At the beginning of sinemet therapy; the honeymoon, means smooth, well co-ordinated response to the effects of Dopa. Then we get what we cant control; dyskinesia and dystonia.
The average time that a PWP can handle a job after diagnosis is averaged at 5-6-7 years before they are legally disabled and working and fighting the disease is too much. SSDI now accepts PD as an incurable, debilitating disease, so you shouldn't have any problems there, but like I've said a thousand times , and i'll say it a thousand more if i have to, every young PD victim, get ALL the insurance you can before the dianosis is made. This tiny bit of information could be the ticket to a "life after PD" that is tolerable at least financially. If you just hit this post right now and are thinking that you might have ANY neurological disease, get covered quickly as you can , while the answer to "do you have parkinsons disease" can be honestly answered "NO"
Now to you wendy s. WE had great discussion in the archives about how to deliver a constant amount of Dopa, using sinemet tablets. Many of us found that crushing the tablets and chowing that mixture down gets you going in 15-30 min. well, that perhaps works the quickest by oral route, there's not much finesse at all is there? That's why the quick action of an oral dose of chewed sinemet demand sit gets into the system quickly. Crushed sinemet is practically tasteless so you can dissolve your days ration in say a bottle of apple juice, and take as needed every 15-30 minutes. This has proven to be different than sinemet CR, because it's patient controlled, you get a good "feel" as to how much and when you need to take dopa (shake before using).
AS far as the mirapex goes, quite a few of us find it as benefitial co-therapeutic along with dopa; and a lot of us don't. It's probably better than ReQuip (however some PWP really take to reQuip, you have to try it. The lesser potentcies of Amantadine and a number of adjuncts to sinemet have to be tried out one by one, to determine your optimum response from the optimum choice arrived only by trial and error. That means a lot of fiddling with PD drugs. YOu'll get it right, but it takes awhile.
And retiring? After 35 years you've given to the world more than it's given to you. Go for it! you can't take your 401k with you cs