I have been giving my mom a little bit of orange juice with each dose because I read and heard a few different places that it helps with better and quicker absorption of the C/L. I want to buy her a powder form to mix into her water instead of giving her all that sugar each time. I am wondering if anyone else uses this method and if so, what kind of Vitamin C powder do you recommend?
Thank you.
I sometimes disperse Stalevo (levodopa/carbidopa/entacapone, i.e. Sinemet + entacapone) pills in vitamin C.
It has many advantages:
- faster, more reliable absorption;
- easy way to get fractional doses;
- hides the fact that you're taking a drug.
Having said that, its inconvenience is such that I don't do it very often.
I just buy a generic.
Thank you for replying.
What do you mean by fractional doses? Are you dissolving the pills in water with vitamin C powder?
Tsonmez and johntPM
I have never heard of this combination and am not sure I understand what you are both trying to do. I am very confused by the question and very intrigued by the response. Please help me to understand......so many questions, sorry!
Tsonmaz......if you are using pure OJ why are you concerned about its sugar content? And how much OJ are you using?
What benefit do you believe is gained by adding orange juice for its Vitamin C content to the doses of levadopa?
Is johntPM suggesting that by actually breaking up and mixing the tablet with such a liquid as orange juice is beneficial? How?
How much OJ do you use?
Why would you need to hide the fact that you are taking the drug?
By "inconvenient" do you mean that you can’t always have the OJ on hand at dosage time?
Thanks in advance. 🙋🏻♀️
By "fractional dose" I mean dividing a pill into pieces. Depending on the pill this is usually easy for halves, where you can use a pill splitter, but difficult for other fractions. However, by dispersing a pill in vitamin C solution, you can draw off whatever volume you like. For instance, dissolve a 100mg L/C pill in 400ml of vitamin C solution. 100ml of solution now holds 25mg of levodopa.
I disperse the vitamin C in water, then disperse the L/C in that solution.
Note 1: you should not do this on modified release drugs.
Note 2: for instance for levodopa induced dyskinesia, you may wish to reduce the size of your doses, but increase the frequency, in all taking the same total daily dose. For instance, rather than take a 100mg L/C dose every 4 hours, you can take a 25mg dose every hour.
Thank you. I am going to try this with my mom. She definitely has levodopa induced dyskinesia. She takes 1 and a 1/2 pill every 2 hours.
...Levodopa is active for two hours. After which your body is free of levodopa resulting low risk of dyskinesia. Amount in a single dose, not daily cumulative, is root of dyskinesia.Book - Managing PD Midstride:
"The most common kind of dyskinesia is “peak dose.” This occurs when the concentration of levodopa in the blood is at its highest – usually one to two hours after you take it. This typically matches up with when the medications are working best to control motor symptoms."
Thiamine hcl may also reduce risk of dyskinesia.
One takes 100mg per dose. 8 doses per day. Or
One takes 400mg per dose 2 doses per day.
Each provide 800mg total per day.
Your risk of dyskinesia is lower at 100mg per dose while maintaining the same high dose day. Multiple low dose protocol allows higher daily levodopa.
Reference: Mayo Clinic. “Cheaper, Simpler, and Better: Tips for Treating Seniors With Parkinson Disease”
J. Eric Ahlskog, PhD, MD
Note: 25/100 IR Single dose max is three and a half tablets. Then you take as many doses required in day and nite that keeps you on. Dyskinesia only results from the last single dose. Not the day total.
Carbidopa levodopa is the premier, go-to drug. Instant release is preferred.
You may need two and 1/2 tablets in a single dose. Three tablets even. Three and one half tablets being the limit of effective treatment. Any number of total daily doses. One hour, three, four hours apart.
I was paralyzed until I moved my dose up to two tablets in a single dose, four hours apart day and night.
Required Reading Book List for Advocates of their own health.
Number One:
“The New Parkinson’s Disease Treatment Book” Second Edition, 2015
Dr. Eric Ahlskog,
Chair of Movement Disorders
Mayo Clinic, thirty-years experience.
I guess johntPM is referring to "liquid sinemet".
For example, search for "liquid sinemet" and/or "vitamin C" at:
mayoclinicproceedings.org/a...
Thank you, I am going to check this out.
Wow, I just read through the whole article. My mom's doctor never explained any of this in this kind of detail. I am going to start really paying attention to when her dyskinesias begin and see if I can adjust the timing to reduce them. So much information...you really need someone monitoring you all day long for a few days to help to determine what to do. Unfortunately, the neurologist visits only last a a few minutes.
Yes increasing stomach acidity works to speed up digestion of C/L; carbonated water is an alternative. I would avoid any VitC preparations containing artificial sweeteners like aspartame as they are not good for the gut.
I recently added Amla powder to my dose of Mucuna Pruriens, a natural form of levodopa. It makes the whole powder taste better that's for sure. Something about the tartness I guess and it is super high in Vit. C and high in antioxidants. Alone is very tart so maybe needs to be mixed with something sweeter. Still learning about the benefits but has been mentioned on this site.
Hello
I take all together Modopar (idem Sinemet) and Mucuna (natural L-dopa) three times a day with vitamin C in tablet form (three times 500mg vitamin C = 1500mg a day) to improve the effectiveness of L-dopa. It works: read...
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/156...
researchgate.net/publicatio...
Thank you! I will continue this for my mom. It is seeming to help most of the time.
Depending on your mother's meds, other than LC, you may want to try grapefruit juice for her. Forum member Wriga has researched extensively grapefruit juice's effect on LC.
I have been taking a little bit of orange juice with each carbidopa levodopa dose. I read that it helps with better and quicker absorption of the C/L. It appears to be working for me.
is it the acidity or the vitamin c? If you worry about sugar the key is to drink high pulp OJ. The fiber slows the sugar slam.
Anyone find C/L ineffective? 
general: how do you take your morning dose? do you take your C/L on empty stomach, with food or after?
Does anyone take Vitamin K2?
Does Vitamin C Influence Neurodegenerative Diseases and Psychiatric Disorders?
Does Vitamin B1 stop the progression in Parkinson’s if taken with MUCUNA or does it WORK ONLY when taken with C/L. 
