Scheduling meals around taking Carbidopa/... - Cure Parkinson's

Cure Parkinson's

25,345 members26,645 posts

Scheduling meals around taking Carbidopa/Levodopa medication

kathydubro profile image
19 Replies

I have found it challenging to schedule taking my medication: one hour before a meal and two hours after a meal. Recently with my Doctor's approval, I increased my Carbopa/Levodopa 25 dosage from 3 times a day to 4 times a day. The increase has made a difference. I still have difficulty scheduling dinner. How have others managed to take this medication with the meal time restrictions? Thank you.

Written by
kathydubro profile image
kathydubro
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
19 Replies
Thal profile image
Thal

Good discussion on the topic.

healthunlocked.com/cure-par...

GymBag profile image
GymBag

Impossible, I pretty much gave up trying, but still keep it in mind.

I take my meds to the schedule. I eat to have some food in my stomach when I take my meds. Can not take them on empty stomach. Next I eat when I am hungry and try to have small portions of meat, but protein is milk, cheese, peanut butter and a thousand others and we need the protein so it is kind of a loosing battle plus for some reason the world ( my family) will not adopt my schedule.

Parkinson's patients who also have other food problems such as allergy to wheat or Dairy and eggs must be hungry all the time .

jeffmayer profile image
jeffmayer

I cut out protien

Darcy3 profile image
Darcy3 in reply to jeffmayer

I am on the Mediterranean diet. I eat little to no meat, on occasion a dish of ice cream and I stopped cheese and drinking. My weight stay down but I miss the cheese so I eat Feta.

jeffmayer profile image
jeffmayer in reply to Darcy3

I myself eat very little meat lots of veg

in reply to jeffmayer

Hi Jeff, Don’t you need protein to avoid loss of muscle mass? See my recent post on sarcopenia.

Wonky-Bride profile image
Wonky-Bride

Kathy, I eat my protein in the evening (but not red meat), it keeps the planning simple. Obviously that’s not always possible but generally that works. The Levadopa rules but it’s worth keeping meals and dosage well separated to maximise the benefits of the drug. Good luck!

Mapleshade58 profile image
Mapleshade58

We were told 1/2 hour before or one hour after. My HWP TakeS pills mid morning. Peanut butter sandwich for lunch. More pills at 4 pm and dinner 1/2 hr later. Final pills around 9 pm. Everyone is so different. My HWP doesn't experience on/off times (5yrs in) so if things interupt the above schedule, he either skips a dose or takes it and eats anyway.

JerryinSATX profile image
JerryinSATX

My pill regimen is firmly on a schedule (6an: 11:30am: 5pm) and meals are 1 hour after each dose. It works for me as my rookie who cooks has adapted to my schedule. I can modify the schedule a bit if necessary.

I limit the majority of my protein until the end of the day, eating mostly carbs, fruits and vegetables throughout the day. I take my sinemet three times a day and usually eat a quarter piece of toast or a cracker with it to reduce any nausea associated with the meds. Saving my protein intake until the end of the day works well for me regarding the effectiveness of the sinemet.

Anbessa profile image
Anbessa in reply to

Hi, I have been eating protein in take during diner time, 2 hrs after I take my Sinemet (25/100).

It working fine for me. Morning medication is taken around 9:45 am and no protein until 45 minutes later. I take selegiline 10mg and 25/100, later 4:00 pm 1 Sinemet. Only 2 pills of Sinemet a day. I consult with my Dr. to take only 2 pills (25/100). Later during the day I go out running and charged up my natural Dopamine and fill great about it. Note: I only take Selegiline 10 mg in a morning. I have no tremor but still taking it. I probably discuss with my Dr. to stop taking Selegiline..... Best of luck !!

Todd-pw profile image
Todd-pw

Hi Kathy I recently posted a similar topic as I was having some major issues with meals and medication there are some useful reply’s on my post. What I learned is I had unknown to me developed allergies to gluten,nuts and dairy up until 18 months ago I could eat anything I liked and my tablets would digest no problems, then all of a sudden I wasn’t getting benefit from meds after some meals other times I would I hadn’t thought about allergies to food as I previously hadn’t had any or they weren’t as detrimental on my PD symptoms, I could be fine with meds working in my system then eat a meal and about 15/20 mins later my symptoms of PD would just come on (I say PD symptoms but thinking about it now it could just be my immune system reacting to the food)no matter when I had taken my meds. I now eat lighter meals more often mostly fruit in the morning then maybe basmati gluten free rice with chicken my usual portion I now cut in half and eat twice through afternoon I know this isn’t feasible for some people but this doesn’t impact my work. As long as I don’t have to large a portion and I avoid the foods I seem to have a reaction with my meds work fine. I’m still in early stages of testing which foods trigger my allergic reaction, but avoiding gluten and dairy and nuts has helped me.

Good luck

kathydubro profile image
kathydubro in reply to Todd-pw

Thank you.

PalmSprings profile image
PalmSprings

I’m having such a hard time with scheduling eating and med taking. I did the intermittent fasting while on the (Wahl’s Protocol) gluten-free, sugar-free, dairy -free diet. I was feeling better than I had for a long while. But now, I have to stop the weight loss and I can’t figure out what to eat and when to stop losing weight??? It is partly because of the interference of the protein with the meds and just stopping the weight loss. I guess I am clearly in Ketosis and nothing seems to tell my body to stop. I had some people warn me about this. Any recommendations?

Darcy3 profile image
Darcy3

I put my first dose by my nite stand and take it at 6 am when I visit the rest room. Then breakfast at 8am. My 11 am pill and lunch at 1 pm. My last one at 4 pm and dinner at 6 pm. I have an alarm on my watch to remind me to take the pills. This may work for you. Good luck…

GymBag profile image
GymBag in reply to Darcy3

Darcy that is exactly what I was doing and then the problems with sleeping became larger and pain at exercise became worse and naps started in the afternoon and for some reason I can only eat small meals now and that means more meals / snacks which is not helpful so the schedule went out the window and I could never get it back.

I hope you can stay on track, it is not easy, but then I never was all that regimented and setting an alarm and waking at the same time every day is not enough to keep things organized and timely. Some days I just need more sleep. its complicated.

kathydubro profile image
kathydubro

Thank you for your reply..

It is a challenge. The schedule I follow is Carbidopa Levodopa every three hours. I don’t need alarm clocks, my legs wake me at three and six. I find that eating one hour after my med and preparing the meals so they are ready helps. To keep portions small and protein low, I make salmon or tuna or chicken croquettes mixing equal amounts of protein, vegetables or fruits, and carbohydrates. I make patties with quarter measuring cup and bake them. My friends are starting to like them too. Favorite is salmon, finely chopped carrots and onions, and organic gluten free chips crushed to sub for breadcrumbs. Throw in some olive oil or avocado. They can be warmed up quickly. Be creative. Good luck!

Gcf51 profile image
Gcf51

healthunlocked.com/cure-par...

You may also like...

Question about levodopa/carbidopa

don't have any kind of pain, postural instability or balance and gait issues probably due to 2...

Levodopa/Carbidopa and vitamin C

anywhere. I was told to take my L/C with Emerg-C but I just can't get it down. Can I take it with...

carbidopa, levodopa side effects

the side effects of carbidopa levodopa? My doctor wants me to stop taking it because quite frankly,...

Increase in Carbidopa/levodopa causing constipation

of C/L was increased to help tremors and stiffness. He was taking a 25/100 pill 4x a day. He...

Difference between Carbidopa/levodopa and BENSERAZIDE CHLORHYDRATE / LEVODOPA

to up the dose (currently at 4 x 25/100) to 5 times a day. I'm wondering whether if it's worth...