Hello all!
Curious if anyone knows if C/L tabs are sold by the half or quarter? My Dr seems to think that it might be beneficial for me to try quarter tabs but the problem that I found with the tabs that I got were that you can only cut them in half so how do you cut them in quarters? I get a little bit nervous about this because I’m thinking how do I know if it’s actually a quarter tab?
Any information would be great!
Which tablet do you have. "Normal"is 25:100. You can get 12.5:50. Cut one of those in half
medicines.org.uk/emc/produc...
25/100, OK that’s good to know I’ll ask my doctor.
There are two dosages, 25/100 and 50/200. So you want to be working with the lower dosage version. As you mentioned they come scored so they can be split. I have found that the halves can be split again using a pill splitter. Not very accurately, but good enough if that is what you need to do.
As I mentioned you can also get 12.5/50 a half if which is going to be a quarter of the 25/100
I don’t think they are available in the US in that size.
Ah yes. Everything is bigger in the USA. I think it may matter less when the macuna issue is cleared up. If she is using quite high doses of macuna derived levadopa and the prescribing physician was unaware, then total effective levadopa levels will be much higher than intended
Yes I wondered about that. I got off the Mucuna meaning the concentrated kind yesterday. I’m not sure how long it takes for that stuff to get out of your system but last night I found it very interesting because I used a brown Mucuna last night and it made such a huge difference. Thanks to park_bear and their suggestion of the brand that I bought.
Well done WinnieThePoo!
That's great news. You haven't referred to the quantities of these macuna you have been taking. Your better results may in part be due to the "rest of the plant" benefit from Brown macuna, but likely mostly its because you are taking less levadopa in the brown than you were in the concentrated. The levadopa in the macuna extract, like the levadopa in brown macuna, and the levadopa in sinemet (they are all the same ) will be out of your system in around 8 hours (4.5 half lives) but the dopamine made from it will continue to affect you long after that (a bit)
Whilst there is a build up effect over time - the short answer you wanted is "a day"
What was the difference between the brown and white mucuna. What dose of mucuna have you been taking?
The brown kind is straight from the seed the white kind is concentrate and it is the worst because I just constantly threw up no matter how many times I would take it or not take it. The brown kind is much gentler on the stomach so far.
The “brown” kind varies according to how much levodopa it contains: it can contain as little as 5% (whole seed powder) to as much as 40%. (Barlowe’s brand).
I used Barlow’s for quite some time but I’ve had to stop because the carrier that they use makes me awfully sick and it was too concentrated and I kept vomiting. Now the brown can make you vomit if you take too much but at least it’s not as concentrated and it is somewhat friendlier on the stomach.
My latest two refills of 25/100 came as tiny ovals, un-scored. They do not fit in my pill splitter and break VERY unevenly. My new prescription calls for taking 1.5 three times a day. It is going to be 90 days of variable doses!
Hi pmh, Be careful... Once my pharmacist changed my pill supplier and the new pills worked differently than the old pills, even though the prescription was the same!
Anyway, even if your new pill works the same as old pill, your pharmacy should be willing to get your prescription filled with the old pill if you ask them (I presume you old pill is scored once). It a bit of a hassle to get them to do this, but may be worth it in your case.
BTW, the key to identifying a pill is the "NDC code" printed on the bottle (at least is in the US)...
Thank you. I will speak to the pharmacy and check out pull identifier.
Are you still taking macuna? If so, make sure your doctor knows how much additional levadopa you are taking. Although normal Sinemet is 4:1 with carbidopa you can also get 10:1. The carbidopa will be helping all the levadopa you take get to your brain. If you are taking 100mg levadopa from macuna with every sinemet tablet you are effectively doubling the Sinemet dose
Yes that’s what I thought. I’m just unsure how long it takes for Mucuna to get out of the system. I was taking concentrated for a while and that stuff is pretty Heynis and always made me incredibly sick. I have gotten rid of the concentrated kind and tried the brown kind last night which was great. Thx park_bear!
Madopar tablets can break down into quarters, or halves. Not the capsules tho...obviously!
I take madopar three quarters of a tablet.
The tablets are scored so they are very easy to break into 4.
E,g, 200 mg = 4 quarters of 50 mg
The chemist showed me how to snap them into quarters.
I just break them with my nails... u can use a pill cutter ... the 1/4s won’t be as neat as the 1/2s but it has helped tremendously .And puts me more in control
Hope that helps
Be well
C!
25/100 Is the lowest dose you can get in the US . I used to take a quarter tablet every 90 minutes to try and even out the ups and downs . It worked well for me for many years . You have to get the right kind of generic That will break well . Mine are made by Actavis . Best way I've found is to Put your thumbnails In the scored line And break it In half toward you . As for the quarters You just have to do your best To get them even .
I started off with a half tablet and over the weeks, the dosage was increased. I asked the drug store to cut them for me. They have the tool to cut medication.
Spoke to the doctor today and unfortunately there is no half of a half a tab in the United States like many of you have mentioned. So I think it’s going to be a hit or miss kind of trial and error for a bit.
I'm not a doctor but I would think a 1/4 tablet wouldn't be worth taking or do much. Maybe find a new doctor or get a second opinion.
Best of luck...this disease sucks!!!
You should be going to a Neurologist that specializes in Parkinson's. I first went to one neurologist and he sent me to a specialist in the field of Parkinson's.
He treats a ton of PD patients where I live, but I’m unsure of his motility background. I’m trying to get into Strong in Rochester but it’s been tough.
He directs: “the Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Program at University Hospital. I consult on patients with a variety of movement disorders: Parkinsonism, dystonia, chorea, tics, myoclonus, gait disorders and restless legs syndrome. I evaluate possible candidates for surgical treatment of movement disorders and manage the stimulators in patients that had Deep Brain Stimulation.”
That’s his partial bio.
Here’s another good question, if you have a whole tab that is controlled release and you break it in half does it become immediate release by breaking it in half?
I think that is very possible. I know with controlled release meds and supplements I have taken the instructions have warned against cutting the pills.
Well the reason why I ask is because when I did cut it in half I took the half and it made me feel incredibly overmedicated and not myself almost like I had a huge bong hit. So I’m wondering what it would feel like if I took the whole pill BC it’s controlled release.
Did your doctor recommend you cut it??? In my experience the only way to know how it is going to work is to try it. You’ve already experimented with mucuna so as long as your doctor prescribed the whole pill, taking it one time should not do you harm, IMO. I recommend you try it away from mucuna or any other levodopa med to judge the effects.
Yes I totally agree with you. My doctor did say that I should stay off Mokuna for a few days to get it out of my system before I do the CR c/l. I think I am just a little scared because I did not like the heavy medicated feeling I felt with the half a tab. I literally thought I was being tranquilized and I am not kidding. The odd part was it took less than a minute for it to hit my system. I know it’s unbelievable but every system is different and for me I couldn’t understand it either. My boyfriend kept looking at me like what’s wrong with you and I said I feel like I’m going in slow motion as if I had taken a huge bong hit.
Hi Miss Rita:
I have split CRs in half many times. I do this to get a dose that is absorbed slower than an IR tablet but not as slow as a unsplit CR.
Also, see this "myth about splitting CR":
google.com/books/edition/Th...
Another fact that you may be interested in is that the availability of CR is 0.7 that of IR, so a half of a CR tablet is equivalent to a 70 mg tablet of IR (30 mg is "wasted").
Note that this has nothing to do with the release rate of the drug, it is just about the amount of levodopa that is usable...
I wonder what your specialist said when you told him of your reaction?
They weren’t sure to be honest. I’m now sticking with Amantadine and a bit of Mucuna as my system may not be ready for C/L. I’ve never had a datscan due to my hashimoto’s and the possibility of iodine toxicity. So they really don’t know what my dopamine levels are.
I can say the amantadine has worked very well. The other odd thing they can’t figure out is why I have so much energy like every day all the time. They said most of their clients or patients are always so fatigued and exhausted and can barely move and I’m the exact opposite. Except I have the tremor.
You can get a pill cutter or ask your pharmacist to cut them.
Upon reducing C/L Symptoms Got Worse!!
1/2 dose of medication
C/L = ZZZZ?
C/L immediate or controlled release?
