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I made a mistake recently - a foolish mistake - that I feel it would be wise to share with others lest they make it too - and because there is much that can be learned from it. It started apparently, innocently enough, with a problem with the rotator cuff on my right shoulder. I'm not certain what caused the problem there - it might have been exercising or mouse work or stretching to reach something. Whatever it was, it happened. And before long I had a miserable pain. Not a constant pain, but rather a sharp pain that arose when my right arm was touched in any of several manners. But immediately following that pain came a second jolt - which was short but crippling in its magnitude. I had an appointment with an orthopaedist in January to discuss a problem with my leg. His appointments are limited to one problem at a time, so I changed the appointment to cover my shoulder instead. He sent me to a nearby hospital for an MRI, and I would see him again in three weeks. The pain grew worse. I went to the emergency room at the hospital where the MRI had been done. The doctor there was able to retrieve the report on the MRI. That's how I learned that it was the rotator cuff that had been damaged. The doctor gave me pain pills and a sling. Days later I went to the emergency rooms at two other hospitals, but all I got were pain pills. And the pills all made me groggy but they didn't stop the intense pain. I was frantic. I finally guessed that the second jolt was that of dyskinesia from my Parkinson's. To test it, I discontinued my Parkinson's medications. No more Sinemet. No more Requip. No more Comtan. It worked. I felt so good about it that I didn't return to the Parkinson's meds. And that's where the trouble started. As the days went by, I started to lose strength. I knew it was the Parkinson meds, but I didn't know which one(s) to take to get my strength back and still avoid dyskinesia. I called the movement disorder specialist in London, but I couldn't reach him, and an associate of his wouldn't touch a person she hadn't seen. I tried other doctors - no luck. I was in a downward spiral. Who could help? Finally on the night of 11 March, I knew I needed help. We called 911, and I was off to the hospital by ambulance.. I lay on a hard bed in the emergency area with its bright lights for four hours, while the doctor reviewed the results of some tests, I was moved to the near-critical care area. Two days there were followed by seven in medical ward and eleven in rehab. I was happy to return home on Friday - where the computer is proving no friend. It is hard to type - but generally hard just to get around. - even with a rolator. But I keep busy doing the exercises that they told me to do, and I hope to be back up to strength soon. So here I am, over three weeks later, finding that doing little things that were once so easy are now difficult to impossible, and hoping that following the therapist's instructions will bring back the strength and abilities I once had. I have a long way to go, and sitting at the computer won't help it. So don't expect to hear a lot from me - at least not for a while. The moral of this little experience - don't cut out your meds without a doctor's permission. Or I can tell you what hell you will probably go through. Art ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn