yep harley I remember you jayne you helped so many , and my darling sis who always helped anyone she could no matter how crappy she felt TOADIE I cant beleive so many years have gone by but like othere i lost the will to argue with some and and listen to arguments by others and needed to get on with my own life that had it's own problems that were mine and not open for public display, but i think a 5 or 6 year breather will do LOL havent had any time to read many of postings yet but will try to catch up a little so I don't sound like someone without the 12 years of pd experience behind me and see just whats going on here toadie I'm going to be setting up a new hotmail addy and will put it on as soon as can miss our long chats and my LOrdy that boy sat on my couch and ate burgers and took some home (he's was still growing LOL ) jennie i cant beleive you got some good ones hon Sorry to everyone if i'm directing to much too toadie but we were like sisters for a long time and she helped me when i really needed it. Be back soon and Toadie hope your doing well peeked in plwp on your journal many times and left a few short notes but missed you a lot so talk to all soon and good to hear fromyou all

I'm also a long time gone and I'm not sure this is going to the right spot!! I recognize quite a few names here---Jaye, Toadie, Harley, and more. I'm at 8 years dx with Parkinson's. I have a very slowly progressing form of PD and for that I'm very grateful. I also have NHlymphoma, dx 13 years ago, with 1 relapse 4 years ago. And lately, I've developed a nasty case of psoriasis, which has occupied much of my time the past six months. I'm doing light treatments for it and it's slowly responding to that. I have done some traveling and seem to keep busy with all sorts of things. I just wanted to connect with some familiar names and to get an idea of what people are doing/experiencing/etc.
Mari-Mari

Hi mari glad to meet you not sure if this is the right place for your posting, only because peeple who dont know me probably wont read this thread, I;m way to long gone lol but glad to see you posted in css thread as it is much more read than this one. Sorry about all the rotten luck your having and hope things get better for you my daughter has psorias and lordy it can be painfull, thankfully she gets cream that takes care of most of it since it tends to be more on her face then anywhere else well take care and y0u will be hearing from me LOL sorry hehehe

am i brain dead you know i'm not good with computers but where did the pictures go are they there and i just cant find them ray tried too agggggggg dam computers lol I got my old email addy back it s sheltie70@hotmail so go ahead girl send them again hope its ok to put my email out here if not cya all soon lol

Hi All,

I felt a musical reference in the title (look up, for those with severe clognition) would be appropriate, since a lot of the old MGH "fun" threads were about favorite songs, books, foods, etc. Well, anyway, welcome back Dona, and hi to everyone AJ and I (yes, she is still putting up with me) know and don't know here that have chimed in on this thread. The welcome sign above tells me I haven't looked in since 11-27-06 - has it been that long? There was a time at MGH when it was unusual if a day went by without at least a look-see. And seeing so many familiar names, and new ones, reminds why. Seems this is still a great place (even with a new name and site owner) to hang out and help out and find out. I'll try to drop in more often in the future. So welcome back Dona, it's good to read your voice again.

Greg (and AJ agrees)

And if you'll excuse the bad manners, just a couple of PS's to folks I owe a note or an explanation or a letter to:

Jaye - we are going to PAN, we will call you pronto -still haven't made plane reservations, but we will be visiting if the invite is still open.

Michael - I still owe you the other half of an IM conversation - no excuses from me, but I will steal AJ's computer and find you on yahoo.

Toadie - My God, Chris is 6'8"? And I thought he was tall when we met in NY in '99. And Jennifer is even more lovely than I remember her. Hi to Johnny. And I hope you don't mind perhaps seeing your name in print in the not too distant future (fingers crossed).

good to see your name on my thread been a very long time since we butted heads LOL we had a few really good goarounds back then but we always stayed civil and tried to see the other ones point of view and if more people in the world did that it would be a much better place to be. and no problem at all with you saying hi to everyone here i just hope they read it take care of yourself and keep on keeping on and say hi to aj I'm so glad i found this place its really really been a long time gone and it feels good to be back

I do reflect on how active, even pulsating, the forum was to me four or five years ago Is there ever a way you can bring back the past? Today the forum is vibrant and dynamic for new faces, new names. While that too will probably pass for the new guys, I do envy them.

So what happened to all the former regulars? Greg and Aj, are you back in California? Jay, 50 pounds! Wow! Did you stop Mirapex, and if so, did you replace it? I wish I could 86 the Mirapex, but my restless leg syndrome won't let me. Michael, Michael, Michael. Why aren't you piquing my indignation at this or that as you once did? I still read posts from you, Paula, Peg, CS, (excuse the capitalization. Still teaching mechanics and I can't help myself.) Chasmo - I still remember way back a post you wrote on a school experience. I loved it. So many others, whose input helped me.

However, that was then and this is now. It has been five years since I retired from fulltime teaching in an urban setting and joined what I call the American Idle. After a year, I went back to teaching on a very, very limited schedule. I continue to decline (like who isn't!) but slowly rather than rapidly. In a way, I feel like I am on the smooth and slow feed to Niagara Falls, and we all know how that turns out. It is still scary to contemplate the future.

The postings on this new forum are definitely information rich with a backdrop of very few conflicts. However, in a way I miss those conflicts, because differences aired helped me grow. Maybe everything has been said. At any rate, I do check in sporadically and appreciate this outlet.

Ann

Hi, Ann. What a remarkably evocative post! Still, I can't agree that all is lost, or that one is better than the other. Always the teacher, always bearing the responsbility of grading your students' efforts--it must be a comfortable garment. One thing I like about the new state of affairs is that you are more free than ever to just be Ann. Now I've challenged you, and we can argue. Seriously, your sadness called me to offer a view from a different angle.

As for dealing with all the new people, a sincere suggestion, which I'm aware you didn't request, but which I offer as a band-aid, is to call up all of a particular person's posts (for our readers: click on their name to get a menu) and then read them all at once. This is how I get to know someone I want to respond to when I've been away for months. Or not. Depending.

A new neuro switched me, in an overnight slam-dunk, from 4 or 5 mg of Mirapex to 15 mg of Requip. It had difficult emotional and digestive side effects, but it was over relatively quickly. He did it to help me with the weight problem. It was not yet proven that Mirapex could cause compulsive eating, so my other doctors had pretty much ignored me when I said that it might. Not being sure of that point, I myself hung onto it because it controlled my tremor so well, but it turns out Requip is good for that, too, for me.

They used to use Sinemet for RLS before there were dopamine agonists. Perhaps your doctor could help you try that or another agonist.

Jaye

Just a note, Jaye, to remind you that Flax seed oil eliminates the stomach pains and heart burn Requip usually causes.
And if your feet go on strike, you can blame Requip. 8 1/2 mg per day is my limit after 5 years of Requip. More than that, and I'm hobbled, and my head begins to buzz.

Ever bristling, bursting left and right with motherly advice,
birte

I'm not sure. Perhaps I am not listening intently enough to hear the weeping of a child, or perhaps I am not looking intently enough to see visions in my mind's eye of a hurting woman-child. My old soul seems weary lately, with very little of life's energy to maintain its earthly presence. On the other hand, perhaps there is no longer a need for me to hear a weeping child or see a hurting adult. Then again, perhaps it was all a hallucination birthed by Ropinerole and sleepless nights. For whatever reason, the original intent of my ravings was not to unearth anyone's indignation. It seems, however, that I was good at it, but whether or not I feel apologetic, I would have to say, "not." My intentions were noble, although my delivery lacked finesse and was perhaps crude, at best...wait...this is beginning to sound like an apology.

hmmmmmm

michael b.