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Dear Group, This is a post about cranberry juice which I hope anybody who drinks, or has drank it in the past, will read. I have hesitated to mention it at all, because I did not wish to seem alarmist, or put people off a drink which many sources claim to be good for avoiding urinary infections. However, the group does exist on the basis of sharing information and one cannot be certain when a seemingly tenuous connection to PD symptoms may be significant, and when not. The power of this group is in the rapidity with which an observation or problem can be discussed with a large group of people. I would therefore like to share an observed effect of cranberry juice with you. You may well see an explanation in this effect, which I cannot. The objective, is to see if anybody else with PD finds, or has found in the past, a similar experience and if so, the explanation. Also, to be aware of the possibility in the future. This is the story which prompted me to write: When I was about 7 years old it was discovered that my left kidney had multiple stones in it. There were too many to remove without destroying the kidney. So, they let things stand as they were and just said drink plenty of fluids to keep it flushed out. 23 years ago, the left kidney finally packed up under the pressure and I had to have it removed, leaving me with just the right one. About 6 years ago I had a series of kidney/bladder infections. After they had eliminated things like prostate, they theorised that the reason I was not fully emptying my bladder on visits to the bathroom, was because the bladder had lost a little of its elasticity due to the increased fluid intake over the years. Fed up with taking anti-biotics every few months, I started drinking cranberry juice on a regular basis as I had heard that it helped prevent infections of the kidney and bladder. It probably helped, but could not be really certain because it did not cure the problem altogether. I drank 3 glasses a day (750ml - 1000ml in total). I drank it for about 18 months and remember joking with my wife, "If this stuff turns out to be bad for the heart, or something, I'm a dead duck! In Dec 93 when I was diagnosed, I was pondering the PD and the fact that it had apparently come "out of the blue". I suddenly became very suspicious of the fact that I had in the previous 18 months been drinking quite a lot of cranberry juice daily, and nightly before going to bed. It put me right off it and I stopped drinking it. Of course after that I took a turn for the best which naturally I attributed to Eldepryl and Sinemet. Point to note here, is that one of my worst symptoms at the time were my legs. Also, at first I was put on Madopar - and when that did not appear to work, I was then switched to Sinemet. This did not work at first either, but gradually I did recover full use of my legs. My first Neurologist remarked that it was curious that Sinemet worked better than Madopar as basically they were the same. Now I think, was it the change of drug, or was it the cranberry coming out of my system? Well, in Feb 95, I decided that my cranberry connection was most unlikely (my neurologist had never heard of such a thing) and decided to start drinking it again. I drank it daily for 3 weeks. Well, blow me if I did not start experiencing a deterioration (wobble) in my legs after about 10-15 days. I continued for a further 5 days to confirm, then stopped. 5 days later my legs returned to normal. I thought, "That's it, no more of this stuff!" and the rest of the cranberry hit the bin. Well, this year, on the 9th Jan, I decided to try some cranberry concentrate tablets. Why? Well, I thought there must be ANOTHER reason for the previous symptoms. Nah!, it COULDN'T be the cranberry! It was all coincidence. Also, after being on a nightly low dose antibiotic for just over 2 years I had stopped it on doctors suggestion to see if I could cope without it. I therefore WANTED the cranberry to work for me. Well, ten days or so after starting it - legs did not seem so good. I continued for 3 days to confirm it was not a freak and then stopped the cranberry. After about one week, my legs returned to normal. There was another symptom, a much more definite symptom. In bed, my arms, particularly my (most affected) right arm, would go to sleep. By that I mean like when you find that you have been sleeping on it in the night and the circulation has stopped. But, I had NOT been sleeping on it and it would go like that even if I was on my back and my arm was across my chest. A few days after stopping the cranberry, this symptom ceased. I then remembered that this symptom happened to me just after I was first diagnosed and then stopped. Now, I cannot say that cranberry CAUSED my PD, it seems most unlikely and I'm almost embarrassed to suggest it. I cannot even prove that it is the cranberry causing the wobble in the legs or the circulation in the arms problem, but it IS mighty weird and beyond coincidence now. The trouble is, it does not appear to be a swift or obvious affect. It does not appear as a measurable effect on writing, or whatever, soon after you drink it, or even the next day. It appears to be more subtle than that and builds up or down over several days. Thus it is easy to miss the fact that it is having any adverse affect at all. Maybe it is just me it affects? But why? Last month, I mentioned it to my new Neurologist (Top specialist in PD) and he almost snapped to attention when I mentioned it. He was VERY interested and said they are always looking for such observations. I have been lying awake at night worrying that, because I did not wish to appear silly by mentioning it to my group peers, some fellow PDer is unaware of a POSSIBLE contribution to their increased symptoms. I am only too well aware that there are many versions of PD, but surely I am not unique? Please don't come back to me with "I can't see anything in cranberry juice to cause this". I can't either! I am only reporting the effect. Please do keep records if you drink cranberry juice and write to the group if you notice anything. Please be aware however, that I found the affect on my symptoms took time to show and time to subside. Maybe if one drinks it only now and again, or in small quantities, there will be no effect at all. Sorry for the long post, I felt a full explanation was deserved. Ernie. Aged 53.11 diag 3.3yrs. Sinemet CR 200/50 thrice daily. Ernie Peters <[log in to unmask]>