I just wanted to share our experience with the natural supplement Mucuna Pruriens - L Dopa ..
My husband has not yet been diagnosed with PD as he is waiting to see the movement specialist in Aug 2018..He suffers with hand arm tremors , at first was right arm and now is both but the right being worse as is dominant hand.. Family Dr. believes is PD as does his Psychiatrist..we were first hoping it was tremors cause by his antidepressant abilify but due to recent episode of severe RIGIDITY I am convinced it is for sure PD. My husband has been taking MP now for about 6 months , I first discovered this online groups and bought it for him to try for his tremors, was shocked to see that after taking it his tremors basically stopped within 35 mins.. he has been taking it once per day up until the other day now he is taking it 2 times a day ... here is what happened.
He is a long haul trucker and unbeknownst to me he had apparently stopped taking the MP due to forgetting as he was keeping it in his coat pocket and since it was warm in the USA and he kept it in his coat pocket he was not reminded by feeling it in his pocket so he wasn't taking it and apparently had been over a week without it... well he ended up in severe pain and severe stiffness in his body, he said (as he was telling me this over the phone I am in Canada him in California at the time )he could not move his neck arm , legs or any part of his body without severe pain.. I immediately thought of Rigidity and how I had read of this being a symptom and read him the description of it and he says that is exactly how I feel.. he was in tears and so depressed and seized up...I had asked him have you taking your MP yet this morning? he says no! I said to him and you were feeling stiff and sore yesterday? you mean the MP is not helping with it? He says no!.. So I tell him it is time to take more then, so I told him to double the dose which was going from 1/4 tsp to 1/2 tsp originally he was taking 1/8 tsp 1 time per day.. so he takes 1/2 tsp of 99% L Dopa and within 35 mins he was up and moving and the pain was subsided and he got his movement back and was now able to move his arms , legs neck without stiffness and all that pain.. All I can say is Mucuna Pruriens has been a Miracle for us, as without it he would be a real mess and obviously in the hospital since Drs' here cannot RX you anything for PD when you are not Diagnosed with it yet..The Dr's know he is taking the MP and were surprised that it has worked to stop the tremors or control them.. and yet have no idea on this as it just happened ... I am so greatfull to have found this MP and are amazed at how much it has helped him with his PD symptoms.. I am concerned that when he see the Movement Specialist and is diagnosed that he will say he has to take Siniment and not agree to him taking a natural form.. but it has been working thus far.
Just wanted to share our experience with Mucuna as being a life saver for my husband at this point. Also my husband said that this rigidity was like Rigamortis setting in. Is this really how it feels?
So amazing how a person can be basically paralyzed with pain and muscle stiffness due to lack of dopamine and then when taking L DOPA your symptoms are like night and day... AMAZING stuff!!
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katz2017
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P.S I should also add that it was after my telling him to take double dose that he informed me he hadnt taken it for a couple days and later informs me was a weeks time.. we what ended up happening was going from 1/4 tsp to 1/2 tsp was like over dosing.. he ended up sweating badly and when he told me this I said to him , well yea it is to much as you said it wasnt working and were taking it, so now you were not taking it and this is to much.. he survived it and is now back to normal doseage.. Actually I have him down to 1/8 tsp 2x per day starting today to see if that is enough rather than 1/4 tsp 2 x /day.. 1/8 tsp is equal to 500 mg of L dopa.
It's good to hear that MP has worked for your husband so well. You can get the book "Mucuna versus Parkinson" by Dr. Rafael Gonzales Maldonado and show it to your husband's movement specialist, so they will see MP from another physician's perspective.
First time we bought from here barlowesherbalelixirs.com/ , which is really good and we bought in capsule form then we graduated to a higher percentage in powder form and we get it from here..
He was not nauseated until he took to much , when I told him to take the double dose of 1/2 tsp, he was sweating and felt nauseated.. yea after he tells me he hadnt taken any for over a weeks time so therefor had I known that I would of just told him to take his usual amount .. so to much obv, makes one nauseated. So in powder form which is what his is and not capsulated it is 1/8 tsp which is equal to 500mg of L Dopa..In the beginning we were buying Capsules which were 40% L dopa and strength was 650mg I believe, they were from barlowesherbalelixirs.com/ but decided to go the powder form as we ship it to Canada and cost wise it gives us more for less.
According to Dr. Rafael Gonzales Maldonado, one has to start with a capsule in lower dosage, 200mg/15% seed extract and adjust over time. This is what I ordered and its way for my husband. If that's not enough, I will order the powder. Along with it, I ordered green tea extract (EGCG) and Quercetin/Bromelain.
It all depends of the strength and form (whole seed powder or seed extract with a percentage of LD) of MP. Whole seed powder has also decarboxylate inhibitor so no need of EGCG, but you can still add EGCG capsule, usually 94-98% pure for a total of 400 mg green tea extract. I know it's confusing, it was for me for a long time until I read comments from people who have experienced use of MP.
There are several case reports, as opposed to studies, where liver problems have been reported in people using EGCG or a dietary supplement multi that happened to contain EGCG as one of its components. The problem with these reports is that they lack the health history of these patients and often times have insufficient data to be of practical use or draw definitive conclusions. Many of these case reports involve dietary supplements that contain EGCG and that in itself can infer other potential health issues that may be preexisting such as diabetes, obesity or existing liver health issues which had not been diagnosed prior to the incident of liver toxicity. In other words it is entirely possible that there was a preexisting previously undiagnosed liver condition that may have actually led to the event. These events have to be taken in context to the overall health of the person in these case reports.
Anyone can be allergic to almost anything, so that has to be a consideration also.
On the other hand, EGCG has also shown benefit in some liver studies, so caution may be warranted, but EGCG has definitely shown itself to offer many potential health benefits.
Everyone interested in Mucuna should read the following.
Analysis of Levodopa Content in Commercial Mucuna pruriens Products Using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography with Fluorescence Detection. liebertpub.com/doi/full/10....
"Results: HPLC-FD analysis revealed that the levodopa content of the six commercial MP products varied from 6% to 141% of individual label claims. No product contained levodopa within normal pharmacopeial limits of 90%–110% label claim"
Anyone further interested can purchase the whole article to see which brands failed label claims. Patients should be aware when buying mucuna from unreliable sources or products that lack any quality control.
High concentration levodopa extracts may lack the beneficial properties of the whole mucuna powder which attributes its superiority over levodopa alone whether natural or synthetic. Whole mucuna powder usually contains 4-6% levodopa and it is the one showed to be an efficient and safer alternative in human studies. High concentration levodopa extracts are likely to produce side effects such as nausea. Those side effects are less likely to occur with whole mucuna powder.
Zandu Zandopa is one of the most well known mucuna product and has been used for the treatment of idiopathic Parkinson's for over a decade in India. Zandopa can be shipped worldwide.
Thank you Katz for generously sharing your experience. I would love to use Mucuna Pruriens but don't know where to buy it, or how to figure out the dosage (I am Nipper) . Did you buy a powder and put in food, or was this a tablet, say, from a vitamin shoppe online like Swanson Vitamins? ANYTHING you can share with me will be deeply appreciated. Your husband is so lucky to have you in his life, Katz2917!
Your answers are in this thread, you will have to read through them to see where I mentioned dosage and brand. You just add the powder into a drink, water, juice etc,or buy the capsule form as also mentioned above.Do not consume within 30 mins of protein as it will not absorb as well , no diff then when taking sinemet.
Thanks for sharing. I've had a similar experience with MP. I also mix about 15 powdered herbs and take them once or two times a day also. What had happened lately is I have acquired dyskinesia but I'm experimenting with B1 and that seems to hold any progression of Parkinson's at bay. Thanks again for sharing.
Your post moved me to order and start taking MP. I am not yet diagnosed either but needed something and first tried organic powder for about 3 weeks. My Zandopa arrived from India and I tried it during the day as well and it worked too. So using both I attained more mental motivation to do things, less stiffness in my neck and less tremor. This has been a life saver and I want to thank you for your post and your husband's experience. I will not be able to see the neuro for some time as the wait list is long and I'm in BC, Canada. I have been taking about 15mg per day.
The best for me is to take it 2 hours before thyroid meds in the morning. Then I can eat a meal and the best pm is an hour after lunch. I have poor digestion and swallowing problems so 2 meals is mostly all I can handle.
Sorry I meant 15 grams a day of either Zandopa or whole powder and I just tried Solaray DopaBean (15% L-dopa) today and can probably take 2 of these a day. I'm being cautious.
Zandopa works fine too, recommends 7.5 g 2x a day. The powder works but doesn't seem as smooth when I come off of it. Capsule is easy to take and powder has other ingredients that are supposedly beneficial so trying it all.
Still not sure of the amounts I'm reading that others are taking of 40%?? It's a bit confusing as the Solaray bottle says Guaranteed 66 mg [20%] catecholamines including 50 mg [15%] L-dopa. If anyone can decipher that I'd be grateful. Would I be getting 30 g a day of DopaBean as comparable with the 40% others are taking? I will post this again so others can answer. Take care and thanks.
My husband started Barlowe's Herbal Elixirs brand MP Standardized Extract 650mg, 40% L-dopa. It means of the 650 mg MP extract, 260 mg is L-dopa. He takes two capsules in the morning and two in the evening. I have also ordered ZANDOPA. Once it arrives, he will take two Barlowe's capsules in the morning and the recommended dose from Zandopa in the evening. He is on no conventional meds. He also started B1 injections a month ago and getting ready to email Dr. Costantini again with a short video of the pull test. We will go from there. . .
Hello! No my husband is not on any meds, just MP 20% L-dopa. I believe he has finally found the right strength and dose. He takes two capsules a day. He is also on B1 protocol. Good luck!
Thanks for your comment, and glad it is working for you also.. My husband is taking 90% L dopa in powder form, nothing added to it, just straight up MP and is now taking 1/8 tsp 2 times a day.. Remember Do Not take L DOPA within 30 -45 mins before or after eating protein-( meat, eggs) as L DOPA is a protein and it fights for Dominancy? however if taking within close time of other protein it will not reach the blood brain barrier and you will not have as great of effect , thus will not work well enough.
We used to take the 40% MP from barlowesherbalelixirs.com a great product and no other additives added in there, I would recommend just using a str8 up MP so you know what is actually helping.
What we use now and lasts a long time and more affordable in the long run, in CAD after the USD exchange rate with shipping comes to 70.00 and lasts like 3 months.
Good to hear a Dr. in Canada is supporting your mode of treatment using MP. I have an appointment next week to educate my GP. Should be interesting as I will have to be tactful and come with some literature.
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Hang in there. Are you taking Mucuna Pruriens now, and if so what brand and what strength of L-dopa?
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