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Hello my fellow Parkies, I thought I'd just share my experiences of the past weekend with you. Friday the 6th, at 1 pm, I took my noon dose of pills (Madopar Quick Mite, Tasmar, Sifrol/Pramipexol) and went to bed for a short nap. Twenty minutes later I woke up with what felt like the worst back cramps in recorded history. The first thought in my mind was that it was weird to have dystonias of that magnitude all of a sudden; up to this point they had just affected my neck and shoulders. I decided to try to relax and ride it out, the pills ought to kick in in just ten minutes or so. No such luck; the pills started to work their magic, but just enough to convince me that the pain wasn't from my PD. It was hurting bad at this point. I called my wife who was just around the corner to get some groceries, including that all-important staple of my diet called licorice. Addicted to the stuff! ;) She came home, and we decided that the best option at this point was to call 112 (our version of 911) and ask them for an opinion; there are registered nurses available for advice on those tricky cases... After a short description: jabbing pains extending from the back lowest rib to the front just above my belly button, they decided to send an ambulance since it might be the heart. The EKG taken in the ambulance was inconclusive, but nitroglycerine and two shots of IV morphine had no significant effect, the pain went from 8 to 5 on a scale of 1-10. I was wheeled into the heart ICU of the nearest hospital, and after some 4-5 hours, quite a bit of poking and prodding they ruled out the heart and transferred me to a ward that I only can call "internal medicine intensive care for post-op and weird cases we don't know where to put yet"! There I was put on two different drugs, one codeine variant (I think) and one morphine drug. Finally the pain went away... The blood work had ruled out the heart, and a urine sample tested positive for blood, so the working hypothesis was kidney stones. At 12.30 am they woke me up and took me down to have a CAT-scan. Yup, three stones of approx. 1/8th of an inch diameter or a bit larger. I'll be returning to the hospital to have them crushed with ultrasound later this summer. After spending 48 hours at the hospital, I didn't need any more drugs and was sent home with a prescription for one drug to take the pain away and also help dilate the (for lack of the proper medical term) funnel of the kidney, so that the stones can become dislodged again should the pain return. Today I received the hospital bill, and honestly I couldn't believe my eyes: USD 45!!! All included. I hereby promise never, NEVER to complain about the 35 % tax I pay, ever again. I knew healthcare in Sweden was inexpensive, but this is just amazing. Take care guys and gals! CU! /John (18 onset, 26 diagnosis, 39 years old now) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn