I finally got my Vyalev pump. Like anything else with Parkinson's, the road has been bumpy. I started in the clinical trial about four years ago. That only lasted a month or so because of the skin bruising, swelling and medication pooling. At the end of last year, the FDA approved the pump and recently Medicare started covering it. I was anxious to try again. So now I am on day 6 and here's the good, the bad and the ugly: I am having much less off time. I am still in the phase of getting my rate adjusted and anticipate that this will improve even more. On occasion, I still use my Inbrija to get me over a rough patch but I'm not using it much and I anticipate I will need to continue to have it on hand in the future because life with PD, well, life in general, is unpredictable. I have had some trouble with the medication pooling and my skin bruising and looking bumpy and swollen. Thankfully, there is an online community of wonderful people sharing tips and tricks for dealin...
If only we could live in a world where everyone put their innate talents and gifts together and worked to solve problems, we might have a world with less illness and suffering. It would also be a world with less multibillion dollar companies. I understand that people need to make a living and I also understand that competition between companies can sometimes spur new thought and development of ideas. I understand the need for regulations and standards for safety. I understand that all of this costs money. But when you are living day in and day out with a degenerating illness that has very few treatments, and no glimpse of a cure, you really don't give a darn about any of that. You just want to get better. You want to be able to trust that you are being given the best advice about the best treatment and you don't have time to wait for it. I will continue to dream about my ideal world but I expect that it will just stay a dream....