I take Rytary ER (Phone number can only be seen by the question and answer creators) mg caps which is Sinemet but extended release. No generic yet. Have Blue Cross thru my employer (yes still working) and they only cover 20% of $1000 monthly cost till I meet deductible then they pay 80% and I pay 20%. Once I meet out of pocket they pay 100%. But the pharmaceutical company gave me a list of non profits to contact and TAF (The Assistance Fund) has covered what Blue Cross wouldn't with me only paying $10 a month. The best thing is that Blue Cross counts what TAF pays toward my deductible and then out of pocket. TAF covers other Parkinson's meds also. 3rd year they are helping me. Just have to register once a year. They have a face book page. I also take the generic of Azilect 1 in the morning. Since my DBS surgeries I have reduced Rytary from 15 a day to just 4 a day this year.

my husband used to be on Sinemet, Sinemet ER, Entacapone (Comtan), Azilect (Ranitidine) - it was expensive since at the time, Azilect was not yet approved to have its generic in the market. Entacapone (Comtan) was not bad, $60 for 90 day supply, Sinemet and Sinemet CR were generics, it was negligible. He was on the Sinemet (regular) 6x daily, Sinemet CR 5 x, Comtan 6 x daily and Azilect once a day.

When he had to have a gTube (peg tube) inserted because he could not swallow, his meds have to be ground via mortal and pestle and administered thru the tube feeding with water to flush = the Extended release meds had to be taken off = no more Sinemet ER, entacapone. His meds were reduced to 2 1/2 of regular Sinemet 4 times a day (same as his nutrional feeding of Glucerna (he is also diabetic) - he in fact felt better, no more mood changes, no signs of psychosis, no hallucinations, no screaming and acting out his dreams. . . . this was from August 2017. Todate, he needs 1 tablet of the sinemet 25/100 ground and he can take it now with jello custard = at midnight to give him some energy. his feeding schedule is 6AM, 11AM, 3PM and 8PM. the midnight tablet allows him to be able to go to the bathroom during the night in his walker. He is a 10 year PD patient, but 3 years ago he had quintuple bypass, he had a dual pacemaker in 2017, then the tube feed also 2017.

His swallowing problem mainly due to bone spurs in his cervical spine C3C4 pressing on the epiglottis (flap in the esophagus that closes so food will not go to lungs) - he had surgery to remove those spurs last December and he is now starting to be able to swallow again, not for full meals, but pleasure eating is still better than purely tube feeding.

His neurologist also gives him botox injections in salivary glands in order to regulate saliva production, as in the beginning, he could not swallow own saliva and chokes him. He is much better now.

PD affects so many muscles, even muscles of the eye for closing and opening, one can have dry eyes and eyedrops help a lot.

Have you had a skin reaction to Amantadine? My wife is on it -twice a day and it is quite good controlling dyskensia. There is a new formula on the market now, but she is not on this one.

Amantadine only 3 times a day.

I have Stalevo 125 and 150 mg, Sinemet SR, rotigotine patches, the gov cover the 90% of the price of the tablets