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Hey! My dad, aside from being a chemical engineer, part Scot (his Mom's name was Todd) and a stubborn personality, not a real social-out-going guy.....he rarely drank liquids! I remember as a kid that he always took his pills DRY. As his PD progressed I would occasionally go berserk about his lack of liquids....I drink a lot of water, and can't imagine not drinking constantly. Now that he is tube fed, I do get a perverse pleasure in putting an extra squirt of water in his tummy after pills! I DO think it helps the meds work. Mind you, he is often incontinent, and I don't help. His urologist has prescribed 1 hytrin at night that helps diminish the urge to urinate. It was explained to me that the PD only makes him believe he has to go, and it is not the same as incontinence. Any more than one hytrin a night makes his BP go too low. Last winter the home health nurse clocked his BP at 80/60 and quipped "Richard, you died yesterday and didn't tell anyone". But we keep on.... Dad's been on Sinemet since it came out and sure there are side effects, but it's kept him here with us for 25 plus years. I spent 4th of July with my parents in Wisconsin...my impressions were as always, an awe of how much my Mom has to do to keep up with everything, and an appreciation for what all of you full-time caregivers go through. Dad has ulcer medications that have to be given 1/2 hour before feeding, so between meds and food, my Mom has to do the tube bit 8 - 10 times a day. What stress! Question: My mom has arthritis in her hands. To put the meds in the tube she cuts the big ones in two and uses a hand screw pill crusher, and then lets them dissolve in hot water. She buys everything she can in liquid form. While my sister was visiting for 2 weeks, she did the pill crushing and my Moms hands visibly improved. I hate to see her have to go back to hand crushing. Does any one have a suggestion? Are there electric crushers? Sorry that I rambled on... Sara Byron ----------