Hey, guys.

Well, the L-dopa was a bust - was on it virtually a month and the side effects were close to unbearable. Soon after going on the larger dose the depression went absolutely turbo, the compulsive thoughts were very painful and I had a massive shift in my sleep pattern. Sooo, I got in touch with my neuro and said that I'd come off them, explained the whole thing and he was fine with that. On May 1st, I have an appointment to sign up for genetic testing, and theyre not going to put me on anything else until they know for sure what this thing is.

There are meds called dopamine agonists, which trick the brain into thinking that its actually got more dopamine than it actually has (a manipulation of naturally occurring dopamine then, rather than adding L-dopa which is a precursor to it). There are also a variety of muscle relaxants that can be used to treat symptoms, and botox is still on the table, but we'll have to see what the genetic testing throws up (the important genes in my case are DYT1 and DYT5, which deal with early onset and dopamine responsive dystonia respectively). There is a possibility that it isnt dystonia at all, but something called Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia (HSP), which is broadly similar in effect and is treated in a similar manner, but which isnt characterised by spasms (I don't really get spasms all that much). Again, that would show up in the genetic testing.

So! Interesting times - I do have something of a head-full right now, I must admit, lol! Hope everyone is doing well here, and I shall speak to you soon. Stay safe, love and light.

T