I have been on the Hinz amino acid therapy (http://www.neurosciencemyths.com/Par...;s-disease.htm) and after numerous tests and dosage changes since April, it has finally kicked in and I can function almost normally. Balance, shuffling, tremors, etc, are no longer a problem and so far, no side effects. Hoorah!

The downside, apart from cost, is taking the 40% L-dopa Mucuna powder, 2 tsps every 3 hours for 4 doses daily plus the 5-HTP, L-Tyrosine, and L-Cysteine. In particular, the Mucuna does not seem very water soluble so I mix it in apple sauce. This is not convenient. I can't carry the sauce with me everywhere. I would like to dissolve it all in the morning and drink portions throughout the day. I know some brands claim to be water soluble but not the one employed in this protocol apparently.

My questions are, is this possible? Is Mucuna stable in solution? I notice it turns black. What does it dissolve well in?

Thanks for the help!

Awesome, so glad you are feeling better. Do you mind giving us a general idea of what the program has cost thus far? Do you have to buy the supplements from them or can you get them from regular places like iherb, etc.? Also, do you feel actually improved, or is it more that you are getting more of the benefit of what you are taking? I read today that the human body typically only absorbs about 10% of rx drugs, if true, that is a lot of wasted levodopa and helps explain why a dose may not do that much.

As for mucuna, it does stain wicked black. We did mix it in water, but it tastes rather horrific and is hard to gag down. We also did smoothies, but then a lot can get stuck to the sides of the blender and glass, so you lose a lot and it's impossible to tell how much. Applesauce works well, as you noted, and we found it to be the best when we took mucuna. I wish there were something else, and there probably is, but I don't know what. Maybe yogurt, but then you have the protein from the milk which may affect its passage into the bbb.

Thanks for sharing!

I get my products from CHK Nutrition. DBS Labs, who do the tests, will only allow CHK products since store bought products may vary from the labeled amounts and it needs to be consistent. I am a pharmacist so I buy at wholesale. Normally CHK deals only with practitioners who mark up the products before charging the patient. That said, I currently take 7 tsp (equivalent to roughly 50 capsules) of D5 Mucuna 40% powder daily. A 540 g jar (216 tsps) costs me $175. D5 (5-HTP) is $64 for 240 capsules. I take 2 capsules per day. TyrosineReplete is $26 for 180 capsules. I take 18 per day. It also comes in powder which is cheaper. CysReplete is $30 for 180 capsules. I take 6 per day. So a month's supply is roughly $296 at wholesale given my present dose. As I said, your practitioner may mark up the price, and pending the lab tests my dose may change. When you reach what they call phase 3 your dose is more or less fixed after that.

If you want an explanation of phases and the OCT gate theory try https://www.box.com/s/20bfe2208e4efc34463a . It's a recording of a webinar given by my practitioner.

I was diagnosed with PD in June 2011. Since then I have explored about every healing modality out there but have eschewed prescription drugs. The neurologist, after the 10 minute diagnosis, prescribed ropinirole, the dopamine agonist. Being a 64 yo pharmacist, drugs scare me, so I never filled the Rx and I never went back. Unfortunately, nothing had helped the symptoms which got worse. When I say I feel almost normal now I mean I took my dog out for a mile walk for the first time in months. I used to dread just stumbling to the mailbox. Just getting out of a chair was a chore. My postural instability has corrected so I no longer experience retropulsion or have to hang on to things. I still have a slight left thumb tremor once in awhile but nothing bothersome and nothing like the shaking before. The method claims that once the proper balanced combination of aminos is found the results are rather sudden. That was true in my case. I went from fairly disabled to functional in a day!

I can't compare this to what I might have experienced with the ropinirole but at this time I have my life back. This method, however, claims to eliminate sife effects. So far so good. It also claims to stop or drastically slow down the progression. Time will tell.

http://www.startribune.com/business/...8.html?refer=y

FDA acts against Duluth firm selling dietary supplements

you are taking l-dopa and likely a lot of it since there is no carbidopa to stop the l-dopa from breaking down in the tissues.

levadopa is an amino acid, it occurs in nature, i don't get it.


how much do the lab tests cost?

I own an on-line supplement business though I don't sell CHK products. Years ago I used to provide health information with the product description such as conditions it might be useful for and why it might be so. The information was based upon studies as well as other sources such as clinical experience or the work of innovators like Dr. Hinz. I rated the info according to credibility from universally accepted to defies scientific principles (like homeopathy.) In this way I allow the seeker to decide whether to try the product. Eventually, the FTC attacked and made me remove the information which I moved to a separate members' section. One of the benefits of a free society is the unhindered dissemination of information including commercial speech. This is supposedly guaranteed in the 1st amendment of the constitution and yes the founders considered and included commercial speech. Today, the government through the FDA and FTC can and does censor information, even truthful, scientific information and while this is to allegedly protect the consumer from false or misleading claims, it also prevents truthful claims and inhibits discovery and innovation (unless you have a billion dollars or so to get government approval.) The irony is that in this digital information age, opinions and information, pro and con, about anything including health issues has never been easier to obtain and the government model is obsolete. I consider CHK's FDA attack a badge of honor for freedom loving patriots...just my opinion.

Yes, it is l-dopa therapy but the take away discovery is that it is a failure to balance amino acids that leads to the drawbacks associated with conventional drugs. Correcting this imbalance and not just taking dopamine precursors and agonists, etc. without regard to how it affects other neurotransmitters, is the important innovation. Carbidopa is not used because, according to studies, Mucuna has other factors that obviate its necessity and it also leads to neurotransmitter depletion and further imbalance by itself. Please read the links I posted for more information.

Is there a chance that this protocol is hooey? Of course. As a free citizen, though, it is your right to become a lab rat and decide for yourself. BTW, before it kicked in, my posts were short because I could not move my fingers well. Now I can type again!

The lab tests are about $100 each with a cap of 8 tests after which they are free. You take the protocol for 7 days then mail in a urine sample. You can stop til you get an updated protocol or keep on if you are getting benefits.

After a good bit of experimentation I found that the best way for me to take it was to use an appropriate sized prescription bottle as a "shaker" and make one up for each dose for the day. Then, as the time came, I would add a little water, snap on the cap, shake it, pop the cap, and toss it down. Forget dissolving it - ain't gonna happen. But this worked pretty well and gave good control of dose.

It turns black as it oxidizes and should be discarded each day.

Although the published research called for much more, I found that about 5 to 7 grams was about right. [A tablespoon?]

Now, about the amino acid therapy - I don't want to rain on anyone's parade but that's a lot of money. Amazon will sell you a pound of good quality, organic, US grown for about twenty bucks. Take enough of it and you won't need the others because a lot of them are in the mucuna just as the L-dopa is. Just sayin'.

call me a skeptic. have no idea how anyone eating 8ounces of chicken a day can get an amino acid deficiency/imbalance or even 3 glasses of milk.

research is done all the time on nutritional supplements and vitamins in europe and don't cost billions. not a day goes by that i don't read some study about tea, coffee, flavinoids or omega-3's or even an amino acid. noone is suppressing that info,

http://www-t.wrbm.com/nl/jsp/m.jsp?c=475907feffa030c2e2

http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/...BcvR35jA%3D%3D

this is a very expensive treatment which might only work because you are getting l-dopa. surprised you didn't just try mucana to start before shelling out all that money. there are many reports of fava or mucana derived l-dopa working just fine in early pd reported here.

just another opinion, do your own research
http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/...gnostic-tests/

So glad to read the big improvement you have had from the new therapy. Are you going to gradually take less L-dopa Mucuna powder, or you will need to keep the current dosage?

Thanks for sharing all the details!

I am not sure if I am in phase 3 yet or not (see links posted previously for an explanation https://www.box.com/s/20bfe2208e4efc34463a .) My dose still may need an adjustment though I would be happy to be stabilized in my current condition. Once you achieve the effective dose you stay on that dose. I am told that it doesn't usually get increased but since this therapy doesn't repair neurons a dose decrease is unlikely.

I take substances to grow neurons and combat microglial inflammation so who knows?