When Should I Take Carbidopa Levodopa?

Levodopa helps in the conversion to dopamine chemical in the human brain. Symptoms associated with the Parkinson’s disease may result in low dopamine levels in the human brain. Moreover, Carbidopa helps in the prevention of Levodopa’s breakdown before it reaches to the human brain and creates its effect.

Combination of Levodopa and Carbidopa thus helps in the treatment of Parkinson’s symptoms. These include tremors, muscular stiffness, poor muscular control and spasms. This medication is even useful in the treatment and curing of PD symptoms caused from manganese intoxication or carbon monoxide poison.

Intake Amount: Parkinson’s patients should intake Carbidopa Levodopa in the same manner exactly, as their doctors prescribe to do. This means, you should neither intake it in small nor in large amount and only within the period, as recommended to you. In addition, it is essential to follow each direction highlighted on the prescription label strictly.

With/Without Food: You should confirm to make sure to intake the medicine with or without food. You should take doses at the regular intervals, so that you may retain a steady amount of Carbidopa Levodopa for all times in your body.

Regular/Extended-Release Tablets: In case of regular tablet, you may opt to crush or break it in case you have to swallow it easily. On the other side, in case of any extended-release tablet, you should avoid chewing, crushing or breaking it. Instead, you have to swallow the entire pill, as opening or breaking of the pill may result in too much release of the drug at a particular time.

Dosage/Drug Intake Special Cases: Despite, there are basic rules associated with dosage available for PD patients; dosage depends on specific symptoms of a person, disease stages and related side effects. Thus, doctors consider the following special situations, while describing the ways to intake Carbidopa Levadopa medicine.

Without Food: Protein results in delay absorption of the drug via intestines. Because of this, doctors recommend avoiding the medicines with food, so that absorption of Levodopa/Carbidopa takes place at a relatively fast rate.

With Food: If you are dealing with mild problem and do not suffer from wear off symptoms, but deal with vomit or nausea problem, you should intake the medicine with meals. This will prove to be convenient for you and reduce your side effects.

Spread Dose Out during your Waking Hours: In order to keep everything in an easy way, doctors may recommend patients to spread out their doses during the daytime i.e. for every 5-hour period. This is helpful initially in the problem when you do not deal with wear-off, dyskinesia or any other side effect.

Specified Time: Timing of dosage or drug intake remains tailored to the day and night of an individual. In case an individual wears off while ending his dose or deals with dyskinesia and any other similar type of side effect, doctors recommend to intake the medicine at specific times as per the specific symptoms.

Note- Both Levodopa and carbidopa may cause patients to fall asleep during working hours, talking, driving car, having lunch/dinner or doing any regular daytime activity. Even a person may fall asleep all of a sudden even though after he/she feels alert. Thus, it is very much essential for you to inform your doctor in case you suffer from any problem related to drowsiness or daytime sleepiness.

You should avoid the intake of Carbidopa Levodopa, in case you deal with:

• Unusual skin lesions, which remain unchecked from your doctor
• Narrow-angle glaucoma
• History related to skin cancer or malignant melanoma
• Requirements of Dose Adjustments/Special Tests
• If you deal with any of the mentioned conditions, doctors recommend you for dosage adjustments or special tests.
• High blood pressure, cardiac diseases, heart attacks and strokes, coronary and/or artery problems and similar others
• Breathing problems and asthma
• Hormonal problems
• Kidney and liver problems.