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Barbara, Thanks for the welcome,I have been a subscriber previously, but unsubscribed when we moved from Western Australia to Alice Springs. Since coming here I have been running around trying to find a doctor & Neurologist, have now found both and have an appointment to see the Neurologist on 27th September. I am 53, PD diagnosed 5 years ago. For the past 4 years I have lived in a town 500km’s from the nearest Neurologist and have had lots of problems which a very caring doctor tried to help me with but somehow whenever I did get to see the Neurologist the problems were different as I had worked at trying to overcome them. I would try to explain what had been happening over the previous 6 months or so but all these problems were never present at the time of appointment. I always felt relaxed whenever I went to the Neurologist as I felt that help was finally within reach. Result was usually an alteration to the medication times/dosage etc. The consultation usually ended up with me in tears, I think of frustration because I would now be going back home where everything would be chaotic again (PD wise) and I would be back to where I started from. 2 hours sleep a night, no matter how much exercise (physical & mental) I did during the day, constantly nodding off whenever I sat down but heaps of energy as long as I kept going. Confusion (my mouth & brain never in unison). Suddenly answering a question that I had been asked days before but had no revelance to the the present time. (fortunately I had very understanding friends) The anti-depresants didn’t give me any more sleep, just made my brain fuzzier, constant nausea, so more pills were prescribed to counteract this. (what a mess). I hated going to bed anyway as it was so painful and stiff to get myself out of bed, even after only a couple of hours. Last January I somehow managed to run my car off the road. I decided that enough was enough so took matters into my own hands and went off all my medication. At this stage I was on, Sinamet, Sinamet CR, & Parlodel. After about a week I felt terrific, the brain was becoming clearer, the stiffness was disappearing, I was getting more sleep and even able to get out of bed without assistance. However the tremors were returning and I knew I had to go back on the medication. I decided to just take the Sinamet. The dose I had been prescribed was 1 Sinamet 100/25 on waking, then 1 Sinamet CR with my breakfast about 2 hours later, followed by 1 Sinamet CR every 4 hours during the day . 8am, 12noon, 4pm, 8pm. so this is the dosage I resumed. This was great, I felt I was back to being part of the human race again, no backache, clear head, 7-8 hours sleep at night and heaps of energy during the day. 4 months later, during May, it appeared that we would be going to move about the end of June, and as I needed another prescription for the Sinamet I went to see my doctor. He just stared at me in unbelief (as though I had returned from the dead) as he couldn’t believe ‘how well I looked’. I told him what I had done, he threw up his hands in horror and after a great deal of discussion he decided that if it worked why not stick to it but maybe it would only be short lived and I should get an appointment with the Neurologist to confirm this. As I was unable to get an appointment before we left at the end of June, I was advised to get an appointment with another Neurologist when we were settled in our new home. We arrived in Alice Springs at the beginning of July (1500kms from Adelaide in one direction and 1500kms from Darwin in the other.) A neurologist comes up here from Adelaide every three months and as luck would have it I have secured an appointment with him. Every thing is still going fine although I have discontinued the Sinamet 100/25 in the morning as I seemed more jerky an hour after taking it than I was upon waking. A couple of weeks ago I thought I was having a gall bladder attack, spent all night walking the floor with the pain, ( I had my gall bladder out 15 years ago) ended up going to casualty at the hospital. I have now had blood tests, x rays, ultra sound etc, which fortunately revealed nothing sinister. My doctor feels that it was probably a panic attack caused by my move and frustration at trying to get this appointment to see the Neurologist Also a good meal of Lasagna with Bechamel sauce & chips with sour cream and chives, ( This is not my normal diet as I have been trying to get my weight down.) probably didn’t help either. I am looking into the possibilities of starting up a support group here if I can find enough people who have PD. The opinion of people I have contacted is that when one gets medical problems like this it is preferable to move to one of the big cities. As this is not an option for us for at least the next four years I must get on with my life and take each day as it comes. I have not been in paid employment since 1991 when I took a redundancy package thinking that my problems (diagnosed at that time as depression ) would go away. I do keep myself busy however, I ‘work’ at the op shop 4 days a week and am a volunteer for Prison Fellowship who have been manning the visitors' centre on Saturdays & Sundays since the new jail opened here three weeks ago. As a Christian I am convinced that ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me’. Pam Matthews. c/o [log in to unmask]