Syndopa Plus: price, uses & cheaper substitutes

Syndopa Plus contains levodopa 100 mg and carbidopa 25 mg. It is the main medicine for Parkinson's disease, replacing the dopamine the brain is no longer making, which improves tremor, stiffness and slowness. It controls symptoms but does not cure or stop the disease.

Ideally 30 to 60 minutes before meals, because protein in food (dal, milk, paneer, meat) competes with levodopa and reduces its effect. If it causes nausea, take it with a small non-protein snack such as a biscuit or fruit. Keep the timing the same every day.

Both contain levodopa and carbidopa. Syndopa Plus is a normal-release tablet that acts within 30 to 60 minutes and lasts a few hours. Syndopa CR releases the medicine slowly, is often used at night or to smooth out "wearing off", and must be swallowed whole. Your neurologist decides the combination.

Levodopa breaks down into coloured compounds that turn urine, sweat and saliva brown or reddish-black. This is harmless, although it can stain clothes. It is not blood and does not need treatment.