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Hi, David -- My wife was diagnosed on March 20th of this year, about 14 weeks ago. She had been feeling out of sorts for about 2 1/2 years and had gone to many doctors, including several neurologists, all of whom were unable to tell her what was wrong with her. We finally found an excellent MDS who diagnosed PD pretty much right away. My wife is 45. We have 3 kids, ages 16, 14, and 11. My wife wasn't sure whether to feel good that they finally found out what was wrong or terrified because of what lay ahead. So, she felt both simultaneously. The doctor started her on Mirapex right away because she was having real difficulty walking and coordinating by then and also feeling very frustrated. Before we were married, she was an aerobics instructor and personal trainer and has always focused on staying fit. So her inability to have the stamina for her customary vigorous workouts was very disconcerting. Anyway, she started on a very low dose, 1/2 of a .125 mg tablet three times a day. Cutting those teeny little suckers is not easy! Then, she went up every three days. After about three weeks, she magically started to feel much better and has been feeling better. About three weeks, she went for her second appointment, feeling about 85% back to normal. The doctor decided to increase the dose slowly again. Now, she goes up every week until she hits 1.5 mg 3x/day. Hopefully, she'll be back at 100% by then! Even now, she can resume her regular pre-PD workout which has given her a tremendous psychological boost. A friend described the disease as descending down a flight of stairs. You're okay for awhile and then you get worse for awhile and then you're okay for awhile and so on. How long you stay on the stair and how fast you descend the stairs is very individual, which is why PD is sometimes called a "designed disease". So far, my wife has steadily improved since diagnosis and I hope it stays that way. There are lots of excellent books and groups out there. Feel free to ask any specific questions her on the list or privately. Good luck! Gary > -----Original Message----- > From: Parkinson's Information Exchange Network > [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of David Held > Sent: Wednesday, May 29, 2002 2:54 PM > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: > > > Hello to all. I am a new member to the list and I'm new > to the role of Care Giver. My wife, who is 44, was just > diagnosed with PD. She has just started Mirapex. We have 2 > small children and my wife is freaking out that she will be > unable to care for them in a few years. In my readings to > date, I have not seen any info regarding the rate of the > disease, how well the symtoms are suppressed via medications. > > We meet with the doctor next week to answer questions, > so I'd like to be as informed going in as I can. I've > looked at the major PD websites. I have read that > delaying taking Sinomet as long as possible is a good > way to go. Any help would be appreciated. > -- > David ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn