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hi all At 16:18 1999/09/17 EDT, sherry wrote: >I am a 47 year old female who has just been diagnosed with PD. So far >I just can use my left hand very well and get shakes when I try. My left >leg is also starting to get the jittery feeling. Also there is the problem >with rigid muscles which is the worst! I guess I don't have much to complain >about except lack of information.... waalll, i sure had lots to complain about when i was at your 'stage' and your symptoms sound identical to mine like i was scared to death before my diagnosis and kept my head in the sand for nigh on four years and then i was scared to death by my diagnosis due to my own ignorance [which is not to say i was 'to blame' for being pd-ignorant at the time] >The doctors (and I have seen many) don't seem to want >to give you any info... i wonder if they sense your fear and find it hard to deal with >I am starting the drug Mirapex and am having some difficulty >with nausea, but since the dose is still not enough I haven't >gotten any relief from my symptoms. Do any of you know anything >about this drug and what I can expect?... i haven't tried it myself but i have read of many studies where it has been found to be useful there is a ton of information about it in our list archives but i think levodopa is the 'gold standard' of medication for pd [so far] for good reason >I have read everything I can find on the web but >that is just too depressing... try this: The Young Parkinson's Handbook <http://neuro-chief-e.mgh.harvard.edu/parkinsonsweb/main/YOPD_Handbook/YOPD_ TOC.html> also, i recommend this for anyone newly diagnosed with pd: Psychosocial Factors In The Treatment Of Parkinson's Disease <http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Village/6263/pienet/words/nppsych1.html> and this for more 'meaty' information: Algorithm for Managing Parkinson's Disease <http://neuro-chief-e.mgh.harvard.edu/parkinsonsweb/Main/Drugs/ManPark1.html> >The doctors say don't worry you should have >many years of productive living... yup, [everyone is different, but] it's generally true after i was diagnosed, a friend told me about her mother's friend who had pd and was still going out bowling after 30 years [!] none of us has a crystal ball license not us not even our medicos >somehow I just think they must have told that to Muhammed Ali too >and we all know that he isn't exactly productive... aha! now we get to some of the core reasons for the fears tell those little gremlins that muhammad ali has a specific type of pd due to trauma and also that he has refused to take medication [which can alleviate many if not most if not all of the symptoms] has janet reno been incapacitated? or michael j. fox ? >What can I really expect? How long will I be able to >continue to work (I do accounting and use the keyboard >alot which is getting very hard to do)?... you can expect to be advised to learn as much as you can about pd knowledge = power ignorance = fear pd has been hidden away in the closet for so long due to shame and fear about 'showing' symptoms that there is ignorance on all fronts the most educated 'parkie' or 'person with parkinson's' likely will be the oldest living parkie unless i get hit by a truck >Should I be planning for assisted care soon? I know these questions are >unanswerable but I wish someone could give me a ballpark figure...say 5-10 >years before you will require help with daily chores ... or something!... no can do no crystal ball license here each one of us has a unique story of how we cope with what we have i stopped 'working' full time two years ago and am now on a disability pension and probably do just as much 'work' in 24 hours as i ever did! and this is year 13 or 14 since first noticing symptoms but your keyboarding ability - now that's critical! wait and see how mirapex is in dealing with that symptom if not successful, i know that levodopa will do the trick >I sure all of you went through this period of confusion. During the day >my husband and I discuss where we will put our backpacks on the next road >trip, at night alone in my thoughts I wonder where we will put my wheelchair. >My husband doesn't have a clue as to how bad this is, he just keeps saying >when you are better and I don't want to tell him I never be any better. >What do you say? Hey guy get real soon you will be changing my diapers!... i don't have anyone to change my diapers and luckily i don't need it [i won't even say 'yet'] at night, alone in your thoughts, is when the gremlins come out which is understandable you've had one heck of a shock with your diagnosis "chronic", "progressive", "incurable", "degenerative"... words to strike fear in the heart... but, heck, add "sexually transmitted" and you have a description of life with any perceived loss we have to take the time to grieve it which is why i recommend the 'psychosocial' article above your life has changed, no getting around it but that's what life is if we can learn to look at these crisis points as challenges to be learned from and not as punishments to resent or to fear we will become all the richer in my view i have 'lost' nothing since my diagnosis i have only gained rich rewards and blessings and being able to 'talk' with you is one of them janet janet paterson 52 now / 41 dx / 37 onset 613 256 8340 po box 171 almonte ontario canada K0A 1A0 a new voice: <http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Village/6263/> <[log in to unmask]>