Hello Again,

I certainly don't claim to have all of the answers on this. Here is a quote by Dr. Hinz: “The hypothesis is that the majority of side effects and problems observed during treatment of Parkinson’s disease with L-dopa are caused by mismanagement of the amino acid precursors and systems affected by L-dopa.” Here is a link to a document with a lot of information: http://healthyselfnow.com/parkinsonstx.php. Dr. Hinz proposes that those side effects are really from the Carbidopa and the imbalance in neurotransmitters - not the L-dopa itself.

While there is certainly a risk in taking large quantities of these supplements, each of us must weigh the pros and cons. For my sister, her parkinsonism had progressed to the point that she was having trouble eating and truly was not long for this world if she continued heading in the direction she was going. It was her last resort and, praise God, it is working for her!

The bottom line is that you could always try amino acid therapy to see if it works for you. You would have to be fully committed for probably 6 months, as it takes that long for some people to find the right doses - and then even longer to fine-tune. From my understanding, the earlier in the disease progression you try it the better.

I wish you well,
SueC