Hi Curem,
I'm afraid that one of PD's persistent habits is to remind us constantly that it is there

Having said that sinemet still represents the so called 'gold standard' of treatment, and though for some there are big issues with it, for the majority of us it does represent a better quality of life, even with the difficult bits.

The statement from Dr Gupta is correct in it's essence, but for someone with no experience of PD treatments it could actually look quite scary. So you need to look at the whole statement, and the words like 'over time'. For the young onset person in their early 30's this means something completely different to someone who has late life onset, potentially 40 or 50 years, which is why finding a cure is so urgent, and even something that halts progression until a cure is found would be an improvement. Careful and well considered use of sinemet, for most, is not as problematic as it was in the past. Both doctors and patients have got better at understanding this, and so finding a good neuro who will collaborate with you is the ideal.

Symptoms can and do emerge as medications wear off and on, and are bothersome, but do not represent a progression of the disease, which is very slow. Finding your own personal balance is the big challenge, and takes time and patience.

But for now we have the drugs that are available, and there are emerging and valuable ideas on non-drug treatment of PD all the time, the best of which are exercise, and minimizing stress, which in themselves do not sound spectacular, but which actually reap many benefits. Cycling, Tai Chi, yoga, dance, aquasize and walking are all mentioned a lot, and some have scientific backup. Keeping on moving is essential and anything that helps that is good.........

Something I would also advise, especially as your PD is on your mind all the time is to find something you love to do, something you wished you had done earlier in life, or something you have an interest in but didn't have the time to pursue, and go for it! There are anecdotal accounts by many PwP that they can go many hours with no PD symptoms if absorbed in an activity they truly enjoy..........

If you look through posts on the forums you will also find that there is a crying need for patients like yourself who have not yet started on medication, for various studies, some of these do not entail taking medication, some do.

The value of participating in these studies is huge, and if this is something you feel you might like to do just ask, there are people here who know about how to volunteer for such studies, and where they are taking place. And please, if you feel this is not for you, do not worry about that either!!

As time goes on you may also consider advocacy - there are many thousands of PwP out there, many do not have or do not use computers, and so have less access to current information. There is something very special about doing things for other people, it takes you out of your own PD and can be a very real blessing.....

The main thing is that there is life after PD!

take care
Lindy