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Alan,
 
Thanks for your very useful and relevant message.  i have experienced all
three of those situations, but never seen them so clearly explained
before.  The third, and potentially the most serious, occurs too often,
the most recent example being last night.
 
I was driving my son home (about 45 minutes away) after he had spent a
week recuperating from surgery at my house.  We had timed the trip to
coincide with his pain medication rather than mine, so I was off the
whole time I was driving and didn't turn on until after we had reached
his house.  I am well aware at these times of the desire to close my eyes
and sleep, so I consciously fight the tendency.  I didn't help that he'd
had nose and throat surgery which prevented him from talking and keeping
me awake.  I find it sometimes helps to grab a quick shut-eye in bumper
to bumper traffic or a long red light.  Sometimes I've pulled over for a
nap, but often the sleepiness leaves me when the car stops.  Weird!
Anyhow, it helps to know that this occurs at a particular time in the med
cycle; it's just not always possible to avoid it.
 
The falls, of course, are exactly as you describe them.  One minute
you're upright and the next you're sprawled on the ground wondering
"Huh?  What happened?"  Pramipexole has helped my balance somewhat; the
only fall I've had recently was my twisted ankle on Super Bowl Sunday
(before having anything to drink.)  Just carelessness on my part.
 
The second item was a real revelation to me.  I've had several rear-end
car accidents  recently, but never connected  them to pd!  Your
explanation makes a lot of sense, though.  I'll just have to be more
careful.  It seems that just navigating our way through a typical day
takes all the concentration we have!
 
Your message was so useful I plan to print it and send it to our APDA
coordinator to publish in our next newsletter.
 
I officially tendered my resignation from work yesterday, and have many
projects in mind post-retirement that will enable me to work around my
meds at my own pace.  One is to do research for WashU and the APDA, so I
will welcome any help in using the Internet for that purpose.
 
Regards,
 
Pat
 
P.S.  Haven't heard from BillH lately.  Have you?