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My wife, Moira MacPherson, has been working on the following messages for=20 several=20 days this week. Working at a computer is not her favourite activity. Moira writes: =20 To everyone... belated good wishes for a harmonious and healthy 1995! I resolved to start January by filing my overflowing boxes of print outs=20 from this list and=20 decided it was about time I posted something myself. First, thank you and= =20 congratulations to Barbara Patterson especially and to all of the=20 contributors to this list. =20 The personal anecdotes, advice and research updates provide an incredible= =20 information=20 pool for small organisations such as ours (the Nova Scotia Division of the= =20 Parkinson=20 Foundation of Canada) and the list is growing so fast! I agree that=20 there is power in=20 knowledge, and also power in numbers - there must be some way we could use= our=20 collective energies! I should introduce myself and my family! My name is Moira MacPherson , I am= =20 an artist =20 of sorts and married to Peter Kidd, a freelance writer and editor. We live= =20 in Halifax with=20 my (our) two boys, Kelvin age 16 and Cameron age 11 (going on 12). I am 55= =20 and have=20 had Parkinson's for 16 years. My first symptoms came one year after the=20 birth of Kelvin=20 and Parkinson's was confirmed by Dr. Donald Calne exactly one year later. = =20 So , I was=20 late in starting a family and early in developing Parkinsons! Not ideal=20 timing - we are at a mid-teen trauma plus end of menopause phase with a lot of teenage years=20 still to come!=20 But no matter what....my family is my best medicine. Peter as husband,=20 father and=20 caregiver is the rock we all lean on and with his unflappable calm he can= =20 defuse just about=20 any crisis from "...how can I get dressed when there is no clean laundry...= =20 anywhere in this=20 whole entire house..." or......."Yo! How do you like my new earring...think= =20 I'll get the=20 next one through my nose!" or, as he walks in loaded down with grocery=20 bags... "Peter ,=20 could you defrost something - anything , I've been 'off' for hours and I=20 invited M.......for=20 supper and Cameron has to eat before scouts and Kelvin will be starving when= =20 he gets=20 home from soccer.....and... do you think I could have a cup of tea.? = =20 I will admit that there is some stress involved in being the emotional link= =20 between three=20 strong willed, independent males, but I would not be here without them.. A thought re Parkinson's and meds: I don't have too many helpful hints to=20 pass on -- most=20 issues and ideas have been covered already! As far as my own side effects=20 and symptoms=20 are concerned, I have been on a fairly well-controlled "plateau" since=20 August when I=20 started taking Zoloft (50 mg daily). The "down side" of Zoloft seems to be= =20 increased=20 fatigue and weakness. Anyone else have any other side effects? Extreme fluctuations continue to be my biggest problem over all. A good=20 "On," on a good=20 day, and I am close to normal. Most days, I have just one really bad "Off."= =20 Providing I=20 have had enough sleep (a lifelong problem), I can keep going through the=20 other lows. I=20 have bad spells, just as we all do, and days when I can hardly get out of= bed. I try to keep to a definite schedule for mornings -- I'm usually awake by=20 5:30 (1 x 100/10=20 Sinemet + 1 Elderpryl. + 1 Parlodel), up and dressed by 6 am (1 x =20 100/10S) and, =20 providing the temp. is above -15=B0 and there is not much ice, I go out= and=20 help Kelvin=20 deliver his newspapers! Early morning is easily my best time - even dark winter mornings, if its=20 clear, the stars are=20 so bright or fresh snow with no footprints, and the winter sun snaps at the= =20 horizon like a=20 fire breathing dragon... But seriously, if I get my whole system going first thing in the morning I = =20 have a better,=20 more predictable day. The balance of pills are spread out with the last CR= =20 at 11:30 pm.=20 Daily total 4 or 5 (I'm trying to cut back) 100/10 S., 4 CR 200/50, 4 x 2.5= =20 mg Parlodel, 1 x 50 mg Zoloft, 1 Symmetrel and 1 Eldepryl. To Alan Bonander... Alan...your contributions are invaluable. I am so impressed with how much=20 you are able to=20 tell us. You are also very wise! I appreciate your attempts to get our heads= =20 out of our=20 pillboxes and our brains focussed on wider horizons including the emotional= =20 and the=20 artistic.=20 I worked in the theatre in Jamaica and Vancouver, including tour booking,=20 and have some=20 ideas about getting Halifax's Neptune Theatre to inquire about availability= =20 of the Redgrave=20 script.=20 To Barbara Yacos... Just read your letter to David and Aviva and felt this strange rush of =20 'deja vu' and =20 flashbacks to the spring of '91 ...92....? What if we had gone to China! = =20 I wonder what=20 we would be doing now.. Oh well! =20 You sound very upbeat and sparky in this letter as if you had crossed a=20 bridge or won this=20 round. Are you winning the battle with RLS ? I can only guess how = =20 miserable it=20 must feel. I occasionally experience an under the skin creepy crawling =20 sensation just as=20 Sinemet kicks in - two or three minutes and I am ready to tear up the= sheets! Oh, have you tried acupuncture ? I imagine by now you have tried=20 everything. Re Dr. Iacono..., Oh, I am so glad his star is rising! He is one of the few= =20 genuine healers.=20 I'm still a fan. One way or another, I'm going to get to California. We are= =20 still hung up=20 here with the question of out-of-province coverage, but...where there is a= =20 will, there is a=20 way! I feel there is a big gap between how physicians measure improvement and how= =20 patients=20 see themselves after such therapy as pallidotomy. It is hard to find=20 researchers who are=20 scientific and sympathetic.=20 Are you going to consider taking Zoloft? I will be very interested to hear= =20 how it goes. A=20 number of Parkinsonians here in Halifax have started Zoloft after having=20 watched a video=20 of a talk by Dr. Iacono at Riverside, California. Did Elaine ever send you= =20 that tape? Finally, best wishes to all 400 plus on this list. If I can answer any=20 questions about=20 Parkinsons and having babies, I will try to help. [Cameron was the first=20 officially registered=20 Parkinsonian birth in Canada and he is just what you would expect in 11 year= =20 to be!] Peter J. Kidd Learning Materials Consulting Services Phone & Fax: (902) 443-4262 Email: [log in to unmask]