Hello I haven't been on here for a while. I was diagnosed two and a half years ago. I have been on sinemet for about a year and a half. For me the effect of sinemet was immediate. The first dose for me was amazing, I had been totally stiff and rigid and the only way I can describe it is it felt like my body was defrosting within an hour. Im sure everyones response is different. My mother was just diagnosed with pd at 72 yesterday which I believe to be an accurate dx, but very late. She has had very limited mobility for quite a while, increasing tremor and just about every other symptom I can think of. Was just wondering how long effectiveness of sinemet took for anyone else. Its probably unrealistic of me to hope it has the immediate effect for my mother it had to me. Just hoping someone could shed a little light or share their responses to sinemet with me. Should have mentioned earlier my mother was prescribed sinemet 25/100, 1 tab four times a day. Thanks

everyone is different but i think the affect of sinemet is more variable the older you get due to possible poorer absorption so if your mother isn't getting the same positive affect you did she might have to increase dose/frequency. also as the disease advances the neurons store less l-dopa so it breaks down faster in the brain so timing/dosage is much more critical. protein in the diet becomes more of a factor as does drinking enough water when you take your pill.
are you saying your mother is getting no benefit? if so, then you have to question the diagnosis.

Thank you for your response. She just started sinemet yesterday, so Im sure its way too early for effectiveness especially after reading your information. As I said I think it was just wishful hoping on my part that it would have an immediate effect. I totally agree with your comment about drinking enough water when taking a dose. This really makes a big difference with me, if I just take a sip when I take sinemet I can definetly tell. Thank you again

The gut and the absorption seem to be big factors for me, I've had PD for 16 yrs. and I take 1 25/100 every hour. Dr. Okun did a posting somewhere, possibly on the NPF site where I read that you should strive for the dose that brings relief, not worry about taking too much, you won't because you'll have dyskinesia and you'll know that's too much. Basically, the sinemet is something that you can't just say take 1 every 3 hours, you may never get the "on" relief. You have to find your dose and how long it lasts for you. This will vary from day to day as well. Hope I've helped. Also if you can get brand name, a big difference from generic.