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Rosanne, I will try to give you some insight on young onset Parkinson's disease. I'm by no means an expert but living with and coping with Parkinson's Disease for almost 30 years after being diagnosed at age 21 I hope that I learned something. To begin with Parkinson with PD is not the end of the world. Being diagnosed at age 21 I didn't want to admit that I had the disease either but that was the wrong thing to do and I paid the price for about 5 years. The disease is slowly progressive and rest assured the symtoms don't hit you all at one time. I feel that getting it at that young age it might have been less difficult than some other age later in life. Each case of Parkinson's is different and affects people differently. I started out with a general slowdown in my everyday movements, balance problems ect. Over the years more symtoms surfaced including ridgity of the muscles, trouble with walking, more slowness of movent and difficulity in sustaining movement. I have never had much of a tremor but that is sometimes one of the more difficult things to deal with and I have found that a good attitude and good sence of humor is very helpfull in dealing with this disease. Over the years I have had to add more medication but you don't want to get too much because ther are side effects that you will have too deal with and I sometimes think that they are worse than the disease. Levodopa is the single most effective drug. Most PD patients initially respound to levodopa. The usual period of maximum response is said to be from 2-5 years although it varies from patient to patient. There may be some complications associated with long tern treatme nt, such as involuntary movements, daily changes in performance.. But at this point in my life I have learned to deal with Parkinson's in a positive manner and try not to let it get me down. It is not always that easy but all a person can do is try. I have been a support group leader for the past 11 years and I operate a Parkinson's information and education program as well as do in-service programs for the staff of nursing homes and hospitials. Not to blow my own horn but I was recently awarded a national award for my work with Parkinson's. (The Dr. Sidney Dorros Memorial Award) The best advice I can give someone with young -onset Parkinson's is to remain active, take one day at a time, exercise regularly and get active in a PD support group. I just recently finished a book on my life with Parkinson's and I am hopeing to have it published soon. I hope that this writing will give you some idea of what "young On-set Parkinson's is and what to expect as life goes on. If you have anymore questions I would be more than willing to try to answer them. P.S. There are support groups available and you could get information on one by contacting the American Parkinson's Disease Association at 1-800-223-2732, Parkinson's Disease Foundation at 1-800-457-6676, National Parkinson Foundation at 1-800-327-4545. Good Luck ! Regards, Russell Ahlstrom [log in to unmask]