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I live in Sydney, Australia and this is my first contribution to the list - please forgive me if I am too wordy. I have been reading (lurking) for a while now and very much appreciate the insight I have been given into my own condition by discovering what other fellow-travellers have experienced. I am 51 yrs old and was diagnosed with PD in 1992. The neurologist calls it hemi-Parkinsons because it seems confined entirely to the left side which means my biggest problem is co-ordination, or the lack of it. For 4 years prior to diagnosis I had been experiencing symptoms of toes curling down, jumping sensations in my legs waking me at night and a feeling that I was slowing down (attributed by my GP as side-effects of my diabetes). As a secretary I spent lots of my time at a keyboard and when the two outside fingers of my left hand began to slow down, giving me extra aaaaaaaa and sssssss in my work it was attributed to RSI by both GP and my Company doctor and I was told to slow down in my typing. When my left arm began to slow down and my hand sometimes became so claw-like that I couldn't straighten it without pain I was told I was vitamin deficient, but refused to take the multi-vitamins recommended, because I knew I wasn't - I've had diabetes for over 12 years and eat sensibly. By this time my GP was so tired of my persistence that there was something else wrong that he began to refer me to a multitude of specialists, physiotherapists, etc. He concluded that most of it was imaginary, but finally referred me to a neurologist who diagnosed me as soon as he listened to my symptoms. Of course I then had trouble accepting the diagnosis and it took me 24 hours to even take the first Sinemet-M (100/10) tablet. I took it just before going to bed and woke next morning after the first good sleep in years and thought I'd discovered a magic formula. I could use my left hand almost normally and the arm responded without my having to insist. Of course it wore off and I now have what seems to be common to most of the people on this list - a constant experimentation to see what works best for me and keeping to that until it doesn't work any more. I was medically retired by my company in Aug 1994 but still spend much of my time at a keyboard. I edit and produce a weekly church bulletin and a bi/monthly magazine which keeps my mind alert and up-to-date so that my readers are the same. I need to speak to and visit a lot of people and read widely for my resource material which keeps the rest of me quite active too. For a hobby I breed Burmese and Siamese kittens which are a constant source of fun, delight and smelly litter boxes. I have a very supportive husband and children and have much to praise God for, as well as hard questions to ask him. My current meds are: Sinemet 100/25 5x; Eldepril 5mg 2x; Mixtard 30/70(insulin)22 units; Voltarin (anti-inflamatory for arthritis) 2x; Lasix-M 20mg 1x + 1 Slow-K potassium; Cardiprin 100mg (platelet aggregation inhibitor)1x - I had a triple by-pass operation in Sept 1994. As a result of your discussions I have begun to take my Sinemet a half hour before meals, not with food as per the label on bottle. This works much better and makes the effect last longer - thankyou. I have read the discussions on Eldepril and have made lots of notes to take to my next Neurologist appointment in March. Someone wrote something recently about concerns re potassium (Slow-K) for PD people - is there any further information about this? Thanks for bearing with my long post. Dawn [log in to unmask]