Hans.... Thanks for the input... I weighed the same 135 pounds for much of my adult life, including the first 18 years I had PD. I gained about 20 pounds within a couple of months after I had my unilateral pallidotomy in Oct. of 1994. The weight gain was almost visible - it happened THAT fast - and with no change in my diet or exercise habits since the surgery. By the way... I use little or no salt, tho always add a lot of spices to anything I cook (does that make me a "Spice Girl?") <grin> Errrrr.... since there's just me and my 2 cats here, I don't cook all that much any longer. Barb Mallut [log in to unmask] ---------- From: Parkinson's Information Exchange on behalf of Hans van der Genugten Sent: Thursday, May 21, 1998 7:25 PM To: Multiple recipients of list PARKINSN Subject: Re: gain weight Hello ladies, I couldn't find the messages you send about gaining weight after pallidotomy but I could remember they were send by ladies!!!! When I was in the beginning of my PD-life, in a few months to half a year I lost 16 kilos (from 83 to 67). After that period I slowly regained weight up to the normal of 80-83 kilos again. This took about a year and a half. Since then I have been reasonably stable. My point is, that "suddenly" appearing or worsening of PD might cause severe weightloss in a short time; and that perhaps a pallidotomy might have the opposite effect: gaining weight!! A suggestion that might help: salt-use. Some people start a diet without salt to loose weight. A side-effect can be that your bloodpressure drops. Since PWP sometimes already have low bloodpressure you should take that into consideration. (And also static hypotension!) You could try replacing the normal salt (NaCl) by kalium-salt (KCl). Considering the possible effects mentioned, you of course must first consult a doctor and a dietitian. Perhaps our list-dietitian Kathrynne Holden can give you a much more expert advise and usefull comments than my layman-remarks. Hope this helps........ Hans.