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>From Jim Stokes jupiterjim@aol I have been a "lurker" here for a year and a half and have accumulated four floppies worth of information about Parkinson's , one of which is dedicated to pallidotomy and its results. I have privately contacted people on this list for some reason or other but I never have contributed. I am a 58 year old who was diagnosed in 1987, after trying hypnotism and acupuncture to eliminate a tremor on my right side because I was to young to have Parkinson's. I started taking Sinemet fairly quickly to control the tremors, since I am still employed . I required 4-5 CR 50/200 and a couple 25/100's to keep them under control. I have endured what you have endured, shaking so much that a fork flew out of my hand in a restaurant, unable to sign my name to a contract to buy a car (stress), etc. The little "monkey" on my back had grown into a gorilla. The WSJ article on 2/22/95 started my search for solution through pallidotomy. I wrote to Loma Linda and Emory , receiving encouragement from both. I responded to California , sending video and was put on the list. I signed up for America on Line in order to enroll in this list server and go into the internet to obtain info from various parkinson sites . There is a wealth of information out there. As time passed, more facilities began to offer the procedure. In Florida there are now 5 places that conduct pallidotomies, one within 20 miles of me. The neurosurgeon, a classmate of Dr. Ianoco, has been very successful with those his team have conducted. I spent time with an acquaintance before and after he had the operation here and the difference was amazing. So, I decided to have the procedure conducted in the Sunshine state. Since I am working for a corporation which provides "managed" medical care to its employees, I spent the last year and a half educating the administrating insurance company and unloosen the grip they had on the money. It took intervention by the chief executive officer of our large conglomerate to put pallidotomy on the list of covered procedures. The insurance company will save money in the long run, since they also provide our disability coverage which I will not now need. I don't know what started the decline in dopamine production. I am not diabetic. My wife of 35 years and chief caregiver suspects that chemicals in paint remover used in a furniture refinishing project about 25 years ago started the decline. So Thursday , May 30, I had a unilateral pallidotomy on my left brain. I was groggy through most of it but I responded to the surgeons questions. I recall sneezing 4-5 times, I believe when the probe was in, which I didn't do before or after. It was a complete success, my tremoring, flopping right arm is dead still. I still have a slight tremor on my left side, which will increase with time. Maybe new procedures will be discovered before this reaches an unacceptable condition. I am now determining how much and when medication should be taken to control the left side. It has been a long time since I felt this good.