OMG - thanks so much for responding. I am going to start Yoga in a week, I've read how great it can be. I wish there was a glossary of abbreviations here so I could learn the lingo. It almost seems like once I started my meds things actually got worse. My tremors were never constant until I started Mirapex. Is this possible?

not everyone gets great relief from mirapex, i didn't. what does your neuro say?
i would view this website daily pose your questions here:
http://forum.parkinson.org/index.php...sk-the-doctor/

you can pose a question and/or search that forum, as you can search this forum.
if you want a useful reply from anyone, i suggest you give an approximate age, pd medication doseages, when you started the medications, your other medical conditions any other drugs/supplements you are taking, your pd symptoms and if you respond well to sinemet if you have tried it.

otherwise what use is any reply, even from anonymous pd'ers?

i also suggest you buy a used copy of "THE PARKINSON'S DISEASE TREATMENT BOOK" by AHLSKOG.

i would research aerobic exercise if your're able to do it.

Thanks - I will do that. Can you tell me what the acronym PWD is?

Hi Steve , thank you for the privilege to reed your journal. It was beautiful . it had reflected your poet personality . I am new here , but not new to PD had it for 7 years . I am naturally optimistic person like you , so i tend to find a silver lining . There is not much of that in a PD as you know . But i still manage to have sense of humor. That is what gets me through.
Zlatica

A few years ago a doctor decided that my cholesterol was too high. So, in his wisdom, he prescribed niacin. I found it a little bit disconcerting that the warning label spoke of “warmth, redness, or tingly feeling under your skin” (in addition to the other more commonly encountered scary warnings) but I went ahead with it.

It didn't take long for me to realize that the niacin was heating me up inside every time I took a dose. I literally felt like I was on fire. Describing it as “hot flashes” doesn't do it justice. Many weeks later my wife asked me why I was so angry all the time. She asked me to see my doctor and find out what was going on. I had become a terrible husband.

Well, I spoke to the doctor and he assured me that it was NOT the niacin. A couple of weeks after that my wife and I discussed it again and I simply stopped taking it. Within a few days my anger began to subside. Obviously, in retrospect, the niacin was a terrible idea. The damage it did to my friendships and to my marriage is difficult to describe.

About a year after I was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease my family, my friends, and the people I worked with began to comment that I was becoming very aggressive in getting my point of view across. Once I got an idea in my head, I would not be deterred. It very nearly cost me my job. It is the first time in my entire working career that I found myself sitting in the company's personnel office. I'll admit that it was a very hostile work environment but I was stunned at my sudden inability to handle the stress. I seemed to have no control over what I was saying. In retrospect, I was exhibiting OCD.

After I left the job to take time off for my Parkinson's disability, my neurologist, my wife and I finally figured out that the aggressiveness was probably a side effect of the Parkinson's drug that I was taking at the time. When my neurologist put me on Sinemet most of those symptoms became much less apparent.

Well, my OCD symptoms came back a couple of weeks ago and I pray that the person I offended will forgive me. We'll see. I've learned that few people believe me when I try to explain the effects of Parkinson's.

Meanwhile, I am hopeful that the deep brain stimulation surgery that will hopefully happen later this year will resolve that problem. Nothing in the literature supports this but it is certainly on my wish list.

I will never stop fighting this. I will continue to do everything I can to overcome the effects of this terrible disease.

Wish me luck.

Steve

Thank you for your kind comments. They help motivate me to continue writing.

Steve

Hi Steve. I had DBS put in 2x. First time the wires come out , through the skin ,it got infected and had to betaken out. After course of antibiotics the second was put in. It is great when it starts working. You will be amazed haw much better you feel . Your condition will improve greatly. So good luck with that . I am sorry to say , but mine has to come out again . The wires are coming through again. it is not infected so i did not tell any one But there is great danger of brain infection, so i have to let them know . I cannot do with out it , so that is why i keep it to my self.
Zlatica

Zlatica,

Thank you for sharing that information. I know that it must have been difficult for you. Personally, I have a 3 year old granddaughter who's smile keeps me going.

Please get the surgery taken care of. It's too dangerous to wait.

Steve

I know what you mean about grandchildren , mine is 13 and still , loves me. He comes over every friday and we play together. We raise cars or have fun with water guns in pool or spend some quiet time in a hot tub . The house feels empty when he go home ,saturday around 4 pm. So we have face of on Skype. I will have the surgery . Thank you for caring .
Zlatica

Thanks, Butterfly. I've gone from motorcycling, singing, writing music and playing the guitar to just writing writing a few lines here and there. I'm hoping that leaving a diary of sorts behind me will give my children and grandchildren a way to remember me, I suppose.

We all just want to be remembered!

Steve