General Information on Sinemet
Sinemet is used to treat Parkinson’s disease and some of its symptoms, such as muscle spasms, tremor, muscle stiffness and poor muscle control. The generic name of this drug is Carbidopa and Levodopa.
The active ingredients of Sinemet are Carbidopa and Levodopa, and its inactive ingredients are hydroxypropyl cellulose, pregelatinized starch, microcrystalline cellulose, crospovidone and magnesium stearate. This medication is available as tablets in three strengths; Sinemet 25/100 mg, Sinemet 10/100 mg and Sinemet 25/250 mg.
You can only buy Sinemet as per a doctor’s prescription.
Side effects of Sinemet
You should not buy Sinemet online if you have:
- Used an MAO inhibitor such as isocarboxazid, phenelzine or tranylcypromine within the past two weeks
- Hypersensitivity to carbidopa or levodopa
- Narrow-angle glaucoma
- Unusual skin lesions
- A history of malignant melanoma
Before you buy Sinemet, inform your doctor if you have any of the following:
- Heart disease, coronary artery disease or a prior heart attack
- Asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
- Liver of kidney disease
- Wide-angle glaucoma
- Depression or other mental illness
- A stomach or intestinal ulcer
Some of the common, but mild side effects of this drug are:
- Skin rash or itching
- Muscle pain or numbness feeling
- Sneezing, cough, stuffy nose
- Insomnia
You should consult your doctor immediately if your experience any of the following side effects:
- Uncontrolled shaking
- Severe vomiting, nausea or diarrhea
- Uneven heart rate
- Hallucinations, confusion, agitation
- Painful or difficult urination
- Stiff muscles, high fever, and chest pain
Pregnant women can take Sinemet only with doctor’s prescription. Nursing mothers should avoid this medication since it passes into breast milk, since it could harm a nursing baby.
Dosage of Sinemet
The recommended dose is one tablet of Sinemet 25/100mg three times a day. Dosage can be increased by one tablet everyday or every other day until a dosage of eight tablets of Sinemet 25/100mg per day is achieved. If Sinemet 10/100mg is used, dosage is initiated with one tablet of Sinemet 10/100mg, three times a day. This would be increased until a total of eight tablets of Sinemet 10/100mg a day are taken.
If you take a dose of Levodopa that equals less than 1500mg in a day, then you may be started on one tablet of Sinemet 25/100mg three or four times a day. If you are taking more than 1500mg of Levodopa daily, then you may be prescribed one tablet of Sinemet 25/250mg three or four times a day.
In case of a missed dose, a patient should use the medication as soon as he or she remembers. If it is almost time for next scheduled dose, a patient should skip the missed dose. A patient should not take extra medicine to make up the missed dose. A patient should seek emergency medical help in case of an overdose.
Interactions
There are 456 drugs which interact with Sinemet, out of which 11 have major, 389 moderate and 56 minor drug interactions with Sinemet. Drugs like metoclopramide, isoniazid, phenytoin, other Parkinson’s medication, papaverine, blood pressure medication, medicines to treat psychiatric disorders such as chlorpromazine, prochlorperazine, etc., and antidepressants such as amitriptyline, doxepin, nortripytyline may have adverse reaction with Sinemet. Alcohol and multivitamins also have moderate drug interaction with Sinemet.
