If you begin to notice that your Parkinson’s disease medication is not working as well as it used to, share these observations with your healthcare team. The sooner the problem is recognized, the easier it will be to adjust your therapy so that you feel better and are more able to control your condition.

Levodopa remains the cornerstone of any long-term Parkinson’s disease treatment plan. However, its ability to control the symptoms of Parkinson’s can become reduced over the years. You may begin to experience what is known as ‘wearing-off’ where your symptoms begin to re-emerge before it is time to take your next scheduled dose.

When experiencing ‘wearing-off’ you may notice changes in your movement and mobility, thoughts and feelings, sensations and your overall sense of well-being.

There are a variety of ways to try to improve treatment with levodopa. This includes rearranging the timing of your drugs, switching to a different kind of levodopa preparation such as one that includes a COMT inhibitor or a controlled release formulation, or adding other drugs, such as COMT inhibitors and dopamine agonists.

Researchers have been working on ways to address the limitations of traditional levodopa, and new and improved levodopa preparations are now becoming available.

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