...but please cite your sources. I wouldn't try to outshout the actors on the old "Crossfire" and I won't try to outshout you. I have suggested a website and a webcast to back up my statements.

Jaye

I abhor the "thanks" labels, but would like to extend thanks to madelyn for her well-reasoned opening post.

Jaye

I gave links for each of the statements. -

And I definitely don't intend for this to be a personal thing.

-Rick

Thanks Madelyn..That is a very open minded post..You mentioned that maybe one of us who are experimenting with DM could persuade his/her Dr to write an observational report, and I think that is a great idea, for this is the only way that potential treatments get out in the open for evaluation and scrutiny by the medical community..The problem that I have with that is that I dont have a Dr who thinks out of the box, and I think it takes some out of the box thinking and open mindedness to even consider alternative treatments..I spoke with him about LDN about a year ago..I even did the research so that he wouldnt have to take any of his time to do it, all he had to do was read it..I asked him to just take it into consideration..He said that he would and that we would discuss it in 3 months..At my next appointment we talked breifly about it, and his decision was that he was schooled in the science available and that in good conscience he could not Rx LDN for pd even though it is an FDA approved drug..He said that there are all kinds of "miracle cures" out there, that turn out to be a sham..and to some extent he is absolutely right..He used cancer as a reference for these "miracle alternative cures/treatments"..He was however willing to Rx Tramadol because I told him that I tried some, and it helped with stiffness..I did change my mind about that idea when I learned that even though Tramadol is supposedly non-addictive, and safe, I learned of some people who were abusing it, and one person whom I knew personally..Other than that, I knew that the best I was ever going to get out of my neuro was Sinamet and Mirapex, and "see me in 3 months and we'll see how you're doing"..Things being as they are in my relationship with him, I havent decided if Im going to tell him about the DM..I see him next month, and if I am feeling as good as I have been feeling the past couple of weeks when I see him, he is going to wonder just what Im doing different, because when he goes through his battery of examinations of my motor skills, he is going to notice a remarkable difference..Ive tried some of the motor skill drills..(the ones that I remember)..and I know without a doubt that I can do them with greater ease that I could the last time I saw him approx 3 months ago..I have come to a crossroad with him in that I think he has figured out that basically I march to the beat of my own drum, and if I think there may be a shread of hope in a reasonably safe non-conventional treatment, then I just may try it..Ive thought about herbal suppliments, as there were discussions about them at the WPC..and ironically..all of the herbal suppliments that they suggested have already been discussed on this forum

I watched "Lorenzo's Oil" yesterday, and because of his parents persistence, they were able to put together a concoction that treated his condition with some limited success..If it werent for those who are dedicated to a cause and willing to open mindedly think out of the box..Then some of these remedies that are right under our noses will go un-noticed..I have no idea if DM is going to stop my progression..that will take a few years to determine..but I have a degree of certainty that it has rendered me less symptomatic than I was a couple of weeks ago..Something has definately changed

When I think about my battle with alcoholism 17 years ago..If someone had told me the AA was a waste of time, I might have never sobered up, and probably wouldnt be typing this post, because I probably would have been dead a long time ago..Addiction is another mystery to the medical community..A physical and mental malady that is treated with meeting with other alcoholics, honestly, altruism, open mindedness, willingness, and spirituallity..The medical community sends alcoholics to detox and tells them to go to AA, and they dont even have a clue as to how it works, but they know that it does for those who are vigilant, and honest with themselves..The judicial system send them also, and in some cases court orders them to AA..They have no idea how it works either..they just know that it works better than anything that the corrections dept has to offer..The medical community is still trying to create a pill for alcoholism, because it is how they rationally treat illnesses..Ironically one of those pills is the high test version of LDN..(Naltrexone 50 mg)..It curbs the craving for alcohol and heroin, but only as long as the patient takes it..What the medical community hasnt figured out yet is that they are treating the physical side of alcoholism, and not the mental obsession with Naltrexone..One bout with mental obsession and the patient stops taking the Naltrexone, and the physical craving ensues and they patient ends up drunk or high, and leaves the Dr's scratching their heads in confusion..The old remedy was anti-buse, which made the alcoholic voilently sick if they touched a drop of alcohol..But the same dilemma confronted this treatment as well..You just stop taking the anti-buse and get drunk

Some of my thoughts for what its worth