Did You Know? Parkinson’s Nausea

In recent support group meetings, nausea has been flagged as a recurring issue for people with Parkinson’s, so we figured we’d share some information and tips and tricks (some provided by our own community) for tackling Parkinson’s nausea.

Causes

The good news is that not everyone experiences nausea when taking medications for Parkinson’s, and many report their nausea symptoms diminish over time. You are not alone if you experience nausea after you start taking the carbidopa-levodopa medication most commonly prescribed for Parkinson’s. Nausea can occur as a side effect of the dopamine receptors in the gut interacting with levodopa. Carbidopa accompanies levodopa to help counter nausea and other possible side effects.

Tips for tackling nausea

We pick up invaluable tips from our own PRO community at our in-person and virtual support groups. Recently, a few constituents offered their go-to remedies:

• Take your medication with a small snack such as a plain cracker, toast, rice, apple slices.
• Drink a large glass of cold water.
• Walk or exercise after taking your medication, a win-win in offsetting nausea and packing mobility into every day.
• Ginger, taken as ginger chews, a spoonful of grated ginger and honey, or fresh ginger in apple juice can help reduce nausea.

Other commonly suggested tips include:

• Taking your Parkinson’s medication at least 30 to 45 minutes before meals.
• If you take your morning medication with a light meal, avoid protein (meat, fish, eggs, nuts, yogurt, milk). This may help to increase the response your body has to the medication and avoid motor fluctuations.

If none of the commonly recommended strategies help over time, discuss changing your medication dosage with your physician. Some people benefit from increasing the amount of carbidopa with additional tablets or spreading their dosage out more frequently at lower doses throughout the day.

Proceed with caution 

Many substances can interfere with the effectiveness of your Parkinson’s medication. Do not add over-the-counter anti-nausea medications or change any medications or dosage times without first discussing it with your physician. Some medications commonly prescribed for nausea can block dopamine, which is counterproductive to the intent of Parkinson’s medications. Make sure any prescribing doctor is aware of all the medications you take and all your medical conditions before adding more prescriptions, supplements, or over-the-counter medications to your treatment plan. And finally…let us know what works and what doesn’t work for you! Your experience benefits us all.