hi lurkingforcure,
It will be a year since my DBS in Nov. I am still trying to get DBS program fine tuned and meds adjusted accordingly. I developed sharp pain in my left lower back and a "pulling" pain in my left arm after DBS and this pain gets worse with increasing voltage to the right brain. one reason for this may be that the electrode is slightly off from STN (target site). My right side is doing great. I am hoping to get DBS programing to work for me, if not I might have to go for "revision" surgery to get the probe placed in the right spot.

Lately, I have been reading or hearing about nicotine patch quite a bit. I was very encouraged by a researcher's talk (lab expts, not human trials) on nicotine effects on brain and decided to give it a try. Nicotine has a great potential as a drug for PD, but I doubt if it will ever goes into clinical trials here. I suppose after 10 years of PD and lack of any new drug in the horizon, I am back to doing experiments.

Girija