I have the same issue witha 2-3 hour wait after eating protein and sometimes that dose never kicks in, rare but it happens. This article says one layer contains an acid neutralizer "thought to improve absorption," that doesn't seem like a guarantee to me. When I started reading this article, I thought I was reading about the inhaled version of the rescue drug which I have been excited about. That one I feel sure would bypass the digestive process. My neuro told me a while back that he thought 5-10 minutes for the inhaled version to take effect. This is the last I have seen about Acorda and its inhaled version:Inhaled Levodopa for 'Off' Time Moves to FDA Review. UPDATE September 13, 2018: Acorda Therapeutics, Inc today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has extended its decision date on inhaled levodopa to January 5, 2019 (Feb 20 2018).