Carbo-Levo Dopa and Its Side Effects- An Update

One of the medications, Macrine is taking for her Parkinson's Disease(PD). If you have a love one suffering from PD I am sure you have heard of this medication. Here's an update of the side effects of this essential drug.

Sinemet (carbidopa-levodopa) is a combination of an inhibitor of aromatic amino acid decarboxylation and an aromatic amino acid used to treat Parkinson symptoms such as muscle stiffness, tremors, spasms, and poor muscle control.

Sinemet is also used to treat Parkinson symptoms caused by carbon monoxide poisoning or manganese intoxication. Sinemet is available in generic form. Common side effects of Sinemet include:

dizziness,
drowsiness,
blurred vision,
nausea,
vomiting,
dry mouth,
loss of appetite,
heartburn,
diarrhea,
constipation,
sneezing,
stuffy nose,
cough,
other cold symptoms,
muscle pain,
numbness or tingly feeling,
trouble sleeping (insomnia or strange dreams),
skin rash,
itching,
and headache.

Tell your doctor if you experience unlikely but serious side effects including:
greatly increased eye blinking/twitching, fainting,mental/mood changes (e.g., confusion, depression, hallucinations, thoughts of suicide), unusual strong urges (such as increased gambling, increased sexual urges),or worsening of involuntary movements/spasms.

Starting dosage is one tablet of Sinemet 25-100 (carbidopa-levodopa) three times a day. Dosage may be increased by one tablet every day or every other day, as necessary, until a dosage of eight tablets a day is reached. Sinemet may interact with other Parkinson's medications, metoclopramide, isoniazid, phenytoin, papaverine, blood pressure medication, antidepressants, or medicines to treat psychiatric disorders. Tell your doctor all medications you use.

Note: The side effects that are blocked are some of the side effects Macrine is feeling at times. She is also feeling confused and sometimes depressed and feel isolated and not loved. She needs attention and wants relatives to call her!

Acts of Kindness from Strangers Reposted

National Kindness Day was last February 17, but I forgot to repost this blog that day. Anyway, every day should be kindness day to all Senior Citizens. Enjoy this long hot, hot summer in the next two months or so!

I posted this article about 3 years ago. It is timeless and I wish there will be more acts of kindness extended to senior citizens in this hectic and chaotic world.

http://chateaudumer.blogspot.com/2013/06/three-acts-of-kindness-from-strangers.html

For things you can do for seniors as an act of kindness any day of the year, read the following:

http://www.spinlife.com/blog/random-acts-of-kindness-for-seniors-thoughtful-ideas-and-inspiration/

Have You Heard of Cherrie Atilano and AGREA?

Cherrie Atilano, the president and founding farmer of AGREA was awarded as one of The Outstanding Women in the Nations Service (TOWNS) on November 10, 2016 at Dusit Thani Manila, Makati City. The next day, November 11, Cherrie was named ‘Earth Mover 2016’ during Rappler’s Annual Move Awards at the Ayala Museum. Cherrie is a founding farmer in AGREA Philippines, an agri-social enterprise on Marinduque island. AGREA aims to develop a replicable “one island” economy model founded on sustainable agriculture and quality education for the children of local farmers and fishermen. 

In 2016 Cherrie received one of The Outstanding Women in the Nation's Service awards, in recognition of her work in the Filipino agriculture sector over the last 18 years. Cherrie De Erit Atilano is a magna cum laude of the Visayas State University – Agriculture Program. She graduated in 2007 and was one of the Ten Outstanding Students of the Philippines a few years ago.

Cherrie was granted a two-year Fulbright scholarship and the opportunity to pursue her studies in America. But after seeing the plight of our farmers when she volunteered at the GK Enchanted Garden in Angat, Bulacan, she gave up the well-sought after scholarship for a chance to help her countrymen. “I can’t leave my farmers”, Cherrie said during the panel interview. The board’s panel was moved by her genuine words. The panel told Cherrie that she can have her scholarship anytime.

Cherrie has been working to help Filipino farmers through agricultural development initiatives in the past 18 years. Her main goal is to help the country achieve food security and food sovereignty while uplifting fishermen and farmers from poverty.
“I am a culprit of making farming glamorous,” she said. “When people are seeing dirt in soil, I see gold.”

One of Atilano’s recent works is the Agrea Agricultural System International Incorporated. It is an agri-social enterprise in Marinduque province that builds sustainable farming communities through organic agriculture and fair trade practices. She is also responsible for promoting agricultural development and education among the youth, including the children of farmers. For details and current AGREA projects in Marinduque visit Yong Nieva Face Book page.

On her Facebook account, Cherrie posted “Thank you very much Rappler for the Earth Mover Award and for the triennial search for The Outstanding Women in the Nation Service Award 2016 (TOWNS) for recognizing Agrea’s work. This may be a step ahead for Agrea, it is also a great big leap for our farmers and fishermen. Marinduque is very proud! But we do not stop here. There are still so many things to be done, still so many seeds to sow and take care of, and still a big island to think about. Above all else, still too many people to cultivate and empower that farming is cool, smart, sexy and humane. And echoing the lines of one of our youngest volunteers, “How are you doing guys? Keep working!”

Source: http://marinduquenews.com/2016/11/agreas-founder-cherrie-atilano-receives-top-awards/

Have You Heard of UMPQUA? Good Luck Dinah and Elaine!

I am sorry to admit that last month was the first time I heard of UMPQUA bank. My oldest daughter, Dinah, had been offered a position she can not refused at UMPQUA Bank in Portland, Oregon. This will be her first time to relocate from California to Oregon. She is very excited since this is a Promotion. The company has offered her a good salary, bonus sign up and help in her relocation expenses as well as a prestigious title of Assistant Vice President. Your Mom and I wish you luck and success in your new position. Elaine is relocating with her. The following three photos were taken during their visit last week. The other photos were taken during the Farewell Party for Dinah by Friends and Relatives in Concord.

The following are some information from Wikipedia about UMPQUA bank.

Umpqua Holdings Corporation, d.b.a. Umpqua Bank, is a financial holding company based in downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. Headquarters are in the Umpqua Bank Plaza, formerly the headquarters of Benj. Franklin Savings and Loan. The firm has three principal operating subsidiaries: Umpqua Bank (the Bank), Umpqua Investments (formerly Strand, Atkinson, Williams and York (Investments)), and Pivotus Ventures.

The company’s main operating segments are personal banking and lending, business banking and lending, and wealth management. The bank serves consumers and businesses in the community. As of 2015, Umpqua Bank had $24 billion in assets and $18 billion in deposits and was ranked among the largest 60 banks in the nation. Its parent company, Umpqua Holdings, is publicly traded. As of 2016, Umpqua Bank was the largest Oregon-based bank, and had 350 branches in Oregon, Washington, California, Nevada and Idaho.

Today is moving day for Dinah and Elaine. Have a Safe Relocation to Portland, Oregon!

Clarke and Rush( Not Dependable) and Comfort Master Service

Two Years ago I purchased a new Carrier Furnace 80% Boost from Clark and Rush for total cost of $4439 including installation. I Have a 10 year warranty for manufacturer parts.

Last week at the middle of the Ten Day Heat Wave here in Northern California, our Air conditioner failed. The AC is humming outside- but no cool air is coming ( appeared the blower is defective). I immediately called my installer Clark and Rush. They answered they are fully booked for three weeks and do not answer emergency calls even from customers. I was so upset, I started calling 10 other cooling and heating service companies in The Sacramento area. Of the ten I called only one( Jaguar) had an opening within the next couple of days. The rest are booked for weeks ahead. While waiting for the service from Jaguar, Macrine and I stayed at the Mall in the afternoon when the temperature outside were over 100 and inside the house was 90. One night we stayed at my daughters house in Mid town Sacramento.

Jaguar diagnosed that the problem was indeed the blower and to replace it will cost $1536. The technician suggested to call our local Carrier Dealers and verify that the part is available locally and if not it has to be ordered from the manufacturer, since we still have the warranty on the parts. The diagnosis cost us $79.

There are several Carrier Furnace Dealers in our Area. The problem is not the part but the time availability for service. Most of the Cooling companies are fully booked. Luckily, I was able to talk to a Carrier Dealer, Comfort Master. I was told the blower is not available locally. It has to be ordered from the manufacturer and a service charge of $65 for a 2-day delivery window is required.

Since Comfort Master did not diagnosed the problem, they are hesitant to order it ahead and wants their own technician to diagnose it for an additional cost of $99. The earliest they can re diagnose the problem is two days from this writing date. I was told it would be the first week of July when we will have central air conditioning again. I hope the weather will cooperate in the next 10 days.

In the meantime, the heat wave is gone. High temperature during the next couple of days are in the low 90's. We have a Wall AC unit in our bedroom, so we can sleep, but the afternoon from 3 to 7PM, the whole house is hot, even though we have electric fans in the Kitchen and Family room, we still have to go to the Mall to cool off.

Lesson Learned: Not all Cooling Service Companies are Dependable, in spite of their Claim of superior Client Service.

Note: We have central air conditioning yesterday. The parts have been ordered by Comfort Master(CM). I highly recommend CM for your Cooling and Heating needs if your reside in the Sacramento area.

New Drug for Parkinson Approved by FDA

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced three months ago that it has approved a new drug, Xadago, for the treatment of Parkinson's disease. This is indeed good news for me and other care givers with their love ones suffering from PD.

Roughly 50,000 Americans are diagnosed with Parkinson's disease each year and about 1 million people have have it, according to the National Institutes of Health. Xadago, or safinamide, is an add-on treatment for patients with Parkinson's disease who are taking levodopa, carbidopa or a combination of both and are experiencing times when their medications are not working well, also known as "off" episodes. For details read:

https://www.michaeljfox.org/foundation/news-detail.php?fda-approves-xadago-for-parkinson-disease&et_cid=842039&et_rid=226045094&et_lid=Read+More+%26gt%3bem_cid=&et_cid=842202&et_rid=224829673&et_lid=Read+More+%26gt%3bem_cid=

Food for Thoughts on Father's Day-An Update

The following was my post last year on Father's Day. I am not expecting any of the events described here that happened last year, except for phone calls from my two daughters. I will be happy if my oldest son ( also a father) give me a call today. Here's the article I posted in my blog last year in case you have not read it.

"This year all my four children(The 4 D's) did not forget me today. My oldest son sent me a Fathers' day Card three days ago and will probably call me later this evening for his annual greetings. My other two daughters are here now preparing lunch. My oldest daughter arrived at 10:30AM bringing Italian Pasta and Green Salad. My youngest daughter and grand daughter arrived shortly with appetizers and my favorite dessert-Cheese Cake.

My youngest son who lives with us and helped me take care of his Mom enhanced/fixed my computer ( faster with more memory and-Windows 10) charging me only $250 for the parts. His labor for fours hours was free and told me it is his Fathers Day Gift to me. My oldest daughter also gave me a Red Lobster gift card, I can use any time. Thanks to all of You my 4 D's. To my oldest son, Happy Fathers Day to you also.

I am attaching a video ( Daddy Day Trio)for your enjoyment. Two other videos that I loved in this set are Katherine McPhee and Chris Mann's duet of the Prayer and the Three Tenors of Pavarotti, Domingo and Carreras singing "I Did it My Way" with Frank Sinatra in the audience ".





Fathers' Day reminds me of the responsibility of Parenthood. I found the following quotes timeless and applicable to all Fathers and Mothers of Today and of the future.

1. Marriage is an institution, but who wants to live in an institution.

2. The trouble with most average American is that they expect their children to be above average.

3. The best inheritance a parent can give his children is a few minutes of his time each day.

4. A mother of 13 children was asked "how in the world can you have time for 13 children" she replied, "when I had only one child, it took all my time, what more can 13 do?

5. A Chicago psychologist lists these rules for parents to insure their child happiness
Avoid favoritism, do not compare one child to another
Don't be too dominating; don't impose your own ambitions or hobbies
Don't be upset at what your neighbor's children accomplish
Don't remind yourself constantly that you worked harder or had fewer privileges.

6. The fear of depriving our children has produced the most "gifted" generation of children in our history. We shower them with gifts to prove our love, with the inevitable result that the gift of love has degenerated into a love of gifts. Are we offering things as parent substitutes? Are we offering presents instead of our presence? Are we giving things because we are reluctant to give time or self or our heart?

Philippines Love Songs and Tourist Spots in the Background

Do you love Kundiman and Pinoy love songs? Here's one of my favorite video.