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Hi everybody, I only found this discussion Group yesterday after searching for a long time. I am a 61 year old Parkinsonian. Been diagnosed appr. 4 years but had symptoms for quite a long time before. I am a member of the Newfoundland and Labrador Chapter of the Parkinson Foundation of Canada. Earlier this year, after having had no success in finding any group on Parkinsons, I was instrumental in starting the Parkinson SIG (Special Interest Group) at the National Capital Freenet in Ottawa-Carlton. It is my belief that there are many Parkinsonians, especially those whose speech has been affected by the condition, who would benefit from joining groups like this.I have already passed my discovery of this group on to others. We have in Newfoundland several Parkinsonians with computers and some of us are connecting up almost on a daily basis to chat. The need to be able to communicate is especially pronounced in Parkinsonians due to the feelings of loneliness, frustration and, what I call, general downiness. It is also important for newly diagnosed Parkinsonians to hear from others who have been living with Parkinsonism for a long time. You might have noticed that I have never used the word "disease". There is quite a movement afoot amongst us Parkinsonians to remove that word. The condition does not meet the criteria usually ascribed to diseases and there- fore should not be called that. Using the word "disease" in connection with Parkinsons makes healthy people shun Parkinsonians for fear that they might become "infected." Also, it was partly the word "disease" that was responsible for Parkinsonians trying to hide their condition, especially the tremor, for fear of being looked upon as "diseased people." So please, let us discontinue the use of that word and call it "Parkinsons." Having gotten that off my chest, I feel a lot better. So far I have been very fortunate in that Parkinsons has not affected me to a really significant degree. I have very little tremor, but considerable slowness in movement and, to a considerable degree, posture problems with back-pain being a serious byproduct of that. Also, my gait and balance have been affected to some degree. But all in all I am not too bad. I take Deprenyl, Permax and Sinemet CR, all at minimum dosage. Thats it for today and I hope I haven't bored any off you too much. Take care and all you PARKINSONIANS keep the chin up and keep on fighting. Werner Staubitzer <[log in to unmask]> Pouch Cove NF Canada