Advice please - duodopa pumps

I had my Duodopa pump procedure in Hospital in October 2017, and as I was diagnosed with Parky in 2012, and was talking far too many Madopar tablets, so my Neurologist suggested the Duodopa Pump. It was wonderful when I first connected up, and 2 and a half years later is still preferable to taking all those pills. It’s not perfect, but at least I can eat anytime, with no worrying about when I took my last Madopar. Any Qestions :question: only too pleased to answer.

Hi Meravco, it depends on what your hourly dose rate is set at, plus what your morning dose is set at - this will determine how long in hours your cassette will last, it should be connected up to you around 7am (+ removed from refrigerator 20 > 30 minutes before connecting) and that should give you 16 hours of direct infusion to your Lower Duodenum. I was the same re not getting through the night until my Neurologist suggested taking 2 Sinemet tablets (a slow release Parky medication) I think this has helped

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It is interesting to hear of people using the Duodopa pump. Is anyone on it day and night??
I would be interested to know what if any, side effects experienced. I have been on it for nearly 2 years.

I’m on the 24/7 duodopa fusion pump since December 2025 & I’m under St George’s. The pump itself is like a house brick mobile phone and I’m running out of infusion sites to put the cannulla as the places it says in the patient’s handbook to put it says not near the waistline? Well my belt goes just under my naval so half of the sites are gone, now it’s a case of hit & hope as it says not to use the site you last used for 12 days. My stomach feels sore & like a pin cushion plus my symptoms have not improved noticeably.

i think duodopa and produodopa are different. right? if i remember correctly, duodopa pumps into the duodenum (the first part of the intestines after the stomach) and produodopa pumps under the skin. so quite different methods.

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Hi Parkiejoe

Yes that’s correct

My husband’s pump is battery operated. He changes the batteries weekly and typically has no issues. When turning on the pump, the button sequence sometimes has to be done over since this is a restart.

My husband has had a duopa pump for years. I can’t tell you how it feels, but I do know it’s a game changer. It’s not perfect, but it works better than the duopa pills he has. When he’s off the pump, difficulty of walking comes back fast. He has trouble when he is on the pills alone. He had to have the tubing replaced one time, a simple procedure. The tubing got clogged in the inside of his stomach. When he is tired, no matter what, he gets stuck. We get him unstuck by having him pick up his foot if he can, swing it, then swing it forward. We call it the swing and step. Good luck with whatever you decide.