Levodopa Dose Adjustment : As many of you... - Cure Parkinson's

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Levodopa Dose Adjustment

32 Replies

As many of you know after years being on HDT I am currently adjusting my dose (levodopa and thiamine hcl).

I stopped B1 and restarted several days later at different dose. I adjusted the time I take levodopa. One thing I’m trying to do is improve tremor control. Tremors affect my sleep and thus my concentration.

Last night I did not take my night doses of levodopa. Tremors were out of control. At two o’clock in the morning I turned to THC, dose of 25mg capsule. By three o’clock I could not move from the waist down. Wife had to pull me out of bed for me to go pee. She handed me the walker and I slowly made the round trip. She placed me back in bed where I went back to sleep. I awoke at 8 a.m. fully recovered from the frightening experience. The marijuana did allow me to sleep but in the future I’ll stick with levodopa for tremors.

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32 Replies
jimcaster profile image
jimcaster

That had to be scary, but thanks for sharing your experience with us. Best wishes always, Roy!

reedboat2 profile image
reedboat2

THC doesn’t work for me. Even small amounts are too stimulating to the CNS.

MissRita profile image
MissRita in reply toreedboat2

Omg me too!! Why is that?? Any CBD or THC either on their own or in combination make my tremors much worse.

chartist profile image
chartist in reply toMissRita

If the THC is from Sativa varieties, it tends to stimulate you. If the THC is from Indica varieties it tends to let you relax and go to sleep. I only use indica varieties for sleep. I choose high THC levels so I only need to use a very, very small amount . For me, less is more for the purpose of sleep.

Art

MissRita profile image
MissRita in reply tochartist

Oh wow thank you so much for that. I will look more into that.

1LittleWillow profile image
1LittleWillow in reply tochartist

That is true. I only use indica for sleep. My nephew told me it's easy to remember because indica sounds like "in da couch" lol.

MissRita profile image
MissRita in reply to1LittleWillow

Lmaoooo

Erniediaz1018 profile image
Erniediaz1018

Frightening experience, thanks for sharing.

M-o-ggy profile image
M-o-ggy

Thank you for sharing this. I have been thinking about you.

faridaro profile image
faridaro

That must have been a difficult experience Roy. Hope your levodopa and thiamine adjustments get ironed out and you won't have to go through this again. Thanks for sharing and keep us posted!

Isthistheone profile image
Isthistheone

Sorry to hear that Roy. How much L-dopa and how much HDT were you taking? I tried thiamine three years ago. It didn't help. Are you tremor dominate or gait/balance? As you know Focused Ultrasound is getting a lot of good press for tremor dominate folks.

I hope you get the right dosage quick.

Take care.

in reply toIsthistheone

Tremor dominate

Isthistheone profile image
Isthistheone

BTW don't know the cause, but when i run out of L-dopa it's within seconds. I freeze up suddenly. Only getting 2 hours between doses. Natural progression of PD ? I'm in my 11th year.

in reply toIsthistheone

Similar experience

Hikoi profile image
Hikoi

Dramatic on / offs. The best way to deal with them is to take your levadopa before you go off. But easier said than done.

Isthistheone profile image
Isthistheone in reply toHikoi

Sorry I didn't word that properly. I do know the cause of my freeze ups. I find if I wait until my dosing time, I'll freeze up every time. So sometimes I dose up to an hour early. As I noted earlier I go from super sonic to dead still in the blink of an eye!!

Painty23Painty profile image
Painty23Painty

Sorry to hear that Roy, best wishes

WinnieThePoo profile image
WinnieThePoo

Last time I had any THC was smoking a joint at a friend's wedding in Holland 30 years ago. I have found CBD oils helpful recently.

Hopefully you'll get the ldopa B1 balance right again soon

Dap1948 profile image
Dap1948

Perhaps reducing thiamine and ldopa at the same time was too much and made it difficult to work out what was affecting what? I have felt the need to reduce thiamine over time but have left ldopa exactly as it’s been for years. I’m tremor dominant and need ldopa to control that.

in reply toDap1948

Did not reduce levodopa

Dap1948 profile image
Dap1948 in reply to

Ah I thought you said you did not take your night doses of Levadopa ...

in reply toDap1948

In general adjusting time of dose not skipping.

1LittleWillow profile image
1LittleWillow

Roy, that's a really large dose of THC. I originally only needed about 7 mg to get 8 hours of restful sleep, along with melatonin and some magnesium at bedtime. I've increased to about 10 mg over the past 6 months, but any more than that would make me feel terrible. If you haven't used THC before, you may only need 5 or 7 mg for sleep. Edibles usually take an hour or two to kick in, so I always take it at least an hour before I plan to go to bed.

Kevin51 profile image
Kevin51

Hi Roy

all down to the THC? When I took some (too much) my tremor disappeared which was great but I had severe vertigo and did not dare move! I don't know how typical I am, but my tremor is always better when I am relaxed and always stops when I am relaxed enough to go to sleep. I do wake repeatedly when the tremor will briefly return until I relax again and drift off.

Despe profile image
Despe

Roy,

I remember you said that you were going to go to your doctor for your swollen ankles. What did he diagnose? Thank you.

in reply toDespe

Caused by Pramipexole

Hikoi profile image
Hikoi in reply to

Roy are you still on pramipexole and if not when did you stop?

in reply toHikoi

Stopped early this year

Despe profile image
Despe in reply to

Thanks, Roy. Husband's ankles are swollen, too. Comes and goes though. It's not heart related according to his Vanderbilt cardiologist. Believes it's meds' side effect although he is on only 2 t Sinemet a day. Body knows chemicals are unwelcome. . . :(

in reply toDespe

Couldn't you change to mucuna-only?

Hikoi profile image
Hikoi

I asked Roy because pramapexole can help in calming tremors.

Godiv profile image
Godiv

Oh no. So sorry to hear that. I hope you’re feeling better now.❤️

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