Hello Everyone!

I hope you'll all been well, stayed busy, and of course positive.

I know I haven't been here in awhile, but a lot has happened, both good and bad. You know how life gets in the way of things, and how we lose contact with friends, family and everything else. but I decided this year I'm not going to let it and stay in contact with everyone more often. So today, I posted here for the first time in just about 2 years!

A quick recap might help. First my old job went away in July 2009 because the company closed and I was out of work. I ended up going to school for music for the year. It was the best time of my life! I felt young, symptomless, and really happy. Well that ended in March 2010. Unemployment decided that music is not a career path for me because I have "employable" skills. I felt my heart stop and I started to choke up on the phone with the unemployment agency representative. She seemed to hesitate and then let me continue my classes until my benefits ran out. (How kind, aye!). Well my classes ended in May 2010 along with the benefits, so there I was without anything. I was also completely off medication because my insurance wouldn't cover the medication. My school insurance sucked anyway, and now there was none. It was tough and I dealt with it.

Just as you think everything becomes a total end of all ends, a light shows up on the other end. I got a call from Oracle, which is one of the biggest companies in the world. I now have a job at Oracle, which I started in July 2010. I interviewed twice on the phone and once in person, and landed the job! I now support over 630 people in one facility and also have one person working for/with me. Even though he reports to me, he's an equal teammate. We divide and conquer the users every day. Overall it's still a bit too much, and I've let my manager know even more so recently. I'm beginning to wonder if it's worth it going to work anymore. I ended up telling my manager about the PD after I fell at work. It wasn't just a quick go down and up quick, but a good splat in front of a director. It couldn't have been a regular employee, but instead a big-wig. I had to confess, which I did over the phone to her. The company is so big that everyone is spread out. My manager happens to be in Redwood Shores while I work in Burlington MA.

So how am I feeling? The medication really doesn't work as well anymore. I was at a high peak of 26 Sinemet per day along with everything else. My doctor cut the Sinemet to less than half and put me on Azilect, which made me very dizzy, and quite ill. In fact everything makes me ill now, so I wonder if there's other things going on. My blood pressure is on the low side, and I've recently added a new pill to my diet for that. I'm really beginning to wonder if this really isn't PD, but one of the "pluses" instead. Such a nice name for it. Shouldn't this be called a minus! I really didn't have a chance to discuss my thoughts with my doctor because I was given the test results over the phone on Thursday. It's funny how slow your brain is and how things like this go through your mind afterwards.

Anyway, how is everyone else doing?

John

Hello John and Happy New Year. It is good to read of your life events. Thought the following might be of interest. I have no idea what the drug formulation happens to be or if it would replace some of your current Sinemet. Madelyn

Chelsea Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CHTP) is preparing for the launch of its first product — a drug for Parkinson’s disease patients — and the company plans to arm itself with nearly $20 million to do it.

Chelsea aims to raise up to $19.7 million through a stock offering...Net proceeds from the offering would fund the company’s droxidopa program.



Droxidopa is a drug candidate that Chelsea aims to market under the name Northera. It was studied as a treatment for dizziness and fainting experienced by patients with Parkinson’s disease. Now under priority review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Northera could receive an approval decision by March 28. Droxidopa is also being studied in other indications; the compound is in phase 2 clinical trials as a fibromyalgia treatment. Chelsea recently reported positive results from the study, which evaluated potential therapeutic dosing of droxidopa by itself and in combination with Parkinson’s drug carbidopa.

http://www.medcitynews.com/2011/12/c...north-carolina