Dear Art,
I had the same experience when I went off my regular Sinimet for a month.
I'm glad to say that I have recovered my strength and mobility now that I am
back on it, but it took awhile.  Hang in there.
David


>From: Arthur Hirsch <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: Parkinson's Information Exchange Network
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: I made a mistake
>Date: Wed, 5 Apr 2006 13:38:57 -0400
>
>I made a mistake recently - a foolish mistake - that I feel it would
>be wise to share with others lest they make it too - and because
>there is much that can be learned from it.
>
>It started apparently, innocently enough, with a problem with the
>rotator cuff on my right shoulder.  I'm not certain what caused the
>problem there - it might have been exercising or mouse work or
>stretching to reach something.  Whatever it was, it happened.  And
>before long I had a miserable pain.  Not a constant pain, but rather
>a sharp pain that arose when my right arm was touched in any of
>several manners.  But immediately following that pain came a second
>jolt - which was short but crippling in its magnitude.
>
>I had an appointment with an orthopaedist in January to discuss a
>problem with my leg.  His appointments are limited to one problem at
>a time, so I changed the appointment to cover my shoulder
>instead.  He sent me to a nearby hospital for an MRI, and I would see
>him again in three weeks.
>
>The pain grew worse.  I went to the emergency room at the hospital
>where the MRI had been done.  The doctor there was able to retrieve
>the report on the MRI.  That's how I learned that it was the rotator
>cuff that had been damaged.  The doctor gave me pain pills and a sling.
>
>Days later I went to the emergency rooms at two other hospitals, but
>all I got were pain pills.  And the pills all made me groggy but they
>didn't stop the intense pain.
>
>I was frantic.  I finally guessed that the second jolt was that of
>dyskinesia from my Parkinson's.  To test it, I discontinued my
>Parkinson's  medications.  No more Sinemet.   No more Requip.  No
>more Comtan.  It worked.  I felt so good about it that I didn't
>return to the Parkinson's meds. And that's where the trouble started.
>
>As the days went  by, I started to lose strength.  I knew it was the
>Parkinson meds, but I didn't know which one(s) to take to get my
>strength back and still avoid dyskinesia.  I called the movement
>disorder specialist in London, but I couldn't reach him, and an
>associate of his wouldn't touch a person she hadn't seen.  I tried
>other doctors - no luck.  I was in a downward spiral.  Who could help?
>
>Finally on the night of 11 March, I knew I needed help.  We called
>911, and I was off to the hospital by ambulance..  I lay on a hard
>bed in the emergency area with its  bright  lights for four hours,
>while the doctor reviewed the results of some tests, I was moved to
>the near-critical care area.   Two days there were followed by seven
>in medical ward and eleven in rehab.  I was happy to return home on
>Friday - where the computer is proving no friend.  It is hard to type
>- but generally hard just to get around. - even with a rolator.  But
>I keep busy doing the exercises that they told me to do, and I hope
>to be back up to strength soon.
>
>So here I am, over three weeks later, finding that doing little
>things that were once so easy are now difficult to impossible, and
>hoping that following the therapist's instructions will bring back
>the strength and abilities I once had.  I have a long way to go, and
>sitting at the computer won't help it.  So don't expect to hear a lot
>from me - at least not for a while.
>
>The moral of this little experience - don't cut out your meds without
>a doctor's permission.  Or I can tell you  what hell you will
>probably go through.
>
>Art
>
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