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Nita:

I have resisted joining in on the pre-curser symptoms discussion because my
father has been diagnosed with MSA, not "regular" PD.  However, your
question about anemia really strikes a chord.

In hindsight, Dad seems to have had many of these pre-dx symptoms.  He
lived on Mylanta due to chronic constipation.  His right shoulder was
visibly dropping.  He first saw a doctor when he began to feel unusually
tired.  This really bothered him since he was a very serious athelete.  The
heart work up showed nothing, but blood tests showed an iron deficiency.
Iron pills didn't help.  He had to go through the upper and lower GI series
as they looked for signs of internal bleeding, but nothing appeared.
Finally, after nearly a year of tests and declining abilities, the GP gave
him some sinemet to try.  That didn't help much, except to cure the
constipation!  We have continued to chase the doctors, take tests and try a
myriad of drugs for another year & 1/2, finally arriving at the MSA
diagnosis.  Meanwhile, he still has an iron deficiency which is not
responsive to iron supplements.  Go figure!

Jane Koenig
Marietta, GA
(daughter of Fred, 80/1 1/2)