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Thanks for the welcomes , I'm glad I found all of you on this list. To answer some of the questions: I'm 61yo and have lived in Port Townsend WA for 25 yrs. My diagnosis "evolved" over several months when a friend who is a neurologist noticed how slowly I was moving. He thought I might be having Parkinson like side effects to Celexa which I had been taking for about a year to help me get over my depression following the death of my wife Lori. She died almost 3 years ago after a long battle with breast cancer. Stopping the Celexa however did nothing to improve the bradykinesia, and about a month later another friend noticed a very slight tremor in my left hand. To make a long story short I recognized more PD symptoms which I had been ignoring or attributing to "old age" or depression. They were not getting any better months after stopping the Celexa. My attending physician noted my gait and lack of expression and made the referral for a neurological work up. In the meantime I was all over the internet in a not very organized search for information and asking questions of my neurologist. By the time he was offering to prescribe meds I was wanting to wait because I was concerned about side effects. That was fine with him. Days later I saw my reflection in a large window and I was shocked. My arms were just hanging by my sides as I walked and my face looked disconnected from "me". For maybe a second I thought "I'm not here". I started Requip 2 days later which was a little more than a week ago. I found this list because it was mentioned in an article on a US government website which had high praise for it. I am bewildered by the number of associations, foundations, networks etc. Why so many? I haven't told family members about the PD yet (they are back in New York and Michigan) and I anticipate depending on my friends for support. I wonder how that has worked out for other single list members? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn Joe