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I wonder if anyone here has seen a person with PD BEFORE Sinemet and BEFORE levodopa? I have and it was not something I would choose for anyone I cared about. I had a good friend who was coping with PD before levodopa was approved for the treatment of PD. No amount or combination of vitamins or herbs would have saved her from her increasingly frozen state. She could look forward to a kindly bout of pneumonia to eventually end her problem. She was the first in our area to receive levodopa when it was approved. Alas, while it did allow her a return to a degree of mobility, it also was toxic. No one in those early days was sure how to titrate the doses to prevent the dreadful episodes of hallucinations and psychoses she experienced. The doctors learned from her and others like her. The strain on her family was killing. She died before the toxicity of levodopa was softened by the addition of carbidopa. I am grateful to her, and to all the other courageous people who were the guinea pigs for the studies and tests that have granted my husband at least ten years of the reasonably productive and satisfying life that Sinemet has given him. He too has done his part to further the improvement of PD medication by participating in the Deprenyl (Eldepryl) studies that have given us the approval for the Eldepryl many of PWPs use. The fact that he was receiving the placibo does not diminish his contribution to help others. There is a popular misconception about vitamins and what they do for us. They are simply chemicals that serve as catalysts which facilitate the multitude of biochemical reactions that allow all living things to exist. By themselves, they are useless. They require specific combinations of amino acids, minerals and other nutrients to perform their functions which are directed by genes. Adequate intake of certain vitamins may reduce the damage to brain cells caused by free radicals, but I don't believe any research has found them to completely and permanently prevent the further loss of dopaminergic cells. My husband's first neurologist, who espoused the philosophy of avoiding Sinemet as long as possible, started him on Amantadine. Before the year was over, Neal could hardly walk and spent most of his time dozing in his recliner. A second opinion changed that to Sinemet plus bromocriptine and he was returned to a functioning life that lasted many years. Today, the Sinemet and the Parlodel and the Eldepryl are less and less effective for Neal, and his on times are short and unpredictable. But he does not have a problem with dementia, and his dyskinesia is not a major problem any more. No amount of either Sinemet or vitamins will really stop his steady decline. We cherish the good hours and days, and do our best with the bad times. In the meantime, my depression worsened to the point where I finally sought medical help. No amount of good diet or vitamin supplement brightened my outlook on life like the first ten milligrams of the SSRI, Paxil, did. There is no point in suffering when drug therapy is available. Martha Rohrer (CG for Neal, 77/12) [log in to unmask]