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On the subject of taking the drugs prescribed by your doctor, I believe strongly that the ultimate decision about whether to take the drug rests with me. The doctor, when he writes the prescription, is saying 'If you want to treat this symptom, I recommend that you take this drug in this quantity.' I usually treat this as a challenge, and try to make do with less, but that's just my suspicious nature. I regard Eldepryl rather differently, and must disagree with Jerry Starr. As a long term Parkie, I saw Eldepryl come in on a wave of enthusiasm when the designer drug MPTP was discovered. (If you were exposed to MPTP while taking Eldepryl, you should survive intact),but no-one really believes such an exposure to be common or even likely. The response ofthe Pro-Eldepryl camp was a new argument: that it prolonged the effective life of Dopamine. I haven't heard of anyone actually backing off their Sinemet when taking eldepryl. In the against column, you have the not-yet disproven concern about Eldepryl and Levadopa, and the possibility of a higher mortality rate. and the lurid dreams and sleeplessness, which I believe to be caused by the production of Amphetamine as the Eldepryl breaks doown. This is where I draw the line: My attitude is" They can mess about with my brain, but my mind is my own, and hands off!" The difference may be trivial to some, but although I have not always been able to stick to it, I continue to do as much as I can to preserve the essential 'Me', and running around pepped-up on Speed is not part of me. (Oh alright, maybe I exaggerated the speed effect, but there is some element in it.) Regards, -- Brian Collins <[log in to unmask]>