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I was diagnosed in February 1999 and joined this list some months later having learned practically nothing viable about the disease up to that point. I knew diet mattered because I was on Sinemet but didn't really know how much protein was too much protein or the myriad other questions surrounding long term outlook, meds, diet, exercise, studies, all the kenesias, dysfunction, psychological effects, et al. I hungered for information and read everything on the list avidly, in a hurry to learn. I bridled at the non-PD messages considering them to be not just a waste of my time but also a waste of my opportunity to learn more about something which had me so scared and was threatening to ruin the rest of my life. I considered complaining to the list, asking for the non-Pd stuff to either stop or go off-list, but decided that I was too new; that it would be too presumptuous; and that it was up to the list sponsors to take action if they wanted to do so. Well, time has gone by. Approximately 6 months or so since I joined the list. I have had an appointment for a complete evaluation by Dr. Stanley Fahn, a big name in the PD business. I brought along a long list of questions for him to help me with and his conclusion regarding my knowledge of the disease was that I probably knew more than most Neuros who didn't specialize in PD. Be that as it may, I am far more comfortable with what is happening to me and what I'm doing about it and will do about it in the future than I was when I was first diagnosed and didn't even know the list existed. I am lucky. My disease is still stage 1 and I am fully functional on a day to day basis. I go to work, I go to play, and except that my neck bothers me a lot and I have some tremor from time to time, you would not know I have the disease if you didn't know what to look for. BUT EVERYONE ELSE ON THIS LIST IS NOT NECESSARILY THAT LUCKY. Which brings me to my point if you haven't deleted me by now. The list appears to serve a function aside and apart from its informational purpose. For some, it appears to be an outlet to vent frustration. For others, it appears to be a form of social outlet. For some, for all I know, it may be their only opportunity to converse with people who share their concerns or their only opportunity to converse period. Whichever function it serves, it would be and is selfish to not allow everyone to give to and receive from the list whatever they need. At the moment, I need only info. Maybe at some point in the future when the disease is more debilitating, I'll need more. So now, generally speaking, I take the info and except sometimes as a matter of curiosity or because someone doesn't state their subject correctly and I start to read, I use the delete key. I am significantly more tolerant of non-PD now and if I have stated my case cogently, so should you be. Regards to all Paul H. Lauer