51 PM (GMT 0)
My doctor told me since I have early onset PD, that I should try to take Requip or another drug for as long as I could and that Sinemet is the last resort - that as time goes on, it will loose it's effectiveness. I went to a movement specialest who told me the same thing. I tapered the Requip by taking the same dose 4 times a day, 3 times a day, twice a day then once a day, then I began Sinemet. I am taking the sinemet 3 times a day (full dose) . I'm doing OK, not nauseous, still a bit tremmory and tired a lot. I haven't heard of someone "waiting too long" to take the Sinemet. That sure is scary!

...in the beginning when I was first diagnosed I was placed on Sinemet. It made me feel so much better. Then the doctor confirmed that I had PD but, folish person that I am, I didn't believe him and since I felt so good, I went off the med. Of course, the symptoms came back and he put me back on the sinemet and they got better again. Once I was stable he suggested the Requip as I said above. It worked twice and I'm hoping for a third time......only time will tell.

Five months before you will be seen? That's terrible! Is Shands a doctor or medical facility? Call them up ever day and ask if they have any cancellations. Good Luck,
Linda
Posted 5/18/2007 12:23 AM (GMT 0)
My speaking and writing tends to be "trend of thought" and sometimes I assume that everyone is in tune with me.  Sorry.  DBS was referring to the inplanting of a wire in the brain for the purpose of stimulating the brain-->nerves and stopping the wild tremors.  (pause while I talk myself out of mentioning a certain radio personality)  Anyway, some doctors are now saying that this surgery should not be put off for years or it won't be effective.  This question is a big one that I want to ask the good people at Shands Hospital at the University of Florida in Gainesville.  I understand that we Parkies are increasing by 50,000 new patients per year in the US alone and the experts are busy and they want to concentrate on the seriously affected.  I promise that I will show up with all the information about me in order and my questions ready.  These pesky patients are the purpose of your job you know.
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