Well, well.  That was harder than I thought it would be.  Turning the implant on and adjusting it was a  very interesting and tiring experience.  I had to be off my meds for one thing, and that is pure torture for me now.  I was so stiff and in so much pain!  They adjusted one side at a time, which meant that I was still in pain on the other side; very distracting.  They turned the voltage up slowly and waited for side effects to manifest, which, in my case meant dizziness.  For some people, it's tingling in the extremities, for others, one or two muscles start pulling on their own.  Others lose their powers of speech.  With me, if the voltage got too high, the room started spinning, and I started to feel disconnected from reality.  I then had to communicate this to the nurse (a very nice and patient young man named Carlos, with an engineer's understanding of how the implant was supposed to work and lots of experience in "tuning" people up).

I have been sick these last 4 days.  I mean sick to my stomach.  I think it's the Requip.  After all, I did stop taking it suddenly, then suddenly started again.  But for whatever the reason, I have been fighting nausea.  That is never fun.  So far this morning, it seems o.k. though.  Maybe I'm over it, and I can actually see how the implant is doing.  It's only just past 4:00 though, so we'll see when it's really morning....  Crossing my fingers...

Countdown to a new life

Just 4 days until my DBS implant is turned on and calibrated for the first time!  I can hardly wait, especially since my symptoms have returned, and I'm having trouble at work.  Sunday I have to stop taking Requip, Monday it's "goodbye" to seligeline and amantadine, Tuesday I have to quit the rest of the drugs (Stalevo and Sinemet) and then Wednesday I go in to be powered up and fine tuned.

I hope I can start cutting down on the meds soon, too.  I'm taking medication every 2 hours now; 17 pills a day!  And that's not counting the pain killers, muscle relaxants and sleeping pills for the insomnia that's probably a side effect of the OTHER drugs.

Soon I'll be free!  Well, "free er" anyway.  Sorry; my "dash" key doesn't work ever since I spilled a margarita on the keyboard.  Go figure.

Nothing but Blue Skies from now on...

Took a cruise on SF Bay on Sunday to celebrate Valentine's Day.  I just love these Hornblower cruises!  My older brother and his wife came with us; we laughed and drank champagne and ate too much.  We went out on the bow, because it was a beautiful day, and we watched the porpoises playing in the waves.  Bob and I even got one dance in!  Bob requested the song "Blue Skies" and led me to the dance floor, so happy I was walking 3 feet off the ground!

The road to recovery

I feel like Dorothy looking out on a technicolor landscape and saying "I don't think we're in Kansas any more!"

I didn't realize how sad I had become; I was just holding on for dear life and forgetting to enjoy the ride.  Now, it's a whole new world for me.

My first public appearance 

Got my appetite back

When we thought we were going to WIN the Superbowl; sigh... that was fun.