Dealing with Parkinson's Disease

 I'm almost 10 years since my diagnosis with Parkinson's Disease.  At first Sinemet was the magic fix. One tablet 25/100 brought me back. Then mixing, matching, optimizing meds for the next 10+ years, like playing a carnival game. Where's the neuron. Transmitter or Receptor? Guess the med, win a prize. Failed doses and off times are my norm. My "on times" are rare and brief. Stiffness, slowness, freezing all the time. Quality of life sucks. This illness and I destroyed my spouse, which hurts me most. DBS. Deep Brain Stimulation.   Is this the final solution? Freakin' drill holes in my skull and poke some leads into my brain. Twice. Then a third surgery for batteries. Flip switch and, who knows. Surgeries every few years for new batteries. Praying to die instead of this modern twist on a medieval technique. Sure it's been fine tuned with super high resolution cameras and imaging but it's still probing around and see how the patient responds. It's br...

Robin Williams' son Zak got candid about the effect of his father's misdiagnosis and how he dealt with the trauma after the actor's death in 2014. Zak, a mental health advocate, spoke with host Max Lugavere on his podcast The Genius Life to discuss Williams' "frustration" and discomfort before his death. The episode was released on what would have been Robin Williams' 70th birthday.   Zak talks of the frustrations faced by his father, Robin Williams, as he struggled to cope with the symptoms of Lewy body dementia after being misdiagnosed with Parkinson's disease—and a completely different set of expectations and treatments.

Fitness series presented by the Parkinson's Foundation

 I'm hesitant to share that I have PD with people.  Most or all of my relatives know, a few neighbors and a few friends.   The worst reaction is when friends drop me from their lives like I'm dead or contagious.  Others range from tears, hugs, articles (so many articles), to dumb shit like, "oh okay" as if I said I just stubbed my toe.  Best response was someone I hardly know, "So sorry, if you need a hand with anything, do not hesitate to call. I mean it." I slowed down telling friends, can't handle the dumb or disappointing responses. My advice is try not to personalize dumb reactions if you share your diagnosis. It is hard but so is this illness. I want to hang out, even if I have to sit down, don't speak much and struggle with things.  i miss the change of venue, walks, sunshine. I miss seeing friends, feeling wanted / included, a feeling of value for my smart ideas.  Before I told people, even before my diagnosis maybe, I thought it was just ...

 The battle of medications, dosages, frequencies versus PD is an ongoing battle.  My meds and off times went in a spiral in March 2021 right about the time I got the vaccine for COVID-19 (see PD and COVID-19 Vaccine ). A coincidence? Maybe. Whatever the cause, I've been like a newborn horse trying to stand and walk, on a sheet of ice.   My team of neurologists and their staff have been helping. Changing meds, doses and yesterday (June 30th) was the first day I didn't go to a 4 or 5, the red zone.  I rank the PD symptoms on a scale 1=good to 5=bad,bad,bad and symptoms were not over a 3 for two days. A couple more days and I'd say we made progress! Whatever spun my meds, vaccine or random, I hope they're getting back in control now. Anybody else have medication struggles after getting a vaccine? UPDATE:  There were 2 good days but back to mostly off times. Meds not optimized yet.