We lived with"Festus" a fawn-colored pug for over 15 years. A few summers ago we made the very difficult decision to have him euthanized. Because he had little raccoon eyes, my husband nicknamed him the "Black Masked Bandit." I think that is a good nickname for what we're discussing in this thread.

Parkinson's has to carry more ambiguity than all of the other neurological illnesses combined. First, you will have lost 75-89% of your neurons before that first twitch in your finger or foot dragging occurs. Second, doctors diagnose it by "observing" your symptoms. Third, I don't see very many scientist putting the pieces of the puzzle together.

I didn't have time to research this, but has anyone surveyed PWP to see if trauma preceded diagnosis? There surely is some work in psychology or Psychiatry that has done this.

I have often thought that the medication may be what continues the symptoms (but that's reserved for another long post).

Everyone knows that stress bathes our CNS with toxins, so why can't we bathe it in some chemical good for our brains?

Fiona - your misdiagnosis scares the #@!$% out of me. I am happy for your improvement, but hope you stick around to help solve this puzzle.
Peg