r/Nootropics • u/johnnysct • 2d ago
Seeking Advice L dopa 100% pure dosage /administration
Hello guys i crossed this product which claims to be pure
L-Dopa (from Mucuna Pruriens extract) 100% pure ,but i did some research and read that its unlike pharma levodopa which has substances to inhibit it conversion out of the brain plus most of Mucuna extracts delivered around 120mg of raw ldopa as this product claims per serving
Guys who are familiar with it whats your experience with it? How do you recommend it should be taken ?
Thanks in advance
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u/Keedou 2d ago
Mostly just the nausea, honestly. First 30-45 minutes were rough. That kind of low-grade sick feeling you get when something is hitting your gut hard. Focus-wise I noticed something but it was hard to tell how much was actually getting through vs placebo. Once I added carbidopa the nausea basically disappeared and whatever effect there was felt cleaner and more reliable.
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u/DP69_CGX 2d ago
I've taken 'Dopa Mucuna - NOW', 2 capsules had 120mg L-Dopa. I took it to boost my Ritalin and it worked like a charm for like 3-4 weeks, after that I developed tolerance. So it's best to be cycled. I also got pure L-Dopa but I like the standardized extract more.
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u/johnnysct 2d ago
How much was your dose of pure L dopa? Did you experienced any diffrence on it?
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u/DP69_CGX 2d ago
I've used 150-200mg pure L-Dopa, felt much cleaner and more sharp. But I've liked mucuna extract more, because it also has an adaptogenic feeling.
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u/masimbasqueeze 2d ago
How about that tardive dyskinesia?
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u/DP69_CGX 2d ago
I was on antipsychotics like risperidone and know how TD feels, but it went away after discontinuing it. I don't know much about studies that indicate TD could occur with L-Dopa use. But personally I have recovered from risperidone which is a much heavier and more dangerous drug, so I don't think L-Dopa can be this bad.
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u/QuinnMiller123 2d ago
Same here man, I was on risperidone for 3-4 years, I was initially forced to take it at inpatient rehab for OCD, i started to fall asleep while standing upright for the first week or so… I also gained 30-40 lbs in 40 days but I was previously very underweight. I understand it as a last resort option for something like OCD but I had only tried 2 meds prior, the withdrawals were brutal even with a very slow taper.
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u/Morelikehammock 2d ago
Didn’t they stop using this because it was causing TD in long term patients?
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u/johnnysct 2d ago
TD?
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u/masimbasqueeze 2d ago
Tardive dyskinesia. An irreversible neurological side effect which is a known risk of dopaminergic agents. You guys are playing with fire over here without any regard for risk.
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u/Fair_Quail8248 2d ago edited 2d ago
This is usually caused by anti dopaminergics like antipsychotics and not dopaminergics.
Afaik side effects are milder with mucuna than pure l-dopa. Everything has side effects, I doubt that people will get TD using mucuna occasionally, it has long traditional use. I never experienced any serious side effects from using mucuna occasionally.
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u/masimbasqueeze 2d ago
You are right actually thanks. Levodopa induced dyskinesia is a thing but obviously different than TD. Impulse control issues and other side effects might be a risk as well.
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u/Morelikehammock 22h ago
Good to know I nailed a random fact from a pharm class I took 8yr ago. Can’t remember peoples names to save my life but this is fine
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u/DudeWithFearOfLoss 2d ago
recommended dose: 0mg twice per never
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u/johnnysct 2d ago
Had bad experience with it?
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u/DudeWithFearOfLoss 2d ago
the side effects outweigh the likely non-existing nootropic effects in healthy people
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u/Rodot 2d ago edited 2d ago
It's a shame people still believe that "shoving dopamine into your brain" actually gives you stimulant or focusing effects. When in reality it is more like "makes you nauseous and gives you dyskinesia"
It's literally an end-of-life Parkinson's drug because the side effects and permanent damage are so devastating.
There is a reason dopamine re-uptake inhibitors are useful and dopamine pro-drugs are dangerous. Dopamine is a neurotoxin, and reuptake inhibition doesn't increase the total amount of dopamine in your brain, it just moves it around.
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u/crack_pop_rocks 2d ago
Don’t fuck around with L-Dopa. It converts directly to dopamine and your body cannot regulate it.
Just take tyrosine, which your body regulates converting to L-Dopa, which in turn converts to dopamine.
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u/Keedou 2d ago
Yeah it's not something you'd find at CVS. I sourced it from a compounding supplier, same rabbit hole as the L-DOPA itself. It's available standalone as a powder if you look around the research chemical space. Small doses too, like 12.5-25mg is plenty alongside 100mg L-DOPA. Doesn't do much on its own, just stops so much from getting converted before it reaches the brain.
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u/gentlyacidicpendulum 2d ago
i tried plain mucuna before and the nausea was not worth it, felt like my stomach was flipping for hours
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u/TelephoneCharacter59 2d ago
You will have better luck with either DL-Phenylalanine or L-Tyrosine. Mucuna Pruriens is a Hit or Miss.. 🎯
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u/Particular-Tie-5545 1d ago edited 1d ago
L-DOPA does not need to cross the blood–brain barrier to reduce prolactin for example. So not useless. Take with lite food to reduce risk of nausea. Unhealthy men got many benefits from it: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2816389
Btw. 5g powder = ~250 mg ldopa
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u/Bloodevil96 2d ago
Neurologist here, L-dopa on its own is useless and quite literally never used in medicine, it will causes a lot of GI adr and no benefits other than placebo
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u/Fair_Quail8248 2d ago
Mucuna isn't pure l dopa, it has other substances in it which affect the effect profile.
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u/Keedou 2d ago
Pure L-DOPA is harder to work with than most people expect. Without something to slow the conversion in your bloodstream, a lot of it gets burned before it even reaches the brain.
What worked for me was 100 mg on an empty stomach, first thing in the morning. Once I went higher I started getting nausea and this weird agitated feeling -- too much hitting the body before it can get where you want it.
The real move is pairing it with a small amount of carbidopa if you can get it. Even a low dose helps a lot more of the L-DOPA actually get through. Without it you are kind of fighting the math.
Also, protein tanks it. Competing amino acids cut absorption pretty significantly. Fasted is the way to go.