Dyskinesia: 8 years from dx I am suffering... - Cure Parkinson's

Cure Parkinson's

25,344 members26,643 posts

Dyskinesia

paddyfields profile image
20 Replies

8 years from dx I am suffering more fre quent bouts of dyskinesia which I cannot see any pattern for in relation to meds which are: 4 sinemet puls a day, Aalea t 1 mg per day and neuropatches 8 mg. My pd nurse gave me a monitor to wear for a week but a month on I have yet hear the conclusions if any from this. The sinemet is defo the culpret as unless anticipating exercise any increase in sinemet starts off dyskinesia which is g etting more pronounced and tiring so its not just me that notices. Once the unwanted movements start they persist regardless at what stage of medication I am. On the other hand I can go weeks without any appreciable dyskinesia.

All comments to shed light on this appreciaated

Written by
paddyfields profile image
paddyfields
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
Read more about...
20 Replies
JohnPepper profile image
JohnPepper

To the best of my knowledge, dyskinesia is caused by too much levodopa in the brain. By reducing the levodopa you will reduce the dyskinesia. But then you have to deal with the bradykinesia. It seams like a no-win situation.

I wish that I could promise you that what I have been doing will help you, but I can't. But what I do costs nothing so it is worth giving it a try. I have been medication-free for the past 15 years and live a normal life again.

Have a look at my profile, which tells you everything.

racerCP profile image
racerCP

From my information diskinesia results from too much dopamine in the Brain. The other meds you take increase the dopamine in your brain. Discuss with your doctor for adjustments.

Cbgs profile image
Cbgs

Adding Amantadine may help

Reduce the dyskinesia

sparkyparky profile image
sparkyparky

We keep being told that, as we are all different, we shouldn't recommend to others, things that work for us. With that proviso in mind, I have been experimenting with Mucuna Pruriens, due to the dyskinesias I KNOW are caused by Sinemet. ( Also observed by researchers when I was doing a clinical trial with them last month, off meds completely, then re-introduced Sinemet, hey presto, silly involuntary squirms!! ) So I asked to be changed from Sinemet 125mg to Sinemet 110mg ( the blue tablet with less Carbidopa). I use a pill cutter to cut it into 4 pieces, so I only take 25mg of levodopa x 3 daily instead of the "normal" 100mg. Alongside that, I take 1 Mucuna capsule x 3 daily, that's 40mg levodopa ( I use the "Now" Dopa capsule) That is usually enough, unless I'm going to be very active . Then I just add another quarter of my Sinemet tablet or another Now capsule, as I feel I need it. This regime has given me back control, isn't clock-dependant and seems not to have any side effects at all. It doesn't work for everyone. Another friend didn't find the Mucuna worked for her, so it's trial and error. But then, so is the prescription medication!!

akgirlsrock profile image
akgirlsrock in reply to sparkyparky

Do you think it's the cardopa causing dyskinisia?

paddyfields profile image
paddyfields

Thanks sparkyparky I'll study your very useful post later but I thought you have reminded me that I have info.about carbidopa being the real culprit and that C/L has become by A SHIFT IN LANGUAGE BECOME SYNONMOUS WITH LEVODOPA ALONE EVEN IN RESEARCH PROJECTS (excuse caps.). Sinemet 110 therefore sounds promising but how receptive my PD nurse or neuro are to my suggesting such adjustments on the strength of postings such as yours even backed up with the research when I find it. I've never heard of this blue pill/sinemet before. Is it commonly used ? The article in question said that the 25/100 mix was the only one available, meaning that plain levodopa couldn't be had from big pharma Up til now I haven't needed to tinker with meds.as I have reacted well to whatever has been suggested except for "half-Sinemet" (conytinuous release) tried for leg aches artnight which I found useless.

paddyfields profile image
paddyfields in reply to paddyfields

Follow-up to my previous post dovepress.com/parkinson39s-...

It identifies carbidopa as the cause of dyskinesias which they say did not exist prior to 1975 when FDA approved carbidopa for concomitant administration with l/dopa

Hikoi profile image
Hikoi in reply to paddyfields

Paddyfields, try and find a supporting article / research by other than Hinz or Stein to back up their claim. They seem to be the only ones really. Its unlikely your neuro will be persuaded by them i suspect.

This early study shows 50%. of patients got involuntary movements after only 2 months in the days before carbidopa was added. All got nausea. It is a fascinating read pub 1969 and contradicts the Hinz claim.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

lempa_nik profile image
lempa_nik in reply to Hikoi

Hikoi,

There is some very suggestive evidence that a dopa decarboxylase inhibitor (DDCI), when combined with Levodopa (LD), *causes* or, at least, *greatly exacerbates* dyskinesias. In this rat model given in link at bottom, LD by itself (in the form of Mucuna Pruriens) did not produce dyskinesias (except at extremely high doses.) And, wonderfully enough, Mucuna Pruriens can even counteract dyskinesia (see Expt. 5, below.)

For the DDCI they used Benserazide (BZ) i.e., a drug similar to Carbidopa, and which is also commonly used in Parkinson medicines. As a source of LD they either used synthetic LD or a water extract of Mucuna Pruriens (MPE).

In what follows, we focus on the misleadingly named "Dopa-Induced-Dyskinesia" or DID. From theIr abstract of 5 experiments with the parkinsonian rats, I condense out the more relevant results (the asterisks are my emphasis):

Expt. 1, LD+BZ or MPE+BZ -- alleviation of parkinsonism, but *with severe dose-dependent DID.*

a) LD+BZ at low doses, no significant alleviation of parkinsonism. In contrast,

b) MPE+BZ at an equivalent low dose significantly ameliorated parkinsonism.

Expt. 2, MPE *alone* alleviated parkinsonism with *significantly less DID* compared to LD+BZ or MPE+BZ.

Expt. 3, MPE *alone* chronically administered provided long-term anti-parkinsonian benefits *without causing DID.*

Expt. 5, MPE *alone* reduced the severity of DID in animals initially primed with LD+BZ.

(Comment: I wondered why there were any dyskinesias at all in Expt 2. But here, the dose was extremely high-- two-three times greater than the "high" dose used Expt. 1. This indicates that at high enough dose, MPE can induce dyskinesias, even without any added DDCI.)

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

P.S. Please note: the above 2010 research preceded by four years these two 2014 publications by Hinz et al

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/254...

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/253...

and so represents, without doubt, an independent discovery.

Hikoi profile image
Hikoi in reply to lempa_nik

Well im not a follower of Hinz or his expensive amino acid protocol so i dont find his articles so convincing.

How long have you been on it now and how are you finding it dumplekin?

lempa_nik profile image
lempa_nik in reply to Hikoi

Hikoi,

It has been 2 years plus one week. Each time, I take the AA meds, I return to near normalcy, i.e., my tremors go away . . . for about 2 heavenly hours. But I shy away from taking the AA meds, because: a) it's a bit more elaborate than popping a few pills--there's also weighing out powders and mixing them with applesauce, and b) this 10-15 minute routine gets old after a while. So lately, I've tended to slack off and take the meds less than 3 times per day as I originally proposed to do. (Of course, if I really wanted to eliminate "OFF time" completely, I would have to take the meds about 8 times per day--yikes, no way!) So, yes, the Hinz protocol seems to work well. Since all the ingredients are natural, I do not ever have to worry about drug interactions. As usual, diet wise, I do have to avoid proteins synchronous with meds. The disease may still progress slowly, but I believe (knock on wood!) there will be fewer nasty surprises down the road.

As you say, at $500 per month (my average cost), it's not cheap, and will be out of reach for many. But Harleybob08 of this forum once reported that it was costing him 100 (british pounds ?) per month, which is way cheaper. So if a person mobilizes their creativity, it looks like they can wrangle the Hinz protocol--or a close simulacrum thereof--at a bearable price.

If the Hinz protocol is too much trouble or too costly, at least I think it is tremendously worthwhile to see if one can replace synthetic levodopa drugs -- in part or whole -- with mucuna.

paddyfields profile image
paddyfields in reply to Hikoi

2nd attempt.Thanks Hikoi. It should have read as "apparently irreversible" dyskinesias but I did not use the edit facility properly.

They also mentioned adequate B6 as counteracting the Carbidopa efffect

Also I have just stopped having B12 injections as my blood levels were very high even just before the injection due the last two times B12 tested at my request . When I started them 4 years ago my B12 level was very low in spite of taking a MV whic h included 5 times the daily requirement(and includes 3 times the requirement for B6). Significant view of the fact that B12 deficiency can mimic PD?

Hikoi profile image
Hikoi in reply to paddyfields

Thanks Paddy,

Must say I have never heard this differentiation between permanent and temporary dskynesia. It seems rather odd, and i would be interested to know how they differentiate, and the implications.

I have just been searching for comments/responses to Hinz papers and Im having trouble finding anything. There must be something out there! I read that to date he has co authored 18 papers with Stein.

lempa_nik profile image
lempa_nik in reply to paddyfields

Paddyfields, re "counteracting the Carbidopa" w/ B6,

"Levodopa (L-dopa)-- Vitamin B6 reduces the effectiveness of levodopa, a medication used to treat Parkinson's disease. However, your doctor may be able to determine a dose of B6 that can help reduce side effects of levodopa without interfering with the drug's action. Taking vitamin B6 along with levodopa should be done only under the strict guidance of a physician."

umm.edu/health/medical/altm...

To avoid cancelling out the efficacy of Carbidopa, the Vitamin B6 should probably be taken several hours before/after Sinemet. But check with your neuro. Also, according to Hinz et al, carbidopa and B6 bind in a 1-to-1 ratio. This suggests that if your C/L pill contains N mg of Carbidopa, you'll want to take a comparable amount of B6 (assuming, for simplicity, 100% bioavailability of both compounds.)

paddyfields profile image
paddyfields in reply to lempa_nik

Thanks Dumpelkin. I'm starting a separate file for any info.on this subject as it strikes me as basic info.when deciding on medication from now on. My present "over 70's"multivitamin gives 4.2 mg B6 which is said to be equal to 3 times the RDA according to my inf. which may be somewhat out of date as I don't think they use the expression,Recommended Daily Intake now.

I see my neuro every twelve months for less than 10 minutes and the PD nurse in between. I wore a monitor weeks ago, have heard nothing since now and am getting rather impatient with the lack of action since I first said the dyskinesia was distressing on the days when it persists all day. I said to the neuro long ago that I had read once dyskinesia becomes established it is harder to treat. He said no but my instinct tells me otherwise.

I shall soon be turning from a "no bother" patient (my default position) to a somewhat different character

//The PD nurse has a "answer your message within 5 working days" system which discourages you as last time they didn't get back at all. I am willing to take responsibility but I am not in the slightest bit medically or scientifically qualified as far as management of PD is concerned and as someone said elsewhere, neuros seem more interested in their pet research than anything so lowly as management . I feel a rant coming on which I'll spare anyone reading this. What would we do without sites like this where we can marshal our thoughts and clear our heads for a while.

lempa_nik profile image
lempa_nik in reply to paddyfields

Neuros divide into two kinds: clinicians and researchers, Researchers may see patients on the side, but obviously have limited interest in that since research is what gives them their "dopamine buzz" :) A clinician, who has nothing to do but see patients, is likely to be more attentive. You should seek out the latter.

My doc for Amino Acid therapy, who has extensive experience with live patients (as contrasted with imperfect book knowledge) just told me that his patients take megadoses of pyridoxal (P5P, the most bioavailable form of B6) -- up to (but NOT TO EXCEED) 600 mg of it (I assume that is a daily dose.) This is in accord with the philosophy of Hinz et al that PD patients who were on a steady regimen of Carbidopa (via Sinemet) need megadoses of B6 (for 6 months or more) to replenish the stores in the body. I myself have been taking 200 mg per day for almost two years without yet contracting any neuropathy--the primary concern from megadoses of that vitamin.

sasnak123 profile image
sasnak123 in reply to lempa_nik

my doc I just email.

paddyfields profile image
paddyfields in reply to lempa_nik

Thanks for this.

Bridielena profile image
Bridielena in reply to lempa_nik

I’m confused. Read in this Forum a month or more ago to take B Complex. Should I stop. Am having days where my Madopar doesn’t work as well as the day before.

Price69-pat_ profile image
Price69-pat_

I was having increased dyskenesias so my neurologist had me see a movement specialist. He just had me take the same medications , Stalevo and Mirapex. But he changed mg /day and amounts /day. It worked! My neurologist thinks I should see this other specialist occasionally and as needed.

Good luck,

Pat

You may also like...

Dyskinesia

8 doses per day. Or One takes 400mg per dose 2 doses per day. Each provide 800mg total per day....

Akathisia or dyskinesia?

2021 which I think helped what I thought was akathisia( I felt I needed to move my body) which...

Is it tremor or dyskinesia?

suppressible with movement and activity, while dyskinesia isn't.” Mine is usually more than one...

IS DYSKINESIA PART OF PD?

having dyskinesia. So has any pwp on this forum who has PD for 2 & 1/2 years been able to avoid any...

CDP choline and dyskinesia

stiffness as well as more efficient use of Levodopa. But I have not read that dyskinesia will...