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hi siblings i need some advice or maybe just some 'i've been there and done that' contact i've been taking one half of a 10/100 sinemet tablet every 90 minutes [waking hours only] [= 600 to 700 mg levodopa daily] for over four years with fair sucess as a result of an analysis done with a view to maintaining thin but almost continuous levodopa coverage this regimen has generally kept me mobile and 'on' with limited 'off' periods except those due to excessive protein/fat intake and those due to hormonal fluctuations occasionally i have attempted to 'smooth' out the motor fluctuations 'on' = virtually business as usual 'off' = can't walk, write, type, etc. [= frozen by the kinesia brothers brady- and a-] by using sinemet cr but end up with severe stomach upset after a day or two and dyskinesia which is hard to fine tune away i have used the brand name sinemet levodopa/carbidopa for 10 years but since i moved back to canada in december i found new medical consultants and established new prescriptions since then my 'offs' have become 'deeper' - more profound and more frequent e.g. four months ago i was able to shuffle around when 'off' but now i'm having trouble even moving one foot forward at all the new monkey wrench in the med equation seems to be generic apo canadian made levodopa carbidopa i can't attribute my new on-off situation to anything else my life situation has changed radically this ex-hermit is now living cheek by jowl with a sister and niece and participating in 'in your face' family contact as a long term proposition for the first time ever as an adult it is stressful at times, joyful at times, certainly a learning experience for all but i can't connect the circumstances with my med/symptom change i've done some preliminary digging in re generic sinemet but my on times are quite limited now as well as my on-line times [with the dreaded aol] my list of unreturned messages is getting long enough to give me nightmares i seem to remember some comments in the past in re the effectiveness of generic levodopa but not any of the detail i would like to determine whether the generic is less effective for me than the brand name sinemet i guess the best way would be to switch back to the brand name med if the ontario health system will allow it; i will speak to my doctor about it [there is a big price difference between the two and i am on a government assisted drug plan] my new neurologist has suggested that i start on tasmar/tolcapone to address the motor fluctuations [which were already becoming a problem long before i switched to generic levodopa] i'm intrigued by the tolcapone possibilities; however, i would like to get this current sinemet question sorted out before i start mixing any other new ingredients into my brain's chemical cocktail any ideas/experience out there with 'generic sinemet' vs 'brand name sinemet'? your cyber-sis janet janet paterson 51/10 - sinemet/selegiline/prozac almonte/ontario/canada - [log in to unmask]