Hi Pat,
Based on paragraphs 1 and 3 IMHO I'd say it's time to (at the very least)
consult with another neuro for a second opinion and maybe even get a third
opinion. I'm personally always on the watch for doctors who are more
'clinical scientists' than doctors. I once asked my obstetrician a question
about something or other and his response was a lengthy litany of scientific
study statistics with no regard for me specifically or the chance that my
thoughts on the subject amounted to anything. Another incident was when Jeff
went to a dermatologist many years ago for some problem. . .the doc gave
him some medication which he took orally as directed. The inside of his
forearms turned beet-red and burned/itched every time he took the
medication. When he called the doc to report the reaction the doc said that
was absolutely not related ('impossible' to be exact) to the medication
because studies have never shown a 'reaction' to that med; at the time Jeff
was not on any other medication. Jeff switched doctors. Jeff went to 2 or 3
neuros before settling on his current doc. With kind respect to everyone
here please remember you 'employ' doctors i.e. you have final judgement if a
doctor is helping you. If the doc comes up short in your judgement, there
are many others waiting to 'take a look'.
With regard to melatonin, all I can say is Jeff takes melatonin every night
and has had no negative effect.
Best Regards and Happy Thanksgiving to Everyone, Lisa Carper
>Thanks to all who replied and shared your experiences with CR. I checked
>my bottle, and it does say 25/100 CR. It is half of that I was taking.
>My neurologist thinks that wasn't enough, and suggests I need 3/4 or
>alternating 1 and 1/2. He thinks the day and a half trial wasn't
>sufficient for me to know anything, especially since I was experimenting
>with the dosage during that time. Unfortunately, when I called his
>answering service Sunday morning, the neurologist on call was not a
>Parkinson's doctor and advised me to stop taking the CR. I'd like to
>find a convenient time to withdraw from the world to try this again, but
>can't imagine when that will be.
>
>My neurologist had his students research melatonin, since I was
>interested in trying it for my insomnia, and he claims it's
>contra-indicated for PD because it makes the symptoms worse. No one
>seems to have experienced that problem, however, and I'd sure like to try
>something. He's also one of the researchers on the DATATOP study and
>isn't at all convinced eldepryl slows the diseas's progression for those
>taking sinemet. This contradicts most of what I read about it, though.
>He had me stop taking it last year because it gave me insomnia and he
>doesn't want me to take sleep medication. I agree with his philosophy of
>keeping meds to a minimum, but some of this is necessary and I find
>myself wishing he weren't quite so conservative.
>
>
>Since your response was so helpful, I'd like to bring up another
>problem. I'm a high school teacher and have been working for ten years
>after diagnosis. As you probably know, teaching is no picnic these days
>for healthy people, and I'm experiencing enough problems that tell me
>it's time to retire. My doctor disagrees, however, and feels I can work
>much longer. Therefore, he won't help me apply for a disability
>retirement and I'm not eligible for regular retirement for five more
>years. Like all of us, I'm concerned about the future, economically as
>well as medically, and feel I can't afford to sacrifice my retirement
>benefits by pulling out early. What to do???
>
>Pat Schark ([log in to unmask])
>
>
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