Your doctor may switch you from immediate release (IR) levodopa/carbidopa to Rytary so that you experience less “off time.” Off time is the time period during which you have symptoms of Parkinson’s disease (PD).
Rytary contains carbidopa and levodopa, but it’s an extended-release (ER) medication. Because it’s ER, Rytary slowly releases these active drugs into your body over time. This is unlike IR medications, which release their active drug all at once inside your body.
Rytary lasts longer in your body and works over a longer period of time than (IR) drugs do. This helps to keep the medication levels more consistent in your body, so that your symptoms are better managed throughout the day.
In clinical trials, people with advanced PD* had:
3.9 hours of off time when taking Rytary, compared with 6.1 hours of off time before starting Rytary
4.9 hours of off time when taking IR carbidopa and levodopa, compared with 5.9 hours of off time before starting IR carbidopa and levodopa