Dear Folks,
       I hope you can help me. I have been on this list for almost a year
now.  I'm afraid I haven't contributed much but have learned a lot, both
about Parkinsons and about compassion.
 
       Meds: about ever 2 hours from 4am to 8pm Permax 0.25mg (ll per day).
Sinimet 25/100 (1 4x a day).  Sinemet CR 50/200 (2 a day).  Eldepryl 2 per
day.
 
       DX: 6 years   Age: 62
 
       I was doing fairly well until about 1 week ago.  I was told by my
neuro that changes in Parkinsons came about gradually.  This has proved
to be the case up until now.  About a week ago I swithched from 150mg of
Doxepin for sleep to Ambien 10mg ( 1  1/2 tablets per night).  The
reason I switched was with the Doxepin, I would find myself falling asleep
 reading the papers in the morning.  With the sleep medication I got a much
better night's sleep but all kinds of complications.  I talked to my neuro
yesterday  and he said the Ambien was a good med and was not the cause of my
problem.  He suggested a slight adjustment in my med schedule, essentially
the dropping of one Sinimet a day.  I'm not sure whether we were communica-
ting on the phone but I don't feel the he understood the problem.
 
       I have subsequently made an appointment to see him tomorrow.
 
 HERE'S THE PROBLEM:  Two weeks ago I could walk fairly well unasssiated
in the morning from 4am to noon.  In the afternoon, I could get around ,
drive the car, go shopping, or go out to eat, with the assistance of my
cane. Up until last week I could do 3 miles on my stationary bike every
morning.  Today, I could not use the bike, I could not move around except
with great difficulty and using my cane.  I managed to take a shower, but
could not stand up to shave.  It is now noon and I have taken 2 Sinimet
and 1 CR, 5 Permax and 1 Eldepryl.  I am still not moving but I do not as
yet have dyskinesis.   Yesterday at this time I had experimented with 3 1/2
Sinimet and 1 CR and 5 Permax and had experienced the worst case of dyskin-
esia I ever had between 10am and 12;30pm.  In the last week, I have
experienced a burning sensation behind my knees and in my calves in the
afternoon.  This again is a new symptom.
 
       I guess my point is I am much worse today than I was a week ago.  If
anybody has some ideas, I would appreciate your thoughts.
 
       Thanks,  Ted Nelson