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Janet... Coupla things.... When I joined Kaiser Permanente 4 years ago they switched me from the brand name Sinemet to a generic. I didn't notice any difference in how I felt vis a vis the pD symptoms. However, I did get really nauseous for the first 2 weeks on the generic. Kaiser occasionally switches drug makers on the generic Sinemet, and I tend to STILL get a touch of nausea for the initial coupla weeks with the change, but that's all. I'm inclined to think, knowing you as I do (from your words, rather than from personal observation), that after your 17 years of relatively solitary and placid existence in your Bermudan paradise, that the normal chaos of living with your extended family could definitely cause your PD to suddenly off kilter. YOU, my Cyber-Sis, are a sensitive and reflective individual and I suspect that could cause your PD too "mutate" in your new home and life as you interact with and adapt to living with your family. That's stressful, any way ya look at it. And remember - PD can't differentiate whether it's stress from positive or negative causes. Ohh... and let's not forget the changes in weather and atmospheric conditions that took place when you moved from Paradise to Canada! BIG differences. I know in my own case, even tho I've lived in L.A. my entire life, I still find my PD symptoms seem to go thru a "weather change syndrome" seasonally. Possibly you're experiencing something similar??? Finally, m'dear.. it might be time to consider upping your dosage (and possible decreasing the drug-intake-frequency due to the higher dosage? A benefit?) of Sinemet to the 25/250 or the CR 50/200, or a combination of both? Sending ya love 'n hugs, Janet, and hope ya soon are feeling more in control of that steeeeeenkin' disease. Barb Mallut [log in to unmask] ---------- From: Parkinson's Information Exchange on behalf of Janet313 Sent: Monday, April 20, 1998 9:15 AM To: Multiple recipients of list PARKINSN Subject: help help help - my turn 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]