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Yen, I take exactly the same medication that you take, 6 Sinemet 25/100, 3 bromocriptine 2.5 mg, and 1 seligeline 5 mg per day, and it has a similar effect. I break two of the Sinemet tablets in two and take them about every 1-1/2 hour. The difference is in years. I am 63 and was diagnosed 4-1/4 years ago, although I had significant symptoms for several years before that. Also, I still have my job. Although I never get so off that I can not move, I do get pretty slow. Sometimes I can not move the mouse. My writing is illegibly small. I can not select a single paper from a small pile. I have dystonia and cramps, mostly in my feet and legs. Many people have the same symptoms, and I can live with them. My symptoms come and go, not only as the medicine kicks in and out, but also from week to week or month to month. The biggest problem I have is the dyskinesia I experience when I have not taken enough medication on just the right time schedule. It happens both just before the medication kicks in, and as the medication wears off. It happens in my toes, feet, legs, and pelvis---especially in my legs. It is chaotic rather than rhythmic. It can get pretty violent. It is worse when I am sitting down, so when it happens I stand up, but that does not stop it completely. The dyskinesia is not entirely involuntary: with effort I can reduce it somewhat, but at times I can not stop it completely. I try to have it not happen at work. When it does, I stay in my office and hope that no one comes in until it goes away. I mentioned to my neurologist that I was having trouble turning over in bed, and that I was not getting enough sleep at night. He prescribed Sinemet CR 50/200 in addition to the medication listed above. I tried it once and didn't get any sleep; the dyskinesia was at times quite violent and it lasted almost all night. Some of it may have been a peak-dose dyskinesia, which may be different from my usual coming-on or wearing-off dyskinesia. I have not taken any of these pills since then. The dyskinesia seems to have come when my PD progressed enough that my neurologist put me on the bromocriptine in addition to the 6 Sinemet 25/100 I was taking at the time. The few times I have forgotten to take my evening bromocriptine, I had a quiet night and slept better than I sometimes do after taking my usual dinner dose. But then the Sinemet I took the next day was not enough to prevent the dyskinesia, and I had a bad day. I have not yet sorted out the confusing evidence and come up with an entirely successful medication schedule. One thing I have learned is that there is a strong correlation between the effectiveness of the levodopa I take and when I eat. There is a lesser correlation with what I eat, although fruit does seem not to reduce the effectiveness of the levoddopa at all. Most other foods contain a substantial amount of protein---even vegetables. The protein increases the concentration of amino acids in the blood stream, and the amino acids compete with levodopa for transport across the blood / brain barrier. Probably the most effective competition is from tyrosine and to some extent phenylalanine , which are amino acids with similar or somewhat similar structures, but other amino acids may also compete strongly. I suspect that the transport across the blood / brain barrier is probably the rate-limiting process in the levodopa pathway. I have not tested this hypothesis with careful experiments, but what I have observed seems to be consistent it. The trouble is that I do not know what to do about it. Baldwin, 63/4 ---------- From: Yen Hau Sent: Monday, October 06, 1997 6:52 AM To: Multiple recipients of list PARKINSN Subject: How to solve the "ON" and "OFF" problem? I am a twenty-seven year old parkinson patient. I was diagnosed I have this disease two years ago. I have been taken 6 Sinemet 25/100 per day, bromocriptine 2.5mg three time per day, jumex(selegiline) 5 mg one in the mnorning. However, I have this significant "on" and "off" effect happen that influence my daily function. I was forced to resign. Somehow, the sinemt that I took after meal doesn't turn me "on". The side effect, excessive movement cause me a lot of trouble. Does anyone have similar symptons as I do? Please share your experince with me!! Thanks a bunch! Yen ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com