Some medicines have what is called a Honeymoon Period, where they work really well for a short period of time, and then stop helping. I have had some like that in the past, probably including the Sinemet that was originally given as a Challenge – a way of semi diagnosing Parkinson’s. I did get much better way back then, but had such nausea issues with it that my Neuro did not keep me on it. I had good effect from the Requip that he changed me to, but then had to add Zelepar to that. So maybe none of them were anything for me but Honeymoon Drugs.

So, even though I have been so elated with the wonderful response I had to the Primidone, there was always a tiny little corner of my brain that wouldn’t give up the Honeymoon idea completely. I have been on it now for over a month, with only a half pill added to the original dosage, so I think I can consider this one to be a KEEPER.

Not that I am 100% back to “normal”. But then, since I am 65 now I’m not sure I know what normal is any more, anyway. LOL!! What I do know is that I enjoy talking to people again, I laugh a lot, I don’t jerk nearly as badly even on my bad days, and I feel truly blessed by God with this wonderful miracle. Hey, that’s a “normal” I can LIVE with!!

We don’t have cable or satellite, so, as the resident geek, it’s been up to me to try to figure out how to set up the HD Converter boxes we bought using the Government Coupons. We want to be able to continue to tape one show on our VCR while we watch something else, and that requires some very complicated hookups. There is so much about the words and terms they use in explaining all this that I am totally unfamiliar with. So, our boxes arrived in the mail a few days ago, and I have spent almost every waking minute trying one hookup, testing it, undoing it, trying another, repeating some over and over as I gradually understood the meanings of the directions and went back to correct mistakes I had made.

PHEW!! I was finally satisfied Friday evening that I knew how to do it, but I needed one piece of equipment that we did not already have. So, armed with my diagrams and the catalog numbers from the internet, we went to RadioShack yesterday. The young man took a look at the diagram and let out an involuntary “UGH!”. I agree totally.

Well, to make a long story short, he thought I would get better results with a different device than I had come in to buy, so I took his advice. I spent all yesterday evening, plus got up bright and early this morning, trying to make it all work with this new device, and finally decided he was wrong.

Hubby always goes out on his own on Saturdays, so he took it all back and exchanged it for the switch that I had originally decided would fix it all. I’m all ready for it when he gets home, and more than ready to quit spending all this time and energy on this stuff.

The stress it has put me under has been overwhelming, knowing that there is no one who knows enough about this stuff to be of any help. I’ve been angry and miserable, one after the other, over and over since Wednesday when I started on it. Hubby has left me ALONE!!! And I am glad that he has. He always thinks he can tease me out of a bad mood, but this time I think I would have bitten his head off if he had tried that with me. I never used to get angry like this. I was an only child and a “good little girl”. I never really learned how to argue or express anger until I was grown, as it was not “ladylike”.

Of course my mouth jerks and twitches came back when I was at my most upset points in all this, but they would be gone the next day. And even at that they weren’t as bad as they were before the Primidone. So I would say I have put it through a grueling test of its powers this week, and it passed the test quite well.

Now the boxes are set up, the TV and VCR work correctly with them as far as I can tell, and the Universal Remote is programmed for all the pieces. I am able to breathe again. But I did tell hubby to be sure he brought me some CHOCOLATE!!!