What happens if you take Sinemet and Mucuna
 at the same time? The following account was
written by Max. Max forwarded the following
account to me this week and gave me permission
to make it public. Max has Parkinson’s and
lives in Canada. Â
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Robert Rodgers, Ph.D.
Parkinsons Recovery
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“I’m  53 years old (or young).  I was diagnosed
with PD back in March 2001. I had a minimal
exposure to PD meds back then, just long
enough (one month on Sinemet) to see an
improvement. That convinced me that I have PD.
Whatever PD is.”
“I started taking lots of vitamins, antioxidants,
eating better, exercising the best I can,
meditating, acupuncture, Ti-Chi, tried PDrecovery,
Chi-Gong, visualizing techniques, energy work,
etc. etc. I’m sure it all helped, but eventually
I needed a walker and could barely take care
of myself.”
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“By February of 2006, 5 years later, I was having
a hard time using a walker and was looking
into getting a wheelchair. I couldn’t take it any
longer, so I regrettably broke down and decided
to take Sinemet. “
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“In about a week, Sinemet started to work. And in
about a month, I was a completely different person.
I could walk, got my balance back, started to gain
back my normal weight and I could even ride my
mountain bike again.””
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“But in only 6 months of taking Sinemet, I found
it was taking longer and longer to kick in, not lasting
as long and sometimes it wouldn’t kick in at all.
Sometimes I would take 1 1/2 tablets of
Sinemet CR 200/50, at a time, with no effect at all.”
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“Talk about being scared all over again. I knew
getting on Sinemet would be a limited ride,
but I never thought it could be this short for me.”
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“When I heard about “Mucuna Pruriens”Â
(Zandopa also called HP-200), a natural herb from
India, in the fall of 2006, I got very interested.
The first time I tried it, I felt some improvement.
In about two months, I gradually reduced my
Sinemet CR 200/50 from 5 tablets a day to
only 1 tablet a day (break it into 1/3’s) and
I take it with Mucuna. “
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“I feel like this “Mucuna” (Zandopa) is
REALLY HELPING me a lot. IÂ take it
3 or 4 times a day and can pretty well
function normally when the herbs kick in –
not bad considering that I was ready
for a wheelchair. When the herbs wear off,
my PD symptoms still come back,
but not nearly as bad as before. “
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“I’ve been taking Mucuna and Sinemet for
the past 1 1/2 years. I’m currently taking
1/2 a tablet of Sinemet (200/50) with
1 tsp of powdered Mucuna (Zandopa)
3 or 4 times a day. In 3 hour intervals.
I also take Ashwaganda & Brahmi. I try
not to take anything in the evening or
before I go to bed. I like to give my body
a break and give it a chance to build up
its own dopamine over night. It seems
to work because I can go for an hour
walk in the morning before I take my herbs.”
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“I purchase Zandopa directly from India:Â Â Â Â
http://mall.coimbatore.com/bnh/zandu/zandopa.htm“
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“From my own personal experience,
if anyone with pd wants to try Mucuna,
I recommend that you take it slowly.
You might want to get some small
measuring spoons, the kind used for
cooking. I’ve started taking a level
1/4 tsp of powered Mucuna (Zandopa)
3 times a day for the first week.
A 1/2 tsp 3 times a day for the second week.
And I worked my way to 3/4 tbsp 4 times a day
by the 4th week. “
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“I also gradually reduced my Sinemet
from 4 (200/50) tablets per day to only
one pill a day in a couple of months.
I break the Sinemet pill into quarters.
I take the Sinemet at the same time as
the Zandopa 4 times a day.”
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“It works best if you take it at least
1/2 hour before meals or at least
1 1/2 hours after a meal. I mix the
Zandopa in half a glass of water.
I use a small hand held blender to
mix it, it gets rid of the sludge at the
bottom. Personally I don’t mind the
taste, but I do add some juice to it
(cranberry, etc.)”
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“I’m doing all this on my own right now,
but you should let your doctor know
what you’re doing. I keep a record
(date, time of day, amount, when it
kicked in, faded out, and effects
(good or bad) meals time, etc.”
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“Just take it slowly. If you feel anxious,
hyper, antsy, or have a lot more energy
than normal, you know you’re taking too
much.”
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“I space the doses by three hour ’till
the next one. I take just enough to be
normal without feeling anxious. It works
extremely well for me; I’m really surprised
more people with pd don’t take it.”Â
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“My pd hasn’t gotten any worse in the past
1 1/2 years of taking Mucuna. If anything
I’ve gotten better in some areas.
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I no longer have any balance problems,
haven’t been constipated for over a year now.
No longer have any tremors unless I’m stressed.
Can ride a bike, jog, walk normal etc. when
the herbs are in my system. But I did have to
increase my intake of Mucuna. I’m not taking
1Â Â level tsp. And 1/2 a tablet of Sinemet (200/500)
3 or 4 times a day.”
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“I’m not having any negative side effects at all
from taking Mucuna. My body has adapted to it.
I believe the body can repair itself, taking Mucuna
is a natural plant product. It  helps me regain my
strength so I can take care of myself. A great
website on Mucuna is:”
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http://www.parkinson.org/NETCOMMUNITY/Page.aspx?&pid=459&srcid=379
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Robert Rodgers, Ph.D.
Parkinsons Recovery
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 © 2008 Parkinsons Recovery
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1 have PD for 3 years I take azilect and 2 tablets of amantadin and mucuna for about 8 month .first as powder and now dopa mucuna capsuls from Now campeny. Is anyone use this prodact what is the difference between zandopa hp200 and mucuna pruriens
i have pd im 62,where can i get hp 200 mucuna zandopa from i live in the uk ??? also whats the difference between mucuna puriens and this hp 200 zandopa
I’ve been using Mucuna for three years , gradually reducing the amount down to once a day now in a morning shake . Never tried sinemet . Using B1 May have allowed this reduction. Basically started w Dr Hinz’s protocol and just reduced it as my symptoms have stabilized it seems. Not perfect but dosing doesn’t affect my day much