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Jim, and list members Veterans of this list may remember that i reported back in 1998 that i was interested in DBS, and pursued the matter quite diligently then. I was experiencing extreme bouts of dyskinesia and in fact i was all set to take part in one of the trials - in New York - when someone on the list reported success in treating dyskinesia with amantadine. Up till then, the prevalent belief was that amantadine was something to be used in the early stages of the disease, to delay the use of sinimet. I spoke to my neurologist, and she agreed to let me try it. The results were nothing short of miraculous. Within a couple of days i was so much better that i no longer qualified as a test subject for the DBS trials. I just didn't have enough symptoms anymore. Well, i have been on and off and on amantadine since then, and although it is no longer as effective - or more likely, the disease has progressed beyond the scope of the medication, i still have not reached the point where i would consider surgery the only option. In the meantime, there are many new medications on the market, and coming down the pipeline, and also we have had more time to see how DBS works and just what it can do. And i have personal friends who have under gone the surgery, and while in some cases it shows remarkable success, in others it seems not to have done much for the person concerned. as we always say, this is a designer disease, and we don't all have the same symptoms - and what treats one persons problems may not even help another with the same problems. So as long as i am able to cope with my lifestyle adequately, i prefer not to consider surgery. But that is just my opinion. hilary blue Jim Stinson wrote: > > hilary blue, have you considered the " deep brain stimulator" w/ the leads > put into the subthalamic neucleus > (stn) part of the brain.i had it done a little over 3 yrs ago with great > succcess. i'm no longer taking medication. i just have to go back to the dr. > for an adjustment once in a while. a friend of mine ( jim grogan) also had > the surgery and he is still taking a little med. but not near as much as he > was and he's doing a lot better. i'm 54 and have had pk since i was 31. if > you would like info contact me at > [log in to unmask] > and i'll answer any questions i can . > jim > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] > In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn