i held off taking any pd drugs for about 3 years, then started on .125 mirapex 3x/day, then switched to 100% sinemet about a year later after getting relief on the 1st pill. i've read it can take up to 2 weeks to see an affect and of course everyone is different. i know a few people who got little or no benefit but don't know how high a dose they went to before giving up. the worse that can happen is you might get naseous and have to deal with that or it doesn't help after increasing doseages, the best is you'll get great symptom relief. just make sure you drink a large glass of water, at least 6oz. with each dose and to take it at least an hr. after eating or an hour before eating so you don't have any protein interference. doctors say take with a cracker if you are naseous but even a cracker has some protein, i'd take it with a piece of apple, a carrot, a piece of banana. the goal is to get it out of your stomach where the l-dopa gets broken down and into your small intestine where it is absorbed as fast as possible. don't want to make a big deal about food timing, if you decide to continue taking it you'll figure that out but imho good idea to take it on empty stomach to start to get max. affect.