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I would say anybody denying themselves Sinemet in the early stages of the disease is denying himself or herself a chance at a better quality of life. I firmly believe that as the disease progresses you need more Sinemet and therefore have more side-effects (dyskinesias, hallucinations, paranoia and even psychoses. Quite simply it seems unbelievable anyone would subject themselves to that self-torture. The drugs have been used for thirty plus years with no evidence that I have seen that not using it early in the disease provides a benefit later on. Greg Leeman 40/30/28 -----Original Message----- From: Parkinson's Information Exchange Network [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of janet paterson Sent: Monday, March 12, 2001 7:17 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: 'doing without meds' hi all this subject has been raised at the mgh pd webforum too. fyi following is what i posted there janet ---------------------------------------------------------------- i read [the above] with some concern; 'doing without meds' strikes me as at best, masochistic, and at worst, potentially life-threatening there is a lot of ignorance still out there about pd even among medicos, and we have to learn to be our own best advocates only we know how our bodies feel in reaction to med changes but titration is critical in dealing with any brain altering chemical; even tiny changes can produce obvious and drastic symptoms a diabetic is not cheered on for trying to 'do without insulin' a clinically depressed person should not be admired for their 'strength of will' in trying to 'do without antidepressants' a parky should not have to suffer through symptoms which can be eased or eliminated by the pd meds at our disposal 'doing without meds' does not display strength of character imho, it is an arbitrary notion which is probably based on some sort of foolish pride - 'look ma, no drugs!' i advise acceptance, education, and titration as three body blows to eliminating needless suffering and regaining one's power and joy janet ---------------------------------------------------------------- janet paterson, an akinetic rigid subtype, albeit perky, parky PD: 53/41/37 CD: 53/44/43 TEL: 613 256 8340 EMAIL: [log in to unmask] "A NEW VOICE" home page: "http://www.geocities.com/janet313/" "NEW VOICE NEWS" latest posts: "http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nvnNET/"