Memory and starting Levodopa

[SKCW]

Hi, can anyone tell me if they had a harder time remembering things or were a little foggier when starting Levodopa, whether through Sinemet or Mucuna Pruriens?

Thanks,

Sarah

[PDConscience]

Yes, my attempts to replace my natural levodopa (mucuna) with Sinemet turned me into an absolute zombie by the 3rd day. Foggy, confused, and feelings of greatly accelerated decline which - fortunately - improved when I resumed using mucuna instead. The slight increase of turbulence/tremor is far better the the dark, 'end of the world' scenario I faced with Sinemet (I attempted starting with half a tab of C/L 25/100 on THREE separate occasions with same results).

"Confusion: Although neurodegeneration associated with Parkinson’s disease can cause confusion (especially in severe cases), confusion is also a recognized side effect of Sinemet treatment. The side effect of confusion resulting from Sinemet administration may be characterized by: brain fog (inability to think clearly), disorganized thinking, lack of focus, and memory problems (retrieval difficulties). Since confusion can interfere with ability to function in social and occupational settings, it should be considered an impairing side effect.

"Certain individuals may find that confusion subsides as they adjust to ongoing administration of Carbidopa-Levodopa. Others may experience confusion as a side effect, regardless of the duration over which they’ve been taking Sinemet. If you feel extremely confused while taking Carbidopa-Levodopa, discuss possible ways to decrease this side effect with your doctor." Source: mentalhealthdaily.com/2016/...

[SKCW in reply to PDConscience]

Thank u PDConscience! That is especially helpful info to know the different responses between both Ldopa meds 🙏

[luba1]

Hi,I started Sinemet 4 years ago. For a few days I felt like a zombie. I had to work from home and I even could not remember any of my passwords. My brain did not work. I was so scared. And very slowly like in week my memory became normal. 3 years I felt like I don’t have PD, it was just a honeymoon, now my symptoms get worse and worse. Trying to add mucuna to sinemet, but no success. I hope it helps.

[silvestrov]

Here are a couple science articles concerning memory, PD & levodopa.

Effects of levodopa on corticostriatal circuits supporting working memory in Parkinson's disease.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/2...

Working memory in Parkinson's disease patients: clinical features and response to levodopa.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/1...

Here is the original search (there are more articles.

google.com/search?q=memory+...

[PDConscience in reply to silvestrov]

Although the referred studies exclude any role - pro or con - that the Carbidopa component may play, the 2017 study's conclusion may justify a 4th attempt: "These findings argue that Parkinson's disease patients can recruit additional neural resources, here, the right fronto-parietal network, to optimize working memory performance despite impaired corticostriatal function. Levodopa seems to both boost engagement of a task-specific prefrontal region, and strengthen a putative compensatory caudate-cortical network to support this executive function.

Another 2017 study's finding RE Carbidopa that, "The data presented here suggest that in addition to blocking peripheral conversion of levodopa, carbidopa may inhibit T cell responses in PD individuals and implicate a potential therapeutic use of carbidopa in suppression of T cell mediated pathologies" suggests that neither of the Sinemet components should be wreaking the havoc experienced in attempts thus far (deep fog and overwhelming sense of doom and gloom). I will pick a a time when I can 'dropout' for a few days and try to weather the 'storm' of transition... ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

[SKCW in reply to silvestrov]

Thank you, as always, Rich

[BUZZ1397]

Glad you asked I begin to have memory issues when I was taking Sinemet it cleared up when I quit sinemet And replaced it with Mucuna pruriens