Peter Kidd: I often think of you guys and wonder what you have decided re
pallidotomy. Surely the neurosurgeons in Halifax are doing that stereotactic
surgery now. Every medical centre in the states seems to have a programme
and more and more neurosurgeons are "training" to do it.
I am doing quite well thank you - it has been a year since I had a right
pallidotomy and so far my left side is ok - not perfect as I still drag my
left foot. However the tremor in my left leg and arm is gone - for good I
hope - time will tell. I'm not nearly as rigid but certainly could not dance
in the Winnipeg Ballet. I have not fallen or crashed into the furniture as
before, but my gait is not as smooth as it was for six months post-op, so in
order not to appear inebriated I walk with a cane again. I feel good and I
have more energy which I didn't have for years - I've been parkinsonian for
over 8 years.
Sinemet and I didn't get along well and I stopped taking it four days
after it was prescribed in l988 (controlled release Sinemet wasn't on the
market then) - and coped well enough. Started taking Deprenyl (1/2 tablet a
day) in l990 and found it good for relieving some stiffness for three years.
Then I went to Lauri Laitenen in Stockholm for a pallidotomy. My course
postoperatively is different than most as I wasn't taking anything except
Deprenyl and so did not experience dyskinesia. I had the whole Parkinson
Disease syndrome instead - I was a walking example of true unadulterated
moderate PD symptoms - rigidity, bradykinesia, loss of smell, facial
masking, balance and gait problems, drooling, shuffling, festination,
propulsion, retropulsion, micrographia, tremor, weak monotone voice,
difficulty with fine movement, lack of energy, off syndrome when I ate a high
protein meal, and freezing. After reading the above you may think I was
bed ridden or in a wheelchair - I wasn't. One can learn to cope with
moderate symptoms up to a point, then it is time for levadopa... or
pallidotomy.
My untreated right side progressed to a point of too much discomfort and
disability and I started on Sinemet CR 25/100 three times a day this year.
CR 25/100 is not scored (the 50/200 is scored) and I want to take 12.5/50 as
25/l00 is too much at this point. I don't like cutting the CR 25/100 in half
with a knife as it doesn't cut cleanly and I'm sure it looses some of its
controlled release properties. I read somewhere that Madapor CR 25/l00 is
scored and breaks in half cleanly. Even a scored controlled tablet won't
retain as much controlled release when halved as an intact tablet does, but
is better than having it crumble under a knife.
I know I won't be able to stay at this low dose levadopa so I am
beginning to think about getting a pallidotomy on the left side. Some
doctors say it is riskier, but Dr. Robert Iacono at Loma Linda University in
California has done several bilaterals with good results.
Please give my regards to Moira - and good luck re seeking out
pallidotomy.....Barbara Yacos <[log in to unmask]>
