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On 6 Mar 00 at 10:49, Carolyn Jenkins wrote: > Dear Barbara, > Thank you for your welcome. I look forward to being a member of this > list and learning all that I can about PD. > Hi Carolyn, Welcome to the club! This is THE place to learn about Parkinson's.... 1888 people all with experience, all with opinions, most with attitude... Don't take anything too seriously and you'll do fine. We're all here for each other. > > I will be 54 yo on Easter Sunday. I was diagnosed with PD on Jan 13, > 2000, the symptoms began 5 years ago. Since I've had rheumatoid > arthritis for 26 years, and essential tremor for 18 years, I thought all > the symptoms were due to one or the other condition or the meds for RA. > I was absolutely shocked when the neurologist said that it looked like > PD in August, last year. > > I've been on 5 meds since August - Clobazam, Clonazepam, both for 10 > days only, they made me sick as in malaise. Next it was Prolopa > 50/12.5, then Sinemet CR 100/25, with "you can take 3 of these a day, > I'll see you in 6 months". I felt better for 1 week, then had trouble > sleeping (3-5 hrs in 24 hrs), lost my appetite after the vomiting stage, > made an appointment to see the neurologist about lack of sleep. By the > time I saw him (one month after starting the Sinemet CR) I had > undergone a major personality change and got to know the real meaning of > agitation - so did he. He then changed my Rx to regular Sinemet 100/25, > with the same instructions as above. I knew I wasn't getting the proper > care, went to my family doctor, requested another neurologist, saw him > in a 3/4 hour appointment, he increased the Sinemet to 4 per day, one > every 4 hours starting at 6 am. > I'm glad to hear you've changed to a neuro that has been able to adjust your meds to get a reasonable "quality of life". It's what we all strive for while we await the next step. > > What a difference!!! I can sleep 6 hours without waking up and fall > back to sleep for 1 or 2 more hours! Agitation is not constant. My > emotions are better - I'm not crying "for no reason", the tremor is > better, my will is back, and best of all, my brain and I are on friendly > terms again!!! > > I know what it's like to not be able to trust my body, and have overcome > that. But not being able to trust my brain!!! That has got to be the > most horrendous and frightening experience of my life! > > I feel that I'm in capable hands with the new neurologist. He is > ordering 2 scans, a CT scan to check for fluid, and another to check > for deterioration. My question is why is he checking for fluid and what > does that have to do with anything? I think he's checking for > deterioration because I often forget the next word when speaking, and > sometimes 3 or 4 words come in garbled when listening. > Diagnosis with Parkinsons is not a cut & dried thing, so a scan is probably just a precaution to make sure nothing is passed over... > > I went to my first PD support group meeting on Saturday and learned > about speech and swallowing. We were all taught an exercise to keep our > speech strong. I'm glad I went. I also had the pleasure of meeting the > first PD patient in Canada to have a PD helper dog, and met the dog > too. ((I want a dog like that!)). I'm planning to go to an exercise > class every Thursday morning. > Use it or lose it sure applies here. You're off to a great start. > > Does anyone know about startling easily and dopamine receptors? I've > been like that for about 8 years, jump out of my skin even if someone > touches me. What does that have to do with PD, I thought it was no > dopamine, not the receptors, is it both? > > I welcome all suggestions and comments. > Thank you. > Carolyn Jenkins > Here is a couple of "scan" related URL's to look at... Computed Tomography (CT) Imaging http://www.imaginis.net/ct-scan/ CT Resources http://subtlebraininjury.com/resourcesct.html This next one says MRI but basically applies to any brain scan... MRI Screening Questions http://www.cons-rad.com/screeninq.html Have a sunny Canadian day ............. murray [log in to unmask]