Hello, Curem, and welcome to Neurotalk.

Your message was interesting for a few reasons, one that you are new here! You don't say what other symptoms you have than tremor and some muscle spasm, and don't mention rigidity, balance etc, but as you have a diagnosis, I am assuming that you have some measure of them as well as possibly being slower than you used to be........ You also do not say how much your doctor told you about treatments, which fall into a few categories. If you don't know about these, here is a very incomplete and rough guide!

1. Levodopa based medication, of which Sinemet is the most well-known. But also Stalevo that combines levodopa with entacapone to make a med that gets to the brain more easily..... there are also other ldopa formulations of various kinds. These all replace dopamine

2. Agonists - they work by fooling the brain by attaching to receptors. Mirapex and Requip are the best known.

3. Neuroprotective medications that help protect the brain from further damage. There are lots of these, though nothing is proven.

4. A host of add-on medications

There is lots of info on all of these, probably too much! But lots of questions too and lots of discussion, because each of us is a snowflake, different. We respond to medication individually, and our condition can vary hugely from one person to another.

As you are not yet on medication I guess that was a personal choice, made with your doctor.

• You need to ask yourself how well you are managing your life.....
• Is there a big change from last year to this year?
• Are your symptoms bothering you a lot?
• Are you having to give up doing things that add to your quality of life?

If your answer to these is no then maybe you are not ready yet... If it is yes you need another chat with your doctor to discuss your options.

There is a lot of negative stuff said about sinemet, and in the past it has not always been administered and managed as well as it could have been. It is however much better understood these days, and for someone your age it should not be feared. It may not suit, but that is true of all PD drugs.......

Only you know whether you are ready.

If you do decide to get medicated this might be useful to remember that taking more medication may not necessarily make you feel better, what you need to do is find the balance that suits you.... your doctor should be able to help with this........

Good luck making a decision

Lindy