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Thanks God for Sinemet.. M ----- Original Message ----- From: "G. Hertz" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Saturday, June 15, 2002 3:57 PM Subject: to Sinemet or not to Sinemet > Hi Don. To Sinemet or not to Sinemet... that seems to be the question in a > lot of posts. When I was officially diagnosed over 9 years ago the first > thing the neuro wanted to do was put me on sinemet or another med. I > declined because I was breastfeeding my daughter at the time. [That neuro > was not a good"fit" anyway] When I was ready to take meds 1 and a half years > later, I started with the dopamine agonists and after about a year or so > started on sinemet. It was what I needed to do at the time to keep my life > on track. After about 5 years more I decided to go for a thalamic DBS for my > right side. Again, this brought me back on track for ADLs and work. I have > spent most of my time on meds forgetting that I have Parkinson's. The > reminder comes when meds wear off and I take another dose. I couldn't > imagine *not* having been on sinemet. It has improved my quality of life > tremendously. I, like you, would rather have my Sinemet now and live as > full a life as possible. If it does mean I will reach end-stage PD sooner > (I've never seen an estimate of time - what does holding off buy you -3 > months? a year? 3 years?) then so be it. Is there any guarantee Sinemet will > bring you back to normal functioning if you hold off til you're *really* > bad? Will you need higher doses because you have deteriorated for another > year? I don't know. The progression of PD is so different in different > people. > > What about the alternative "stuff" that has dopamine in it - does it count > towards your "Sinemet debt"? > > I'm reminded of the often repeated story of people that save all their money > being workaholics so when they retire they can 1) take that trek through > Europe that they've always dreamed of 2)buy a motor home and spend the > next year visiting all their grandchildren 3) retire to Florida or 4) > fill in the blank__________... only to find that one member of the couple > becomes ill or dies without having the opportunity to do the things they put > off. > > A friend of mine who has a son with Down Syndrome coined the phrase > "pre-disastered". Meaning the view that since he has Down Syndrome - nothing > else bad will happen to him. It's easy with Parkinson's to feel the same > way. Somewhere in the back of your brain you think "I won't get cancer or > heart disease or whatever - I have PD". > > My favorite bumper sticker says: Enjoy life. This is not a dress rehearsal. > > Gail H. age 42 PD for 13 years > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > 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