L-tyrosine

[shakyjon]

Since I haven't been put on L-dopa, I'm going to give this supplement another try. L-tyrosine is converted to l-dopa, which becomes dopamine. On my first trial of it, I went overboard, got headaches, which are, I've come to find out, a minor side effect. I'm going to start slower, taking 500 mg once per day in the morning. I'll titrate the dosage up slowly until I'm taking 500 mg tid. I'll keep you posted as to how this is working. My neuro seems to want to delay Sinemet. That's fine, but I need something to raise the dopamine levels. Wish me luck.

[shakyjon]

Okay, one 500 mg dose yesterday afternoon, and one this morning. The good news... when I take that dose, I feel great! I went from leg drag with one foot barely in front of the other to a fuller stride with only my heel clipping the ground. Tremor in hand and foot are barely perceptable. The bad news... this effect only lasts as long as the rest of my meds... and 500 mg rapid release I think is too much at one time in combo with anticholinergic, Azilect, and Mirapex in the cocktail. I'm going to look for a bottle with a smaller dosage. Maybe 250 mg per dose. I will say I noticed some aching in wrist, pinkie finger and cramping in foot.

[shakyjon]

L-tyrosine, how I love thee. I will say for sure that 250 mg of this does about squat. The 500 mg seems to be the lowest effective dose. Since I was at work, I took 2 doses today. I don't feel like my face is trying to slide off, which is good since that was a concern before. I'm still walking with a normal stride and a slight heel drag on my right heel. I still had off time, so it's no better than L-dopa in that regard. The main thing is I was able to do my job at the level I was doing it just after my tremors started. Hand and foot tremors are still minimal. Anyone who doesn't know I have PD would have a hard time seeing it. I did see a big warning upon my looking up interactions, so I will pass it on. Do not use this supplement if you are already taking L-dopa. I'm still going to take it to hold me off until my neuro starts me on Sinemet. I will, however, stop taking it 2 days prior to my next appt, just until I know what the next step will be med-wise.