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Dawn Roest: My name is Greg Leeman, I am 36 years old. I was diagnosed with PD in July of 1992. I first saw symptoms in the fall of 1990. It was during this time that I experienced difficulty in rehabilitating my right shoulder from surgery. As it turns out the shoulder problems could have been the initial symptoms. That would take it back as far as 1988. It may even trace back to 1985 when our receptionist noted that my gait had a peculiar limp to it. My initial symptoms were cogwheel rigidity, bradykinesia(slow movement) and dystonia (muscle cramps in my calves and feet). I have experinced very mild tremor from time to time. My condition effects mainly my right side. When you visti your neurologist, try to prepare all the questions you may have and bring them in writing. The usual course taken by a neurologist in handling young onset patients is to rule out other possibilities as to a diagnosis. This is because they have tests available for many maladies that have similar symptoms. If in fact it is PD my advice would be "one day at a time" and stay informed. If you select a neurologist whom does not specialize in PD you will probably be more intuned to the latest and greatest for potential treatment and a possible cure. I am more and more optimistic as the research chugs up the mountain to better days for all Parkinsonians. It is not as tough as you will first fear. At least not for me. I still workout with weights, drive and work a full schedule for a construction company. I hope this will help! Greg Leeman