How Am I Doing? 6th Update

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The above image says it all.  Before I had Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS), every day I was taking 10.5 pills of carbidopa-levodopa (Sinemet) – the main drug to counter Parkinson’s disease.  It was a hassle, because they had to be taken on an empty stomach – one hour after my previous meal, and 30 minutes before the next.  Also, if I had an “off” time, I was a wreck because it could last for an hour or more.  I still had “off” times after I got DBS, but they weren’t as debilitating.

Last Friday, during an online Zoom session with Mount Sinai Hospital, the medical professional we were working with not only upped the current in my DBS batteries, she adjusted where the two wands inside my head focused the energy they were emitting.  She said we were to observe how I responded, and if I started to experience dyskinesia (unwanted back-and-forth fidgeting), to cut back on the Sinemet.

It turned out that I had no dyskinesia for the entire weekend!  So I went the whole weekend not taking any pills, and feeling great.  No off times!

We called back this morning to ask about the next steps.  The response:  I should still take 1/2 pill every day, twice.

So far today I’ve taken just 1/2 pill, and still feel terrific.

Miraculous!

2 thoughts on “How Am I Doing? 6th Update”

  1. Hi, Bruce!

    Thank you for sharing your results with us. The side-by-side photos of your medication really drives the point home. It’s great to see this change for you.

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