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>Date: Thu, 02 May 1996 22:12:34 -0500 >To: [log in to unmask] >From: Vesta Buetow <[log in to unmask]> > > I would like to thank everyone who gave me help and good advice. It is really good to know one is not alone. > My husband has always been a pessimist--his glass is always half empty while mine is always half full--and having PD is no help. > Do your patients have problems thinking straight some times? We were farmers and Art still wants me to do something with calves in the middle of the night and we now live in town. He relates with TV too much and it is hard to find a program he can watch that does not become living real--even a western with John Wayne! > He is also on a drug called Clozaril which is an anti-hallucinator most successfully used with schizophrenics. Before he took this medicine, Art would beat the bed trying to kill the bugs. > Clozaril is a very highly controlled medicine that affects the white blood count. Art has blood drawn every Tuesday, the blood is sent to the lab at the local hospital and the results are faxed to the pharmacy and the doctor. If the count is 4.3 or above then on Wednesday I am able to get 7 pills for the week. The next week the same thing happens and again I get 7 pills. The control is coming from the company that produces the drug. The doctor says it is because they are afraid of a lawsuit. If the blood count is low, I cannot get the medicine for 4 weeks! > His only PD medicine is Sinimet CR and he takes this 3 times a day. He was also on Eldepryl but when we did not notice much difference, the doctor stopped it as it was a very expensive medication to be doing little or no good for Art. > We take advantage of the Home Health services of the local hospital. Art gets a bath 3 times a week as well as the nurse coming to draw blood. We also get meals on wheels which is a big help. > I am classified as totally bionic--I have 2 artificial hips and 2 artificial knees--all surgery needed because of advanced Osterarthritis. I get along fine but I need lots of exercise. So I get it in the form of Water Exercise Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. I lead the group at 8:00 every morning and I have a lady come in to stay with Art. It is my only time to be with others and I need that as much as I enjoy it. > Thanks for letting me get so much off my chest. I will wait and watch to "hear" from more of you > > Vesta >