What can I take for hypochrondria?????

One big problem with the internet, it has so much information about PD that after reading several articles, I would either start having symptoms I didn't really have or I attributed every little ache or pain or other problem to PD.

I was having problems with my eyes which, I concluded, were caused by PD. I went to my neuro, my optometrist and GP all of whom summarily dismissed my diagnosis with statements related to the theme "PD has no effect on the eyes", or, to give my neuro his due, "It's unlikely". Faced with this amount of expertise, I decided that again hypochondria was taking hold of me.

Wait a minute! Wait just a darn minute. Is it just a coincidence that my eye problems began when my PD became noticeable?

Hmmm. Good question. (pause to give myself a pat on the back for such insight) Back I go to the internet where I find an article on the Parkinson's Disease Foundation webpage titled "Vision Changes". Among the many eyesight problems were the two I was complaining about:

• Blurred or double vision, and eye strain, because the eyes may have trouble moving together to focus on things traveling toward or away from a person
  
• Dry eyes; people with PD may blink only 1-2 times per minute (normal is 16-18 times), leading to itching and burning

So, were the experts wrong? Maybe. But just in case, I am going to an eye expert sometime this year (it is hard to get an appointment) just to make sure it is not something more serious.

And, there we have it......paranoia, a subset of hypochondria.