Drug info - Carbidopa-levodopa CR / Mylan 88

[DXMBunny]

Swim is trying to get some info seeing as how the internet seems to be void of info on this drug... swim knows its used for Parkinson's disease but and that it can increase dopamine. swim would like to know any other info on it and is it safe if someone took it that does not have parkinsons and is there even any recreational value in it? thanks!

[Boca Bitch]

I googled...... carbidopa-levodopa CR, 1st listing ) http://www.rxlist.com/sinemet-cr-drug.htm

Complete drug info.

And no, I would not advise anyone to use a dopamine precurser for recreational purposes. Sure, dopamine is the main neurotransmitter involved in reward, euphoria, attention, and learning... but that's not all. Look at it this way: drugs do specific actions with specific neurotransmitters in specific locations.

Originally Posted by Wikipeda, because I couldn't have worded it better myself

However, the activity of amphetamine throughout the brain appears to be specific;[16] certain receptors that respond to amphetamine in some regions of the brain tend not to do so in other regions. For instance, dopamine D2 receptors in the hippocampus, a region of the brain associated with forming new memories, appear to be unaffected by the presence of amphetamine.[16]

When one increases levels of dopamine across the board, one risks over-stimulation of the less euphoric things it controls. Such as voluntary movement. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that a high dose would easily result in convulsions, at much lower levels than say amphetamine use would result in.

[Jatelka]

The main adverse effects of levodopa are dyskinesias (uncrontrollable, writhing, fidgeting movements)

Other side effects (lifted directly from the BNF):

Side-effects of levodopa include nausea, vomiting, taste disturbances, dry mouth, anorexia, arrhythmias, postural hypotension, syncope, drowsiness (including sudden onset of sleep), fatigue, dementia, psychoses, hallucinations, confusion, euphoria, abnormal dreams, insomnia, depression (very rarely with suicidal ideation), anxiety, dizziness, dystonia, dyskinesia, and chorea.

Less commonly: weight loss or gain, constipation, diarrhoea, hypersalivation, dysphagia, flatulence, hypertension, chest pain, oedema, hoarseness, ataxia, increased hand tremor, malaise, muscle cramps, and reddish discoloration of the urine and other body fluids may occur. Rare side-effects include abdominal pain, gastro-intestinal bleeding, dyspepsia, phlebitis, dyspnoea, agitation, paraesthesia, bruxism, trismus, hiccups, neuroleptic malignant syndrome (associated with abrupt withdrawal), convulsions, reduced mental acuity, disorientation, headache, urinary retention, urinary incontinence, priapism, activation of malignant melanoma, leucopenia, haemolytic and non-haemolytic anaemia, thrombocytopenia, agranulocytosis, blurred vision, blepharospasm, diplopia, activation of Horner’s syndrome, pupil dilatation, oculogyric crisis, angioedema, rash, urticaria, pruritus, flushing, alopecia, exanthema, Henoch-Schönlein purpura, and increased sweating. Very rarely angle-closure glaucoma may occur; pathological gambling, increased libido, hypersexuality, and false positive tests for urinary ketones have also been reported.

Not sounding like a great one for recreation is it?

[chibi curmudgeon]

As much as this may sound like a substitute for cocaine, it's likely to give someone all the bad effects with none of the good ones. Dopamine is not a toy.