Donna,
Welcome to the elite club.  Believe me when I say that I am truly delighted
for you.

You mentioned a couple of things here that I have also been through.  The
first was the reduction of medicine.  Now that it has been over three years
since my surgery I have quit taking Sinemet all together. All I take for
Parkinson's is 1 mg of Mirapex twice a day.  Maybe you will be able to
reduce the sinemet in the future.  I still feel like I am improving.

The other thing you mentioned is that psychological feeling that I could do
anything but then remembering that I hadn't done that for years.  like
golf, sew, drive the car.  I don't know what I expected but I wanted to
reenter the world at the same level that I left it behind.  It is difficult
to explain.
 Anyway I am so happy for you.  There still are miracles!

> This letter is long overdue.  I underwent DBS in the STN and June 23rd in
>Kansas City..  If to say a to markedly improvement is an understatement.  I
>recently went from a three-month checkup  and was told l  was a poster child
>for Parkinson's disease. My symptoms I now have absolutely no  tremor, and no
>rigidity.  My only bothersome symptom now is slowness of movement.  This
>surgery  has absolutely saved my life . I live alone and was becoming
>increasingly difficult to  manage.
>
>I want to caution people however to have realistic expectations.  I did not
>have these.  I truly expected to to be completely cured. I am an incureable
>optimist. I thought I would be off all medicine and this  nightmare would be
>over. Unfortunately I'm afraid  this has not happened  and psychologically
>that
> has been difficult. The programming is critical.  And for people undergoing
>this operation they   will experience  setbacks during the first   months.
>This
>is entirely normal   but very difficult to deal with.
>
> As for medicine, I am taking  less.  I was taking  25 /100 A permax  1 mg,
> and a Requip .1 every two hours.  Now I take 25/250 CR and 2 Requip   every
>four hours.
>
>  I had  my surgery than in Kansas City..  From what I understand, they
>are the
>only  place Medicare  that Medicare will pay.  I had to pay about $6000  after
>all  was said and done.
>
>I will be happy to the answer any questions please write directly to me. I
>will
>answer but I may be slow.


jjjane
http://www.geocities.com/soho/village/6263/pienet/hithgang/hitjaner.html