Atma Namaste (love your alias),

I started on comtan around three years ago, it smoothed things out and helped me quite a lot, as I seemed under medicated to my PD nurse. Depending on what I do it extends my dose, which prior to that had dropped to being around 2 and a half to three hours then completely off. Nowadays I rarely go completely off, just some of the way, and I regained a smile which I hadn't really had for several years. If I run out of comtan which has happened at the weekend twice over the last year as my prescription for it lasts for less than my other meds there is a big difference in the way I function that appears after about 12 waking hours without it. I am rigid/akinetic with v little tremor.

There are a couple of downsides to taking it, it stains urine a deep orange, and there is a possibility of diarrhea as a side effect (best to discontinue if this happens, but make sure it is the comtan that causes it, and not something else), but for me the benefits have outweighed it's rather colourful effect.

I was offered this as an all in one ( l-dopa/comtan) tablet, Stalevo, but preferred to take it separately so I could 'customize' how I take the sinemet. People seem to fare differently on the two ways of taking it, in a not predictable way, it just seems to depend in the individual.

If you go for it, I hope it works as well for you as it does for me.

Lindy