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Yes maybe depression has something to do with it also. Sometimes we joke about her forgeting to ask for her Sinemet when she is out shopping. She started taking Parlodel again after being off it for 3 months. I do not know why her neuro made her stop taking it in the first place and then make her take it again after 3 months . Something about her PD that baffled her neuro at first. When her PD symptoms attack, it always starts at her abdomen. Very unlike most who complain of tremors. Her abdomen starts getting rigid first and she complains of really terrible pain.Then the pain radiates from her abdomen to her limbs, especially the legs. During her off periods she complains that she feels so bloated but cannot empty her bowels, nor urinate even if her bladder seems so full. And to complicate that, she also suffers from osteoporosis and scoliosis. A physical therapist comes to the house to give her exercises daily. And to make her wear her body brace for a few minutes each day. The past three days have been worrisome for us. We kept checking her blood pressure which was very erratic, from as high as 180/110 to as low as 140/70 in a span of 15 minutes. She was not allowed to take any medication for her blood pressure, nor was she allowed to take "Viox" for the pain. Her neuro gave her Valium 5mg., which helped ease the pain and let her sleep for 90 minutes at mist. So for now we give her Valium 5mg. 3x a day. Tell me anyone, do people die because of PD? If they do... how does it take them? Mother said she is afraid the rigidity will one day creep up to her heart and make her stop breathing. Maybe she is afraid she will still be mentally alert but not be able to breath, and that scares her. ----- Original Message ----- From: Susan Davis To: [log in to unmask] Sent: Monday, August 05, 2002 8:13 PM Subject: long term PD I think that the suggestion that you got about checking on an antidepressant was a good one. It seems that a huge percentage of persons who suffer from PD also suffer from depression. They are both a related brain chemical thing. You might also want to cross post your question to the Caregiver's List. My mother has had PD for at least 20 years now. I guess she was in the 10-15 year range when she started using an antidepressant and it did help. I can't remember what you said about your Mom's meds, but as the dose increases, sometimes the PWP can be afflicted with paranoia. There are some med adjustments they can do for that as well. Hopefully you see a good movement disorder specialist who will look into this with you. Good luck. Susan cocg Elizabeth ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn