Heart racing and Mucuna

[MissRita]

Good morning all! I was looking up reasons as to why my heart races after I take even an eighth of a teaspoon of l-dopa powder which is actually Mucuna. I usually take 3 1/8 of a teaspoon of L tyrosine powder because a lot of the times the Mucuna has a tendency to make me nauseous or vomit. I came across this article and although it’s three years old it still seems so prevalent and makes so much sense to me. Any comments or feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

scienceofparkinsons.com/201...

[park_bear]

It would seem you are taking a version of Mucuna that is really an extract with concentrated levodopa. I suggest trying unconcentrated Mucuna Pruriens powder. You will have to take a larger amount, but at least the nausea is much less likely.

[MissRita in reply to park_bear]

Thx! I’m taking the Nutra Vita brand of L-Dopa. What brand makes the unconcentrated?

[park_bear in reply to MissRita]

Here is one I have tried. It seemed to be OK -no complaints (but currently I am just taking carbidopa levodopa ER)

amazon.com/gp/product/B00DV...

[MissRita in reply to park_bear]

OK great thanks for that. I have not been on any actual prescriptions for the tremors as I’m just really unsure as to how prescribed LD will react to my body and my brain. I really just want to save the brain as much as I can.

[park_bear in reply to MissRita]

You need not fear levodopa whether from Mucuna or prescription medication.

If at some point you do decide to try prescription levodopa meds, I recommend using a time-release version.

[MissRita in reply to park_bear]

Ok great, thanks so much!

[Hidden]

PB has covered this, but what you are taking is not mucuna. It is a 100% ldopa supplement. You are very likely ingesting far more ldopa through this method than you would if you were taking prescription CL (which would also likely cure the nausea issue).

Alternatively, pursue actual mucuna, but it will be a fair bit of work (finding a good product and eating loads of it).

[MissRita in reply to Hidden]

Thanks so much. Whatever it takes I’ll do it

[beehive23]

i used to use mucuna , it gives me heart palps as well. i also have a ffriend and same thing happened to him.

[MissRita in reply to beehive23]

Interesting! I wonder why?

[beehive23 in reply to MissRita]

Understanding the neurologic control of the cardiac system

Before we explore this issue, let’s first learn a bit about the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and about the cardiac system’s place within it. The ANS is part of the peripheral nervous system, a network of nerves throughout the body. The ANS exerts control over functions that are not under conscious direction such as respiration, heart function, blood pressure, digestion, urination, sexual function, pupillary response, and much more. The ANS is further subdivided into the parasympathetic nervous system and the sympathetic nervous system. Both the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems regulate most major organs. Often, they have opposite effects, with the sympathetic nervous system activating a system and the parasympathetic system calming it down.

One of the systems controlled by the ANS is cardiac regulation. Blood pressure sensors, known as baroreceptors, reside in the heart as well as in the carotid artery, the major artery in the neck. If the baroreceptors sense a change in the blood pressure, a signal is sent to particular areas in the brain. From there, the autonomic nervous system sends signals to the heart to control heart rate and cardiac output. Signals are also sent to the blood vessels to change the size of their diameter, thereby regulating blood pressure.

apdaparkinson.org/article/h...

[MissRita in reply to beehive23]

Thanks for the information. I’m still kind of confused as to what Mucuna does to the cardiac system. I’m just curious if it is the actual being itself or something within the being that makes the heart race.

[Lin1950 in reply to beehive23]

Thank you for the information! A few months ago my cardiologist came to the conclusion I had autonomic dysfunction and there was nothing to do about it. However, my problem is with the blood pressure going up and not down but I now have a better understanding. I’m trying to start MP and although I haven’t gotten palpitations my blood pressure does go up. I’ve tried the pills with same results and honestly I feel worse I was going to start the powder today.