Ol'cs and Grant for your responses...

...ol'cs...so much good information in your response. I found your thoughts extremely in interesting related to obsessive/compulsive behavior, i. e., not a horrendously terrible thing IF you are able to channel these toward things that are NOT of really great concern...that could NOT ultimately be of tremendous harm, e.g., in Doreen's case, spending money she really didn't have! As I read your thoughts about this, I actually smiled because I could see in myself an obsessiveness about being at the internet as much as I am...actually could be considered to be addictive, I guess so that this "ties in" perfectly with what you said. I thought it interesting, too, that you take small amounts of Mirapex from time to time which "says" to me that it's possible to do this occasionally, i. e., to take it this way even if one has stopped taking it for a period of time as long as it's in very small doses. Doreen has noticed a very slight swelling since re-starting the Mirapex, but unless it becomes more than slight, and she's reaping some benefit from the Mirapex, it would seem to me that minimal swelling should not prevent her from taking it.

...and Grant...first, let me say "welcome" to you.
It seems that you are taking the maximum dosage of Mirapex, i.e., 4.5 mg. 3x's daily...exactly the dosage that prompted her neurologist to wean her off it completely...but, I have often wondered if a reduction in the dosage might have solved the OCD problem while still addressing her symptom (tremor) Actually, this is the reason that I recently urged her neurologist to prescribe Mirapex again at a lowered dose...to see if that would still help her enough with the tremor while not causing the OCD.

....and I think it was Ol'cs who mentioned listening to the carepartner...oh, how true this is...and so many times Doreen has said that she only wished she could listen to me more than she does! I think I should "get this on tape" and just play it back to her whenever she is inclined to ignore my advice!!!!!

Thank you both, again, for your responses...very helpful.

Therese