Is there such a thing as slow release co beneldopa?

[Jess123dog]

I am fairly recently diagnosed with parkinsons and currently am doing OK however I developed restless legs syndrome a few months ago, before I was even taking parkinsons medication. I am now taking 50mg/12.5mg co-benadopa about 6 times through the day and night, which controls it but only for about 4 or so hours so I am struggling to get proper sleep. Should I ask my neurologist to prescribe something that will last longer? Thanks in advance.

[park_bear]

Yes. Co beneldopa is the generic name for Madopar. The slow release version is called Madopar HBS

[Jess123dog in reply to park_bear]

Thank you Park Bear

[Gallowglass]

tell your neurologist what’s happening. Ask what can be done.

[Gcf51]

Does benserazide deplete B6 like carbidopa? or as much

[Esperanto]

Benserazide does deplete B6 like carbidopa, but the extent is unknown. In any case, the test data I have received from CP members, do indicate that this depletion is limited and a small supplementation was sufficient in almost all cases.

B6 and likely also B2 deficiencies occur more than average in people with Parkinson's disease, also without C/L medication and even before your diagnosis. Therefore, it is advisable to regularly test your B6 levels, with or without C/L medication, in order to potentially supplement with bioactive B6 (P5P).

[johntPM]

The problem is how to get the dose to last for at least the desired duration of your sleep. Using C/L you can get a half life of at most about 90 minutes. This means that once a dose has reached its maximum concnetration, about 60 minutes, every 90 minutes thereafter the concentration will halve. Eventually, the concentration will fall below the level required to stop the symptoms.

If you are prepared to take a higher chance of compulsive behaviour, you may wish to talk to your doctor about using a dopamine agonist, such as ropinirole, which has a half life of about 6 hours.

[Jess123dog in reply to johntPM]

So wouldt it be better to try and get slow release first?

[MarionP in reply to Jess123dog]

Depends on how risk tolerant you are and whether you have people around you who can closely watch and notice if you are crossing into compulsive behavior, because a feature of compulsive behavior related to dopamine agonists is it is 1) hard for the person displaying that behavior to actually notice it, 2) is very hard to stop yourself or even be stopped by someone else, like my dogsled-strength pull-loving dog on a leash upon seeing a squirrel, and 3) is generally of the extremely high-risk high-consequence variety, such as betting your house on a horse race or having unprotected sex with a rabid HIV infected bear...the sort of behaviors you don't, as they say, or can't afford, to make the mistake of committing once.

[Jess123dog in reply to MarionP]

Hi MarionP, thanks for that, is that info for ropinorol or slow release madopor?

[MarionP in reply to Jess123dog]

Sorry you could have been referring to one of several specific questions... the thing about protein is true about any of the medications for Parkinson's that are l-dopa variety. If you were if you were asking about the compulsive behaviors end of things, the compulsivity and risk that goes along with it is true of the whole class of dopamine "agonists," which are a different class of medication than the dopamine "l-dopa" and "cl" group of medications, and your neurologist and your internist and family practice physicians, prescribing nurse practitioners and position assistance, etc as applies in your home area, all will be quite familiar with the distinctions, and of course have handy immediate reference materials to enhance their "on the spot" needs as well. As a further resource you can ask your chemist or pharmacist for input as well. You're not getting any of these without a prescription anyway, and that means the prescriber is going to be using his her expertise and situational resources to bring or keep their thinking and applications at the professional/ specialist level in any case.

[Gcf51 in reply to johntPM]

I am thinking that once L-dopa crosses the BBB it is stored until used (maybe as dopamine). And, Half-Life is how long it stays in your Blood Stream.

[MarionP in reply to Gcf51]

Yes and no...your comment needs to consider the rates and mechanisms (including "rate limiting" factors) of the actual absorption in and around the neurons as well, and the mechanisms involved in uptake and disposal, and whatever extent of recycling, occurs, these are all distinct from the factors you have mentioned... Pharmacokinetics is the mechanistic process of the entire absorption by the body in all of the stages, and pharmacodynamics is the mechanisms in effect involved in the body than getting rid of the substances involved, the reaction mechanisms themselves involve many specific biochemical steps, in some cases more than 100. A lot of what physicians and pharmacists do with their time during their graduate and undergraduate years involves learning about, and being able to apply, all of this stuff. I remember one roommate of mine who was in pharmacy school complaining about having to memorize such reaction mechanism steps, when he told me one of them was over a hundred I told him I thought he was BSing me and I told me what did I think, all the needed knowledge grows on trees?