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Margie's post about taking responsibility for your own care, especially if the doc is not listening/informed echoed something Peter and I just read in a book: "Living with Chronic Illness" by Cheri Register. She is herself a person living with "interminable" (her term) illness, and she stresses that a chronically ill person has a very different situation than one who has an acute illness. Doctors, she feels, often get stuck on curing things, as they would with a broken leg, and fail to appreciate the realities of chronic illness. She states, "with time and repeated experience you learn that being a good*chronic* patient takes more than passive compliance....you must have both a reasonable degree of knowledge about the illness...and a familiarity with how it is manifested in your unique and individual body..." Sounds like PD, doesn't it??? I'm sure she would second Margie's advice that you do n ot have to do something a doc suggests if you KNOW from EXPERIENCE that it will do harm rather than help. She adds, "(they) focus on curingthe ailment at its organic source, and recommend treatment without regard to the day-to-day quality of life of the long-term patient's life." Certainly you can't just write off what the doc says, but the suggestion of conferring with the family GP in this case makes sense if he is the one who will listen to your presentation of the facts....and perhaps become your ad vocate. Good luck! Camilla Flintermann, CG for Peter, 79/8, Oxford,Ohio [log in to unmask] * * * * * * * * * * * * * * "Ask me about the CARE list for PD caregivers!" * * * * * * * * * * * * * *