I was formally diagnosed in 2011. Shortly after this occurred, because*I have a 40 year background in natural medicine, and also because I was unable to tolerate Sinemet,*I started to try various natural protocols that had been shown to be effective for some people with*Parkinson's. One of the first approaches*I tried was Mucuna. Within a month, I dropped this approach because it seemed to be doing nothing for me. Little did I*know that it would not be many years before I found out*that virtually all the*Mucuna supplements in the states contained no more than 15-18% L-Dopa. This information made it easier to understand why*I had experienced no success with it.
In 2016,*I was contacted by a friend with Parkinson's*who lives in Europe and had been taking*Mucuna extract that was*98 - 99% L-Dopa.*
Roughly 3.5 years ago,*I became so dysfunctional due to*the symptoms of Parkinson's that*I became bedridden for 2.5 years and 100% dependent on my wife for all daily activities. I took*Mucuna extract at the 2.5 year point of being stuck in bed and in less than a week,*I was out of bed and 98% independent.
I will say that again...
In less than a week,*I was out of bed and 98% independent.

I started with 250 milligrams 4 x/day. Now, 1*year*later,*I take between 800 -1,000 milligrams 5x/day and have been using that dosage for approximately 6 months. Because Mucuna obviously contains no carbidopa, I have found that ingesting a small amount of crystalized ginger with each dose prevents nausea for me.
Here's my concern...
There is much information online that states that long term use of*Mucuna is safe. However, it is clear that the substance used in all of that exploration was the whole herb.*I have not been able to find any information regarding long term use of*Mucuna EXTRACT.*
* * ANY HELP WITH THIS EXPLORATION WOULD BE DEEPLY APPRECIATED!

This month*I am starting a kind of an "alchemical" experiment.*I have placed one pound of*Mucuna whole herb from Banyan Botanicals into a gallon jar and* have filled it with the highest quality Vodka*I could find here.*I am not able to get grain alcohol where*I live.*I have placed the jar in a dark cupboard and am shaking it vigorously each day. After roughly three weeks,*I will add one dropper of the*Mucuna whole herb "tonic" to the*Mucuna extract each time*I take it.