Kaathie - > >I don't see how we can criticize anyone for saying NO to sinemet, >considering the long term potential risks. Especially a 45 year old man with >40 years of PD to look forward to. I don''t think Charlie was criticizing your friend for choosing to say NO to Sinemet, per se. I interpreted his point to be that if one makes that choice, it's not reasonable to expect social security to pay for it, when there are so many people so badly in need of help, and so few social security (and medical care) dollars to go around. Certainly we are all free to make our own choices, but it is incumbent upon us to recognize the consequences of those choices. Charlie, forgive me if I've misinterpreted what you meant. I might also add, from a personal point of view, that my husband was diagnosed at 37, and was able to continue working for 13 years after diagnosis with the help of Sinemet. Had the surgeries he had a year or so ago been available earlier, he might even have been able to continue working longer, and would have counted himself the luckiest person in the world. Different strokes for different folks. Warmly, Margie Swindler [log in to unmask]