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Raj, My opinion would be to take the sinemet. There is some debate as to whether Mirapex and Requip might slow down the progression of PD but right now nothing has been proven and the truth is, the side effects of Requip and Mirapex are rotten!! Actually if you lived in Europe or Canada, you would not be allowed to legally drive if you were prescribed either of these drugs due to the incidence of somnolence. The side effects of the Sinemet (at least for me) have been pretty mild and it works much better than the agonists. I don't mean this with any disrespect, but if I were your age, I would take the sinemet and get on with feeling better. Just my opinion of course. Let us know how you are doing. Debra ----- Original Message ----- From: "Brightline" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Friday, May 17, 2002 7:44 PM Subject: Introducing myself > Dear Friends: > I am not new, but I have not been very actively involved so far, except > sending a couple of comments once in a while. I am 68, running on 69. I am > an officially retired, but very much active, profesor and my area of > research was and is cancer. I have been having what everybody thought was > ET (action tremor) since my teen age days. But, come to think of it, I had > a slight facial mask from my twenties or thirties. I recollect in 1972-73, > some of my close friends use to tell me: "You have a nice smile and a good > heart. Why don't you use them to your advantage, instead of putting up a > sorrow face all the time?" I am not sure if I had an early onset PD with > very little true PD symptoms (no resting tremor, posturl instability, > drooling etc.) As a hind sight, I am sure it might be true. > In 1998 (at my 65th year), when I was lecturing in my class, I noticed a > slight, occasional slurring of my speech. I did not even dream of PD in > thse days. Then, I started noticing my right arm did not swing as good as > my left. My action tremor in my right hand became very highly visible and I > began to notice by 2000 my right leg was doing the same in synch with my > right leg, when I did smething with my right hand fingers. Buttoning my > shirts takes a lot more time. By the end of 2001, I could not reproduce my > signature; however my handwriting did not become tinies andtiniesas it > should be for PD; simplyh I cannot right one word without my hand running > crazy all over the place. I was lucky I knew typing. Even that becomes > very difficult now days, since a couple of my fingers would not want to bend > when I type some letters! > By the year 2000, I was convinced some thing strange was going on There > fore I saw a neurologist. She told me I ws having ET and not PD. Then I > went and saw the only local Movement Disorder Specialist who thought tht I > was developing PD on top of my ET. I went through the initial phase of > denial and sought a second opinion from another MDS at Bethesda Univesity > Hospital. She assured me that I did not have PD and prescribed Propranalol. > When my lo al MDS heard this, he refused to see me! Propranalol had only > transient effect on my tremor; soon I started developing high blood pressure > (this is a beta blocker and is not supposed to do this!), increase in weight > and blood sugar, and lethargy and low pulse rate. I stopped taking > Propranalol; I lost my gained weight, blood sugar became normal, normal > pulse rate, and my action tremor was getting worse. I have developed mild > postural instability and occasinal drooling, along with sightly progressed > speech slurring. > I saw another neurologist who prescribed sinemet CR, which I have not > yet started taking. In the meanwhile, the news about mirapex and requip > delaying the progression of PD. I am wondering if I should see another MDS. > I am waiting to get an appointment with Dr. Tony Lang in Toronto. > More about me later. > Raj > [log in to unmask] > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > 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