Patient/caregiver was educated on the side-effects of using Sinemet as follows:
Musculoskeletal side-effects
- Sinemet carries the risk of inducing/aggravating abnormal and uncontrolled body movements, such as, uncontrolled tongue movements, lip smacking, and eye blinking. Dyskinesias could be due to side-effects of various other medications and irrespective to the cause of dyskinesias, individuals with history can be at increased risk to present with aggravation of the condition, secondary to sinemet intake.
- Sinemet use can result in motor incoordination, unusual eye movements, blurred vision, and can increase fall risk and accidents. Confusion and dizziness with sinemet use, can add to the motor incoordination, thus enhancing the fall risk significantly.
- Sinemet intake carries the risk of lowering the threshold for seizures, thereby, resulting in seizure activity, especially in individuals with history of the same.
- Sinemet intake can also induce a life-threatening reaction called Neuroleptic malignant syndrome. Individuals taking sinemet can present with high fever, episodes of confusion, muscle rigidity, elevated blood pressure, and rapid heart rate. Severe cases can present with muscle breakdown, elevated potassium levels in the blood due to muscle destruction, life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias due to the elevated blood potassium, and seizures.
