Ray, thank you for your generous spirit.

I haven't been on this list for very long so I don't know the historical
threads of most of the posters.  But I see your posts regularly and they are
always interesting and knowledgable.  I really appreciate the info you
provide all of us.

It seems the subject of chemicals in the environment being a potential cause
of PD comes up more often and in respected and credible sources.

I live in Southern California (15+ yrs) but spent all of my childhood and
part of my early adulthood in a farming community in Kansas.  Between our
house and the closest neighbor there was a huge vegetable garden (it was
commercial and the owner was what we called a "truck farmer" meaning he took
the harvested vegetables to an open air market and sold them from the back
of his truck).

All that was before the time they learned that DDT was harmful to one's
health.  I can recall many, many times when they dusted the crops with DDT
so heavily it left a white powder on the plants and the wind carried much of
it to our yard.  If I think about it now I can still recall the  awful smell
and taste it had when I breathed.

Now, of course, I wonder if it had an impact on my PD.  I am 60 now and was
diagnosed when I was 54.

Ironically the researchers are also following the possibility that
environmental chemicals may be the cause of Sarcoidosis.

If it proves true, then I must have gotten a "double whamee".  No one else
in my immediate family have been diagnosed with either disease. But my
father had a serious lung condition (not related to smoking) and when he
passed away the death certificate simply said the cause of death was chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease.  My oldest brother (2 yrs younger than me)
had serious asthma and other lung problems all his life.  At age 56 he died
suddenly of a massive heart attack.  The dr. thought the strain of asthma
and related breathing disorders may have weakened his heart along with his
lungs.

I have a sister a couple of years older than me who has no lung problems but
she was a very "girly girl" when she was a child and spent most of her time
inside the house with my mother and was not exposed to the DDT to the extent
my brother, father and I were.  I have two brothers who are much younger
than me and both have had minor asthmatic bouts but by the time they were
born DDT had been banned.

Sort of makes you think, doesn't it.

In addition to the Sinemet I take Requip.  I don't know if it is one of the
agonists that have caused PDers to gamble.  But I may try that out as an
excuse to my husband for my desire to trek to Las Vegas every few months.
:-)

Hope all have a wonderful day.  It is supposed to hit triple digits here
AGAIN!  It was 118 one day last week.  I don't want to hear about how it's
not so bad because it's a "dry heat"..118 deg. is 118 deg.!

Regards,

Claudia
----- Original Message -----
From: "rayilynlee" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, July 26, 2005 12:33 PM
Subject: Re: Ozzy Osbourne & PD/Claudia


> Claudia, I for one am interested in your condition.    You deserve to
> complain as much as you like. It is just another reminder that PD is not
> the
> only disease one can get.  I know when I survived cancer I thought I was
> 'home free"  Ha! Ray, wondering when the next shoe will drop.
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Claudia J. Goldberg" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Monday, July 25, 2005 4:16 AM
> Subject: Re: Ozzy Osbourne & PD
>
>
>> For what it is worth, I once had a neuro-surgeon tell me hat M. Ali did
>> not
>> have PD, but rather he had a disease called Shy Drager's Disease and ir
>> was
>> indeed caused by too many blows to the head. Although I got the
>> impression
>> that other's can get it without having had all the blows.  In fact, for a
>> brief time they thought I had it.  One of the diagnostic symptoms is an
>> extreme drop in blood pressure, especially when first standing up.  I do
>> have PD but the symptoms of Shy Drager turned out to be caused by another
>> disease I had but had not yet been diagnosed.  It was sarcoidosis.  It's
>> a
>> fairly rare auto immune disease that nearly always impacts the lungs then
>> can go to any organ in the body.  For some they have one episode and then
>> it
>> never returns.  For others it is either intermitent or chronic.  The
>> sarcoidosis was attacking my bone marrow and filling the space with small
>> tumors (granulomas) thus leaving no room for me to produce new red blood
>> cells.  That caused the extreme low BP and also serious anemia requiring
>> blood transfusions.  It is always hard for me to know if any new symptom
>> I
>> have is PD related or the sarcoid rearing it's ugly head.  The sarcoid
>> also
>> precludes me from participating in clinical trials.  They don't want you
>> if
>> you have more than one disease.
>>
>> I'm sure this is much more info on sarcoidosis that any of you are
>> interested in, but it's one of those sleepless nights and I allowed
>> myself
>> to blabber on about a subject not related to PD.  Sorry, I'll try to have
>> more self control in the future.
>>
>> I wish you all peace of mind, the serenity to accept your condition and
>> the
>> ability to laugh at the arrows life shoots at us.
>>
>> In the laugh area, a while back there was a country singer who had a song
>> called "What Really Turns Me On is the Shake".  I always thought that
>> should
>> be the PD Anthem!
>>
>> Claudia
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "M.Schild" <[log in to unmask]>
>> To: <[log in to unmask]>
>> Sent: Sunday, July 24, 2005 11:31 PM
>> Subject: Re: Ozzy Osbourne & PD
>>
>>
>>>> Also, what about Muhammad Ali's too many blows
>>>> to the head?
>>>
>>>
>>> I should think. M. Ali has traumatic parkinsonism.
>>> Rotenone is used to induce PD in mice
>>> Maryse
>>>
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