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Hello Bob Hirschfeld: Sorry about this delay in responding to your posting on Thursday, but I subscribe to the digest only. The edition with your message was downloaded into my computer shortly after midnight. I retrieved it this morning, and finally sat down to compose this message after borrowing a space heater from a neighbor so I could thaw my fingers. (Central heating in our "dream home" in the country died last night at bedtime. Temperature in Southeast Texas dropped to 28 degrees overnight.) Ever tried typing with Parkinson's in freezing weather wearing gloves? Also, I subscribe to America Online. If you've read the papers lately, you know that I can expect to break into AOL between 2:00 and 2:01 a.m. as long as Gertrude and Hortense in Horsehair, Wyoming, aren' t both using the Internet at the same time. Per your inquiry: I can understand your frustration concerning the timing of taking Sinemet. I bet you'll receive several answers similar to mine. I'm not certain you will find much authenticated nonanecdotal information on this subject. From my own observations, this aspect of Parkinson's appears to be one of most indivualized. Everyone seems to have a different story. Take me. Every few weeks I tinker with my pill-popping schedule in my Parkinson-crazed efforts to reap full benefits from the Sinemet. I take them with meals and they kick in as quickly as 15 minutes, but almost always at least within a hour. Then, suddenly, they hold me hostage for three to four hours before kicking in. I switch to a one-half-hour-before-eating schedule, taking the pills on an empty stomach. A short time later, I'm hunched over the toilet puking my guts out. I switch to a one-half-hour -after-eating schedule, with the same results as if I had taken them with a meal. I've tried eating a few soda crackers with orange juice (before and after meals). That works for awhile, but they always shift into their irregular, unpredictable mode sooner or later. As far as I can determine, there is no easy answer. (I'm sure Dupont and the neuros claim there is.) Each person is different in the way Parkinson's attacks them. Likewise, each person is different in the way their body and brain responds to Sinemet. Hope this helps. Best wishes to you and your father-in-law. Stan Houston "The Writer from Texas" Cat Spring, TX 78933 [log in to unmask]