A Sad Day for Parkinson's Community

Today has not been a good day for me, I walked into the dentist office (walking is a kind description of the shuffling motion that i was making with my legs) and started to cry as soon as the hygienist asked me how i was doing today. My office is a mile away and yet I could barely drive from one to the other, I was so exhausted and my movements were leaden. My medications have not been behaving lately, I've had some unwanted symptoms and the wearing off symptoms have been more frequent of late. Of course, it doesn't help that I often forget to take my meds on schedule when I'm at the office and busy. And, the stress at work lately has taken a toll as well.

So, the day was already going poorly and then was made even more painful by two news items that I found in my inbox late today. The first one makes me so angry that I'm afraid that I'm not going to be terribly coherent here. To see the full article, click the link of the blog title. But, here's the gist: " A U.S. district court issued a preliminary injunction on Monday stopping federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research...". What!? Why don't people understand? Why did we have to wait all the way through the inane Bush presidency and his ruling against stem cell research, finally hear from Obama that the ban was lifted, and NOW we have to fight all over again?! Don't the dissenters understand that these embryos are destined for the garbage anyway? Should women collect their monthly unfertilized eggs and bury them properly, should teenage boys be arrested for masturbating and "wasting" potential babies?! What is wrong that we value a collection of cells more than the potential to save millions of lives by doing research with these cells to find a cure for some of our more deadly diseases? And, no, adult stem cells are not as effective in studying certain diseases, specifically neurological diseases. See the CAMR, Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research, web site, http://www.camradvocacy.org/, for an understanding of the differences between adult (multipotent) stem cells and embryonic (pluripotent) stem cells. If you have or have a loved one with Parkinson's Disease, Altzheimer's Disease or other related diseases, please write a letter to your local newspaper or contact your federal congressional representatives to protest this action and support the President's lifting of the ban. These people opposing this research are the same who refuse to believe the facts, they make up their own reality and then insist that we live in their world. A world where evidence of the truth makes no difference in what they believe. Please, my life and the lives of my children, might depend on this!

The second piece of news, icing on the cake of a very bad day, is that the FDA is investigating Stalevo for possible connection to cardiovascular problems found in some patients who are taking the drug. It is a form of sinnemet with an additional component called entacapone. I take the drug and I have been experiencing tightness in my chest and sometimes pain. It's been suggested that I have acid reflux (Likely that I do) or anxiety (probably not) and that either might be the cause of my problems. No one has suggested drug side effects, why not?

I am verging on ranting and I do apologize, but, as I said, it has been a very bad day.