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Monday 29 January 2018

Whenever I think of the past, it brings back so many memories"- Steven Wright

A caretaker asked this question on a Parkinson's discussion website and I responded with an entry from my blog:

Has anyone heard of leg cramps as a pre Parkinsonism symptom? My dad has Parkinson’s and he had bad leg cramps earlier before the diagnosis. Any thought?
Here is the entry from my blog
Saturday, 13 AUGUST 2011

Pop up little flower pot, pop up.

The beast struck at 4AM. Suddenly my right leg shot straight out and shrieked with pain. I sat bolt upright, my leg rock hard and my right foot starting to turn inward and upward. It wasn't the first time my brain had struck with such ferocity. I knew what to do. I jumped out of bed, forcing my wayward foot square to the floor and stood there for a couple of minutes as the agony turned to ecstasy. I had won the battle with my brain. Time for a little celebration - tempered by the knowledge that it was a pyrrhric victory, for I can never win the war.

It is strange what thoughts go through your head as you await your relief. It is 1956 and I am a boy in Larkhill, England. I have lived here for a year. I am pretending to be a champion bowler on a cricket team. Time after time I try to imitate the windmill, straight arm delivery of a bowler but my North American muscles betray me. Too much baseball. My brain won't help me. My arm won't remain stiff through the windmill windup and I end up leading with my elbow. I am frustrated but keep on trying. To this day, I have been unsuccessful, but every now and then, when I am alone, I try it with a nerf ball - without success - but that doesn't mean I will quit trying. I just have to convince my brain. Manage

At least my memory is intact.....for now anyway.

Thursday 25 January 2018

How now brown cow. What's new with you.

What's new you ask. Well can I moo.....

  1. Balance is getting tenuous, especially when I waken. All I can say is "Thank God for walls and banisters."
  2. The pain in my back screws up my days, I actually had to miss boxing. All I can say is "Thank god I was able to get a waist Lastrap online."
  3. Putting on my socks and jeans is a spectacle. It must take me 2 - 3 minutes with much groaning and swearing. All I can say is, "Thank God these are solitary activities!"
  4. Last, but not least, from the moan zone today. Getting out of bed is a full day's workout. Although I win the daily war with my blankets, they do hinder my progress to the sitting-feet-on-the-floor position. I succeed but before I can stand, some mysterious force pulls me down again - always to the right. After a couple of those, I manage to contort my body leading to a somewhat twisted standing. I look like that humped-backed fellow of Notre Dame. But hey, I managed to stand and all I can say is "Thank God!!!!!!"

That's what's new with me. What's new with you?

Tuesday 9 January 2018

Nocturia, Nocturia you bastard

Nocturia, or nocturnal polyuria, is the medical term for excessive urination at night. During sleep time, your body produces less urine that is more concentrated. This means that most people don't need to wake up during the night to urinate and can sleep uninterrupted for 6 to 8 hours.

Not so for we prisoners of parkinson's. No, we are different. The amount of urine I produce during the night could cure a hundred jelly-fish stings.

I suffer 3 or 4 sleep interruptions during my night. When I am lying down, coming out of a restless sleep, I feel the need to pee. As soon as I stand up, I feel the NEED to pee. I believe it is called URGENCY and I can't adequately describe how urgent it gets, except to say, I have little or no time to flick on the correct light switch. To that end and to guide me to the toilet, we attached a motion detector thing-a-majig that lights up the bowl with different colors. I can now pee in peace with a light show to entertain me.

Anyway, back to business. For you people who avoided the gift of PD, here is a list of possible conditions that can attack a PWP in the dark:

  1. insomnia
  2. Virtual reality horror dreams
  3. severe leg cramps
  4. restless leg syndrome (RLS)
  5. And now NOCTURIA

Not every PWP will have all of those symptoms. For example, I have had all but one. I have never experienced restless leg syndrome!

Come on PD, leave me alone. No RLS for me. You have hit me with your heaviest weapons already.

Isn't time for an armistice at least?

Monday 8 January 2018

Stats first week January


Weekly Stats Report: 1 Jan - 7 Jan 2018 
Project: parkinson's
URLhttp://www.wpgchap.blogspot.ca

Summary

 MonTuesWedThurFriSatSunTotalAvg
Pageloads2329182022132715222
Unique Visits171991617101210014
First Time Visits2326733264
Returning Visits151671010797411

Tuesday 2 January 2018

Who's all hung up on that happiness thing?

I love going to boxing, mostly due to the people I have met there. They all seem to be happy. There is magic in the air. I was diagnosed in 2011, almost 7 years ago! The drugs have worked perfectly for me and I am still relatively free of noticeable symptoms. I say "relatively" because I catch a glimpse of my future in that room sometimes. There are PWP at every stage of the 5 stages of PD in that boxing club. If you have forgotten the stages, they are:
Stage 1
Mild symptoms such as tremors along one side of the body may be presented at this stage. Often the symptoms are mild enough not to interfere with daily life, but slight changes in walking, posture, or facial expressions may be noticed by those around them.

Stage 2
Both sides of the body may be affected by slightly worsened tremors or rigidity. Issues with posture and walking may become quite noticeable and everyday activities may be harder to achieve but patients will still be able to do things for themselves.

Stage 3
As motor symptoms become worse, patients may begin to experience loss of balance leading to falls and movement can become very slow. Although many patients can still live independently they may have difficulty in everyday activities such as eating or dressing.

Stage 4
In this later stage, symptoms are now extremely limiting. Many patients can still stand without assistance but movement is greatly impaired. Most will need help with everyday activities and will not be able to look after themselves.

Stage 5
This is the most advanced stage of the disease and most patients will experience difficulty in walking and standing, often requiring a wheelchair. Assistance will be needed in all areas of daily life as motor skills are seriously impaired. In addition, people with advanced Parkinson’s disease may also begin to suffer hallucinations*.

I am unsure as to what stage I occupy, but I think I am on a cusp between 2 & 3.

But this is not about me; it is about my compatriots and the volunteers who help out the boxers. I feel good just by attending as often as I can. I can get a shot of happy air from the others and they lift me up. Why? Because we cavort in an atmosphere of happiness. Sounds sentimental and weepy, doesn't it? Too bad because, no matter what stage they have reached in their journey, each victim seems to be happy. There is a lot of laughter in the room and it is completely therapeutic.

You (people without parkinson's) would wonder why in the world we are happy, given our problems. I wonder that sometimes too. The lesson I have taken from these people is that happiness is a state of mind. It is how you look at the world and despite your condition, you can see and process the good things ahead. It is avoiding all the stressors of your condition that prevent you from being happy.

Happiness is not the result of external events; it is completely under your control.

Of course, every so often I slip and feel a touch of sadness. At 71, I am still a work in progress, but I can talk myself out of any spot of darkness in which I find myself and when the self-talk fails, I can always go to boxing.

*(Parkinson's Today - article by Wendy Henderson)