A combination drug called carbidopa/levodopa is the most common medication for Parkinson Disease treatment/ management. Levodopa is a naturally occurring chemical that turns into dopamine in the brain. Carbidopa, on the other hand, is a drug that prevents levodopa from turning into dopamine before the brain absorbs it.
Patients might also take drugs that can prevent the breakdown of dopamine in the brain. These drugs act hand-in-hand with carbidopa/levodopa to increase their effectiveness.
What Happens if a Patient Stops Taking Medication?
The main goal of Parkinson medication is not to completely stop or cure Parkinson Disease. What medication does is slows down the effects of the disease and improves the person’s quality of life.
This means that when a patient stops medication, they might experience an increase in their symptoms. This means that they might find it even more difficult to move around or care for themselves.
In terms of lifespan, patients who don’t take medication live almost as long as those who take medication.
However, patients who are not medicated also have other options. While these are not as effective, these do help in slowing down the patient’s symptoms and making sure they remain healthy.
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