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At 19:52 1998/12/20 +1100, you wrote: >I have a patient who has come to me for advice and I am not sure >what to tell her. I would be grateful if I could get some suggestions >from the list. She is a 63 year old grandmother diagnosed 5 years >ago. She has asked me when she should tell some of her close friends. >She has some dyskinesia which is probably noticeable to some untrained >eyes. She is concerned about people making a fuss or being pitied. Also >she is concerned about gossip in a small community. > >John Levin MD hi john if your patient felt comfortable talking about her pd i suppose she wouldn't be asking for help; has she told her immediate famly? why is she uncomfortable? is she still in a form of denial about her diagnosis? are there elements of shame or embarrassment about 'weakness'? what is wrong with, [or scary about], 'pity' aka 'sympathy' aka 'empathy'? after five years of being able to conceal/control her pd symptoms she is having to face the fact that it can no longer be hidden [unless she keeps herself hidden] for whatever it's worth i have always told everyone i've ever come in contact with once the opportunity presented itself partly because i lived in an isolated location with no support groups but also partly because i wanted to help people learn more about pd while helping myself feel less self-conscious at the same time the 'psychosocial article' posted separately was written for medicos dealing with newly diagnosed parkies but i found it helpful and thorough from my 'lay-parkie' point of view too it's been posted on this list before but i'll take a chance and run it again [so labeled] for those who do not have wwweb access to our pd list archives at: <http://james.parkinsons.org.uk/> your patient's concern about 'gossip in a small community' with a little change in perspective could be transformed into her concern about pd invisibility = ignorance in a small community maybe she would like to join our tv-ready-list? regardless of whether she is 'computerized' or not she is our pd 'cyber-sibling' thanks to you and is no longer alone janet janet paterson - 51 now /41 dx /37 onset - almonte/ontario/canada [log in to unmask]