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Markie..... You SHOULD see a movement disorder specialist and get (hopefully) a full battery of diagnostic tests to rule out all the Parkinson's "look-alike-act-alike diseases/syndromes/conditions." Then you'll have a better idea of what you have or don't have. If you DON'T get a concrete diagnosis of Parkinson's, there's always the "Sinemet test." (and if you're not aware what that is, Sinemet is THE benchmark PD drug, which is reputed not to work on PD-look alikes) It's generally accepted in both the medical community and amongst the PD community that Sinemet usually ONLY works for someone having a bona fide case of PD. Kinda like if it looks like a rose, smells like a rose, then.... well, you get the picture.... Barb Mallut (PD=25 yrs) [log in to unmask] -----Original Message----- From: Markie Helms <[log in to unmask]> To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]> Date: Thursday, February 10, 2000 5:23 AM Subject: Question about Parkinson's >Good morning all! I recently joined this list to get information, and hope >someone can answer my questions. > >Short History: Had a tremor in left thumb four or five years ago. Three >years ago, fingers in left hand began to curl up quite often - still happens. > Over a year ago, began to walk a lot more slowly. Now have resting tremor >in left hand and arm. Feet shuffle after sleeping or sitting for a long >time. Left foot drags sometimes, and also curls in sometimes when walking. >Fine motor skills are deteriorating. Sometimes when getting out of a chair, >I need to hold onto something to get up. At rest, sometimes have twitches or >slight jerks in both arms and legs. Am right-handed, and handwriting is >still very legible, but not as neat as it used to be. Also, cannot write for >long periods of time. > >Are these symptoms of Parkinson's? I am not asking for a diagnosis - just >want to know if these symptoms are indicative of Parkinson's. Have seen a >good neurologist who says that the tremor I have is not the ususal tremor of >Parkinson's and he cannot feel the rigidity in my fingers usually associated >with Parkinson's. He has suggested I see a movement disorder specialist, >which I plan on doing. > >Just looking for all the information I can. Thanks in advance for any >answers.