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RTK.NET Mail 246513 Jan 4 20:12:17 1997 Bernard, your observations are interesting, but I think the difference in attitudes towards giving advice may be much simpler: those who offer specific suggestions are often assuming that PWP's on this list will consult their neurologist before making any major changes in their treatment, particularly if the advice involves their Parkinson's medications. Perhaps this needs to be stated explicitly a bit more frequently...after reading your post I had images of people just starting on Sinemet thinking, "Hey, I think I'll try mixing it up with orange juice tomorrow instead of just swallowing the pills whole!" Finding a neurologist who your trust and respect is essential, but even the good ones often don't know the details that many of the people in this group do. I would like to think that good doctors will never fail to see potential drug interactions with patients on more than five medications, start patients on new drugs with serious potential side effects and leave town without giving instructions on what to do if there is a problem, and always identify potential problems like carbidopa toxicity in patients on high dosages of Sinemet and have handy books of Sinemet "recipes" for those who might need different ways of taking their meds in order to get the best, most consistent results. Unfortunately, that's not always the case and I've often seen people on this list explain and identify potential problems that doctor's, even specialists, didn't catch. And you think we respect _lawyers_ here in the US?? Certainly not in neck of the urban landscape (Washington, D.C.) Sherri [log in to unmask]