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This from my wife, Laureen: Hi Rick, I was diagnosed in 1996 when 45 years old. In 2007 I had dbs being I was the perfect candidate--no dementia and tremor dominant. Also, I always responded well to Sinemet--at least for 3 to 4 years --then the dyskinesias started. They got so bad, I can't stress this enough. I was miserable all the time--couldn't wait for meds to kick in to relieve tremors. Then I couldn't wait for meds to wear off as my head and neck jerked so bad from the meds. Since dbs I have no dyskinesias and take very little meds-requip. As others have observed, it is difficult knowing what is due to pd, dbs, or meds. All I can do is share my experiences. I've been a professional musician since age 16--singer, pianist and organist. Since pd, I played at a church here in town from 1995 to 2005 but then I began making too many mistakes. One of the worst ones was I played the introduction to a hymn-like normal--but my right hand was in a different key than my left! Also, I noticed much less coordination between right and left side and loss of flexibility in hands and fingers. I left out lots of fast notes to be able to keep up a good tempo. Over all, dbs has been good to me. I have not kept up with playing though so it's hard to say if dbs helped my technique. I suspect that just ridding myself of dyskinesias had to improve my playing! I have a goal now to break out the music and see how well I play today! I'll write when I think of something else to add. Laureen Scott E. Antes Northern Arizona University Department of Anthropology PO Box 15200 Flagstaff, AZ 86011 ________________________________________ From: Parkinson's Information Exchange Network [[log in to unmask]] on behalf of Rick McGirr [[log in to unmask]] Sent: Saturday, February 23, 2013 4:16 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Musical people with Parkinson's Hello, everyone. I'll start with a re-introduction, since I've mostly been lurking the last few years. My name is Rick McGirr. I was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2001 and have been a perpetual pill-popper ever since. I don't know how many different drugs I have tried, but it has to be at least a dozen. I presently take Sinemet 50/200 and Stalevo 150 mg three times per day, and Parcopa as needed, most typically when I am in the middle of my more active days. I also take vitamins and fiber supplements. And how could I forget those wonderful anti-depressants? I would like to strike up a conversation among those of you who might classify yourselves as musicians at any level, amateur or professional. I am a lifelong musician, and have been playing piano and other keyboard instruments professionally since graduating from high school in 1971. I developed my playing to a high level, and have had a certain amount of my skills taken from me by PD over the last ten years. I continue to play in public, but I don't move as much equipment, or play as often or as far away as I used to. My motives in starting this conversation are to compare notes regarding the ways PD affects your musicianship, to talk about difficulties peculiar to musicians with PD, to learn what techniques and accommodations you use in the process of performing in public, and especially to meet musicians who have undergone DBS surgery. I'd like to hear what you musicians have been through, what you found about your technique and musicianship, and I'd like to find out if having the DBS surgery has helped you regain some of your musical skills. As my symptoms continue to develop and become more difficult to deal with, that little voice that's always in my head speaks a little louder: "You could always go for DBS!" I feel like I still want to wait a long time before having this procedure, just to keep myself from suffering any of the discomforts and known side effects of DBS, but here is where I could use your input - am I being too cautious? Is there a big payoff in your musical abilities which resulted when you had the surgery? Are you less than totally happy about the effects of DBS surgery on your musicality? If there was initial improvement, was it followed by more improvement, or has your condition back-tracked? I appreciate your consideration. Thanks in advance for your replies. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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