Paula,

I think the answer lies beyond the treatment in terms of "Continuous pulsatile stimulation" (Google and Pub Med have loads of info), but I do have a very good article showing that this is not a new concept...it has been thought o for over 11 years now. I can get the full text to you; see my lengthy response under dystonia/ dyskinesia for more info.

Both DBS and Duodopa offer a solution to the problems of Sinemet. My question is why has this taken so long to develop (Duodopa was conceived of over 20 years ago)? Instead all this money and time wasted "exploring" yet another mysterious phenomenon that only PWP experience and myriad attempts at finding a drug to treat it when in essence all they are doing is trying to sell us on another drug to treat the side effect of another drug. Shows how risk averse pharma is.

Also, it is known that the more we take of a drug to toxic levels the more symptomatic we become. I am not sure how or why on this; my cousin, a nurse who would make a great doctor, told me this early on. I told her I had times when drug didn't seem to work and she cautioned me against taking extra doses for this reason. I have noted that the more Sinemet I take the more I freeze and the worse I feel. There is only one study I have seen that supports D0gma and what many others of us here have suspected long ago. I posted it long ago, but I think it is quite relevant here.

Novel pattern of levodopa-related motor fluctuations: ‘Paradoxical’ on

Patients found they felt worse upon dosing, and noted if they went 3-4 without meds they would go "on". Makes you wonder how much of all our recorded progression is not a reflection of med toxicity.

My insomnia is med related. I wake every 2-3 hours overnight when meds wear off-if that is not chemical dependency, I don't know what is.

Laura