What timing for you to have started this thread Laura! I'm trying to work through the decision myself and it isn't easy. My diagnosis came at the age of 27 just as I completed my residency in family medicine, so as long as I've practiced medicine, I've had the PD. Last year, 11 years after my diagnosis, it all came to a head. Between my career, 3 young ones to care for and a home to run, I found myself completely exhausted and overwhelmed. My husband (my ultimate support!) made me take a 6 month hiatus which made a world of difference. Surprisingly, the patients and staff were all very understanding and caring during my absence.

Ultimately I returned to work in March of this year and although I'm working part time and much less than I did previously, I find myself having more difficulty with the physical and mental stress that this career brings. The dilemma: give into that sense of responsibility and guilt (and caring!) that I have for my practice or change directions and find some other way to use my training. I just have this pervasive fear that if I continue to work then a few years from now I may look back and regret that when I was most productive, I didn't pursue other avenues, spend more time devoted to my young family and my own health. Does anyone else feel that way?

Sorry back to the questions at hand. I have been on and off Sinemet over the years and didn't really have much of a honeymoon period, perhaps 1 or 2 years. For awhile I found myself on escalating doses but when I reached 6 - 8 tabs per day, the dyskinesias, headaches, malaise and fatigue far outweighed any benefits. I then switched gears to Stalevo, Requip and Amantadine and on days I work I only need 1 or 2 Sinemet. On my days off, I can get away with none.

It's a truly difficult decision Laura and I agree with Linda that everyone is different and each situation unique. Life I guess is full of changes, many of them not easy. The decision about whether or not to work I think requires a change in mindset. Perhaps it's not so much an ending of a career but rather the beginning of a new phase of life.

Soania