Hi Listmembers...it's been a memorable 4th of July in the life of this PWP...

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        Getting ready for going to my brother's place this 4th of July, I
tried to plan my medicine so as to avoid a bout of dyskinesia which has been
plaguing me lately about 4 in the afternoon (and again around 9 or 10 p.m.)
I had consulted my MDS about it a few weeks ago, at which time we agreed I
could either try cutting out one of my two Tasmar's a day (my idea) or
cutting down my Sinemet intake from 6 25/100 (two 3xs/day).  I chose to try
cutting down my Sinemet slowly, which seem to help at first but pretty soon I
was having unacceptable bouts of rigidity and freezing.   And I went back to
the 6/day.  I also take .5 mg Mirapex before breakfast, lunch, and dinner for
a total of 1.5/day
        This morning, however, I took 1-1/2 Sinemet in hopes that this would
lead to a dividend in the afternoon of less or no dyskinesia.  About noon I
took my usual two Sinemets and .5 Mirapex.  And by 1 was feeling mobile and
ready to go.
        When we got there, a project I am working on became the topic of
conversation for a while, and I was only too glad to discuss it.  Another
guest arrived who it turned out was also interested, and I had a new audience
whose ear I could bend.
        Well, this is far more talking than I am accustomed to all at once,
and by about 3:30 I was feeling pooped.  So I excused myself and went back to
a quiet sun room to recoup.  The sun room, of course, has a lot of glass on
two sides as well as skylights.  Their former living room couch-set forms an
L-Shape along both sides with the windows, and is the only place to sit.  It
has been subject to the hot rays of the sun for several years now.
        I attempted to relax and to work on a double-crostic I had with me.
But I was starting to feel the first signs of dyskinesia...oh nuts, I
thought.  Well, one thing that works for me frequently at home is to take a
Xanax...while it doesn't always help immediately, after about  30 or 45
minutes, I am fine for another hour or so.  If not, I then take my evening
Mirapex, and follow that with the Sinemet
        Today It turned out it did not have the desired effect and after
about 40 minutes, I was feeling worse.   Nuts!   I was also holding onto the
top of the cushion on my right.  It felt like straw.  About this time, a
couple of people came by to look in on me...just as I started to have a
pretty intense bout of dykinesia..  Rightly or wrongly, I also took my
Mirapex and Sinemet.  It was about 4:40 p.m.  For the next half hour or so, i
had one of the worst cases of writhing and thrashing that I ever have had,
and in the process I managed to knock the foam rubber stuffing out of the
cushions in my immediate vicinity.  When I finally calmed down enough to
survey my surroundings, the couch and I were covered with foam rubber!
Luckily, my brother is pretty easy going, and took this destruction of his
furniture in good stride.  He even got a camera and took a picture...but as
he had already picked up some of the worst of it, he missed getting the full
effect.
         And I was worn out.  Then it also turned out that I needed a 3rd
Sinemet before I felt up to having a bite to eat and going home.  About 9:30
p.m. I had another bout of dysk while at the computer.  I couldn't function
for 30-45 minutes.  But I took no additional med, and am doing reasonably
well now.
        I think I'll go to bed and hope tomorrow is a relatively
dyskinesia-free day!

Barbara Blake-Krebs in KS
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