Parkinson's Medications Questions

1. Is there medication to control fainting due to Parkinson's disease?

   Dizziness and fainting in Parkinson's disease are not uncommon and the medications that we use to treat Parkinson's can lower the blood pressure which further complicates this. Sinemet is well known to lower "standing" blood pressure. In addition, Parkinson's disease affects the autonomic nervous system...
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2. Could the wrong dose of carbidopa/Levadopa worsen Parkinson's symptoms?

   Unfortunately, this happens more frequently than it should. Typically, when this happens, two things result. One is that the sinemet CR is not absorbed as fully as the regular sinemet (only about 60%) so that patients can feel "undertreated" or like their dose is suddenly lower or doesn't "kick-in...
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3. Is my mom's Parkinson's medications causing her to yell out loud?

   I am writing in reply to the comment posted by GLMMOLIVER regarding the use of quetiapine and clozapine in PD. This brings up an important issue regarding "evidence based medicine" and how it can effectively be applied to actually taking care of patients...
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4. Why does the drug levodopa seem to work well for my father with Parkinson's only at certain times of the day?

   The first thing I'd check is that he's not taking the levodopa with a high-protein meal, because that in itself could be knocking out the medicine's effect. Levodopa should be taken either 30 minutes before or an hour after a high-protein meal...
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5. Are there any better medications for Parkinson's than Carbidopa and Levodopa?

   Carbidopa/Levodopa, though around since the early 70's in a usable form, still remains the gold standard for Parkinson's patients. Although there are a number of other medications including the dopamine agonists (ropinirole, pramipexole), MAO-inhibitors (rasagiline, selegiline), COMT inhibitors (entacapone...
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6. Do they have medications for a 75-year-old woman who shakes really badly but doesn't have Parkinson's?

   It sounds like the person you're concerned about has some kind of tremor (the medical term for regular shaking of a body part), and someone has told you it's not Parkinson’s disease. There are medications available to treat tremor, but to prescribe the right medication for this woman, more informatation...
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7. Does levodopa eventually stop working?

   The idea that levodopa works for a while and then ceases to be effective is a myth. The myth sticks around because Parkinson's disease is a progressive disorder.
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8. What are antipsychotic drugs?

   Antipsychotic medications are a group of medications designed to treat psychotic symptoms. Psychotic symptoms in the elderly generally consist of hallucinations and delusions. Hallucinations are false sensory perceptions and can involve any of the senses. One can see things, hear things, touch things, smell things or taste things that are not real...
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9. Will stopping the meds stop his delusions?

   Patients with Lewy Body dementia or Parkinson's disease with dementia can have hallucinations regardless of the medications that they take, but sinemet can make the hallucinations more common and worse. That being said, the other Parkinson's medications are often more likely to cause hallucinations than sinemet...
   1 Expert Answer, 5 Community Answers

10. How long will Parkinson's medications stay in your body?

    Hallucinations and confusion are not uncommon in Parkinson's disease, particularly in patients whom have had the disease for a number of years and/or have memory problems associated with the disease. Medications that we use for Parkinson's disease treatment can contribute to hallucinations as can other...
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11. Could Dad's Parkinson's medication adjustment be causing his seeming mental decline?

    This is a very difficult situation that your father is facing, as Parkinson's patients very often decline for a while when hospitalized. I would expect that the long hospitalization with pneumonia contributed to his confusion. Although sinemet can cause confusion, hallucinations and other side effects...
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12. What can be done to ease quivering due to Parkinson's disease?

    I have been diagnosed with Parkinsons about 5 years ago. I started with the drug Amantadine, then added Carb/Levo ER (which is the generic form of Sinemet), and have also added Azilect. The "combination" of all three has been working quite well for the last 3 years...
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13. My father, who has Parkinson's disease, has been experiencing sundown syndrome. Is this normal or a side effect of a medication?

    My senior dad experienced this during his last few months after he entered the end stage of Parkinsons Disease and hospice. It was primarily due to a new medication he got in the hospital - I believe it was called Haldol. They changed him to risperadol and that made a tremendous difference...
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14. Should my father be treated for "parkinson-like" symptoms if he is otherwise in good health?

    There is no question that your father would be helped by being treated for parkinsonian or old age symptoms. The question is what that treatment should be. You already were advised that a proper diagnosis should be made by a neurologist specializing in movement disorders and that is standard practice...
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15. My mother was diagnosed with Parkinson's 15 years ago, an...

    I am not a doctor, but for general health improvement, there is a pro duct called "OsteoDenx" which is for bone health (all natural, no chemicals)which might help a little...seems to help lots of people with different issues. How is her sleep? Balance?
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