Happy 4th of July!

My story as of June 1, 2013 is this: I was taking SInemet/Carb/Lev 10/100 6 to 7 pills daily. I had tried several variations of this like adding Comtan, changing to Stalevo, etc. with little change. I had my annual appointment in late May with my Neuro and we decided to change from Artane to Cogentin. I had fully stopped the Artane without a substitute earlier in the year to try to identify why my symptoms were so pronounced compared to just a few years ago. My body wanted no part of quitting the Artane and I ended up taking it again in late March 2013.

I should state at this point my symptoms in order of importance:

1) Muscle tightness-this resulted in difficulty walking, eating, working; almost everything! I was reaching the point of going for DBS, for which I was approved for already. I literally did not want to leave the house for fear of what rebellion my body might present, or have a period of "OFF" time.
2) Apathy-I used to run several businesses I started without difficulty. Now I can't even open my mail. I have months of unopened mail in different piles of priority just waiting for my attention.
3) Unintended leg and arm movements-if I am watching a fight on TV I unconsciously "act out" what I see on TV. IF that's not bad enough my other arm and leg join in the fun. I end up sitting on my hand to stop it!
4) Morning Prep-Shaving and showering and towel dry are very difficult if I don't go immediately when I turn "ON".
5) Left side of body vs right side of body-My right side needs more help than my left side but once I turn "ON", one has too much and the other too little.

I went to my Neuro in May and he gave me my prescription for Cogentin so I stopped the Artane one day and started the Cogentin the next day.

Around this same time I woke up with a sore (very sore) back. I went to my Chiropractor but he was no help. So I started taking my historical mainstay of Flexerill and Motrin. I went to my family doctor and was given a steroid pill, identified earlier in this post.

It is now the 1st few days of June. I am taking the meds identified above when I notice I forgot my half hour SInemet/Carb/Lev dosage. But I also notice I feel...good! So it occurred to me to skip several pills, which I did. I was up the next morning and I felt great! Thus began a major shift in my meds: NO SInemet/Carb/Lev. I checked in with my Neuro and here we are some 30 days later! With no SInemet/Carb/Lev!

Here are the positives:

Absolutely no tight muscles
No problem driving
No ON/OFF time
No problem eating
No problem sleeping
95% of the time I walk normal type normal
90% of the time no shaking of the hand/foot

Here are the negatives:

Drowsiness
Slight memory loss (I don't forget facts, I just forget why I came to the kitchen
Possibly minor vision issues

So then, these are the facts. The last SInemet/Carb/Lev I took was on June 3, 2013. I FEEL GREAT! Every day I wonder if this will be the last day of freedom. I wonder if the relief is short-lived. But in my first days I was so happy to be liberated from muscle tightness, had it of ended there I would have been so thankful.

Anyway, here it is. Do with it as you will. But if it's as simple as adding Ibuprofen and Flexerill....

Consult your doctor. Always.

Jim