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There may not at first sight be a connection between the two subjects which I have listed, but I think there is. Regarding the debate about doctors in general, and their evident shortage of in-depth knowledge of PD, I have considerable sympathy with their position. I have stated my position on this subject before, which is that the average General Practicioner (GP as they are known here in the UK), will typically have two or three PWPs on his books. It would be an impossible task for him to be aware of all the subtleties of Parkie medication, when he has so many other illnesses to cope with as well. One of the GP's main functions in these situations is to act as the 'Front Man' for the vast array of medical expertise which is our Health Service. In effect, he needs the intelligence to be aware that a patient may have problem (e.g Parkinson's), the humility to recognise that he may be out of his depth, and the knowledge to know who to go to for a second opinion. Yhis is how my doctor operates, and we get on fine. I go to see the neurologist, and between us we decide which tablets I should take. I then go to see my Doctor, whose approach is along the lines 'You're the expert on this subject; how many tablets do you need?' There is another aspect to this disenchantment with Doctors (GPs that is), and this is one that I have seen in operation with my own 89-year old mother. She has problems mostly stemming from poor blood circulation, and frequently accumulates an impressive array of tablets and potions, prescribed by her doctor. She may then have a minor problem, and the doctor decides that a few days in hospital is advisable, and the first thing that the specialist does when he makes his rounds of the wards is to sweep all the bottles into the bin and start again from scratch! I think it is as much my mother's problem as the doctor's, because both she and the doctor I think, feel that for an appointment to have been worthwhile, there should be some tangible evidence of the occasion, e.g. a bottle of pills. And so, over a period of a few months, she collects these tablets (and they are not just placebos), until someone with sufficient authority and confidence gets rid of them. The funny thing is, she always feels much better when the tablets are stopped! This brings me to Henry, and the remarkable array of tablets that his wife seem to have accumulated. She seems a formidable lady, and I can visualise her insisting on some sort of pills to counter the last lot of symptoms, which themselves may have been caused by some earlier pills, and so it goes. There is no simple solution. It is a four-way partnership between the patient, the carer, the Doctor, and the Specialist. Each one has a role to play, and the loss or exclusion of any one of them can be serious. Let us hope that Henry, with the help of his family, can restore the balance. Good Luck, Henry, Regards, -- Brian Collins <[log in to unmask]>