My wife, Moira MacPherson, has been working on the following messages for=20
several=20
days this week. Working at a computer is not her favourite activity.
 
Moira writes:
 =20
To everyone... belated good wishes for a harmonious and healthy 1995!
 
I resolved to start January by filing my overflowing  boxes of print outs=20
from this list and=20
decided it was about time I posted something myself.   First, thank you and=
=20
congratulations to  Barbara Patterson especially and to all of the=20
contributors to this list. =20
 
The personal anecdotes, advice and  research updates provide an incredible=
=20
information=20
pool for small organisations such as ours (the Nova Scotia Division of the=
=20
Parkinson=20
Foundation of Canada)  and  the list is growing  so fast!  I agree that=20
there is power in=20
knowledge,  and also power in numbers - there must be some way we could use=
 our=20
collective energies!
 
I should introduce myself and my family! My name is Moira MacPherson , I am=
=20
an artist =20
of sorts and married to Peter Kidd, a freelance writer and editor.  We live=
=20
in Halifax with=20
my (our) two boys, Kelvin age 16 and Cameron age 11 (going on 12).  I am 55=
=20
and have=20
had Parkinson's for 16 years. My first symptoms came one year after the=20
birth of Kelvin=20
and Parkinson's was confirmed by  Dr. Donald Calne exactly one year later. =
=20
So , I was=20
late in starting a family and early in developing  Parkinsons! Not ideal=20
timing  - we are at
a mid-teen trauma plus end of menopause phase with a lot of teenage years=20
still to come!=20
 
But no matter what....my family is my best medicine. Peter as husband,=20
father and=20
caregiver is the rock we all lean on and  with his unflappable calm he can=
=20
defuse just about=20
any crisis from "...how  can I get dressed when there is no clean laundry...=
=20
anywhere in this=20
whole entire house..." or......."Yo!  How do you like my new earring...think=
=20
I'll get the=20
next one through my nose!" or, as he walks in loaded down with grocery=20
bags... "Peter ,=20
could you defrost something - anything , I've been 'off' for hours and I=20
invited M.......for=20
supper and Cameron has to eat before scouts and Kelvin will be starving when=
=20
he gets=20
home from soccer.....and... do you think I could have a cup of tea.?      =
=20
 
I will admit that there is some stress involved in being the emotional link=
=20
between three=20
strong willed, independent males, but I would not be here without them..
 
A thought re Parkinson's and meds: I don't have too many helpful hints to=20
pass on --  most=20
issues and ideas have been covered already! As far as my own side effects=20
and symptoms=20
are concerned, I have been on a fairly well-controlled  "plateau" since=20
August when I=20
started taking Zoloft (50 mg daily). The "down side" of Zoloft seems to be=
=20
increased=20
fatigue and weakness. Anyone else have any other side effects?
 
Extreme fluctuations continue to be my biggest problem over all. A good=20
"On," on a good=20
day,  and I am close to normal. Most days, I have just one really bad "Off."=
=20
Providing I=20
have had enough sleep (a lifelong problem), I can keep going through the=20
other lows.   I=20
have bad  spells, just as we all do, and days when I can hardly get out of=
 bed.
 
I try to keep to a definite schedule for mornings -- I'm usually awake by=20
5:30 (1 x 100/10=20
Sinemet  +  1 Elderpryl. + 1 Parlodel), up and dressed by 6 am (1 x =20
100/10S) and, =20
providing the temp. is  above -15=B0 and  there is not much ice, I go out=
 and=20
help Kelvin=20
deliver his newspapers!
 
Early morning is easily my best time - even dark winter mornings, if its=20
clear, the stars are=20
so bright or fresh snow with no footprints, and the winter sun snaps at the=
=20
horizon like a=20
fire breathing dragon...
 
But seriously, if I get my whole system going first thing in the morning  I =
=20
have a better,=20
more predictable day. The balance of pills are spread out with the last CR=
=20
at 11:30 pm.=20
Daily total 4 or 5 (I'm trying to cut back) 100/10 S., 4 CR 200/50, 4 x 2.5=
=20
mg Parlodel,
1 x 50 mg Zoloft, 1 Symmetrel and 1 Eldepryl.
 
To Alan Bonander...
 
Alan...your contributions are invaluable. I am so impressed with how much=20
you are able to=20
tell us. You are also very wise! I appreciate your attempts to get our heads=
=20
out of our=20
pillboxes and our brains focussed on wider horizons including the emotional=
=20
and the=20
artistic.=20
 
I worked in the theatre in Jamaica and Vancouver, including tour booking,=20
and have some=20
ideas about getting Halifax's Neptune Theatre to inquire about availability=
=20
of the Redgrave=20
script.=20
 
To Barbara Yacos...
 
Just read your letter to David and Aviva and felt this strange rush of =20
'deja vu' and =20
flashbacks to the spring  of  '91 ...92....? What if we had gone to China! =
=20
I wonder what=20
we would be doing now..   Oh well!   =20
 
You  sound very upbeat and sparky in this letter as if you had crossed a=20
bridge or won this=20
round.  Are  you  winning  the battle with RLS ?     I can only guess how =
=20
miserable it=20
must feel.  I occasionally experience an under the skin creepy crawling =20
sensation just as=20
Sinemet kicks in  -  two or three minutes and I am ready to tear up the=
 sheets!
 
 Oh, have you  tried acupuncture ?   I imagine by now  you have tried=20
everything.
 
Re Dr. Iacono..., Oh, I am so glad his star is rising! He is one of the few=
=20
genuine healers.=20
I'm still a fan. One way or another, I'm going to get to California. We are=
=20
still hung up=20
here with the question of out-of-province coverage, but...where there is a=
=20
will, there is a=20
way!
I feel there is a big gap between how physicians measure improvement and how=
=20
patients=20
see themselves after such therapy as pallidotomy. It is hard to find=20
researchers who are=20
scientific and sympathetic.=20
 
Are you going to consider taking Zoloft? I will be very interested to hear=
=20
how it goes. A=20
number of Parkinsonians here in Halifax have started Zoloft after having=20
watched  a video=20
of a talk by Dr. Iacono at Riverside, California.  Did Elaine ever send you=
=20
that tape?
 
Finally, best wishes to all 400 plus on this list.  If I can answer any=20
questions about=20
Parkinsons and having babies, I will try to help. [Cameron was the first=20
officially registered=20
Parkinsonian birth in Canada and he is just what you would expect in 11 year=
=20
to be!]
 
Peter J. Kidd
Learning Materials Consulting Services
Phone & Fax: (902) 443-4262
Email: [log in to unmask]