Feelings, nothing more than feelings

Let's see I feel:

• good to very good some days
• tired most days
• Stiff often
• sore now and then
• thirsty always
• annoyed with myself off and on
• optimistic every so often
• lucky not often

Why is that? You might ask

I will tell you:

• Medication helps. I would hate to think how I would be if there were no medications
• Exhaustion: PD makes me tired and so do the medications
• Stiffness - Just one of PD's little jokes
• When I get a PD cramp, the after effects can last a few hours to a couple of days
• the medication dries my mouth out and makes my lips sore, so I drink a lot of water and soda to keep them hydrated
• I get annoyed with myself because some days I am negative about the future, not often, but it does happen, and, I worry about what I will look like to my children and grandchildren as the condition progresses.
• I am optimistic when I read the experiences of some "old pros" who have had it 10 or 20 years and still live a full life, it raises my hopes as does the research I have read about (see below)
• I am lucky. The condition seems to be progressing slowly and I am not suffering from MS or ALS, both of which are worse neurological conditions.

Overall, I am doing quite well.

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Russia develops new medicine for Parkinson’s disease

Moscow, Sep 17, 2010 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Russian scientists claimed to have successfully tested a medicine which could be a breakthrough in treating patients of Parkinson’s disease.

“We have synthesised a compound which completely removes all symptoms of Parkinson’s disease in animals,” said Konstantin Volcho, a spokesman of Vorozhtsov Institute of Organic Chemistry in the southwestern Siberian city of Novosibirsk.

He said the tests conducted on animals with Parkinson’s disease “demonstrated that the medicine returns all parameters back to normal and does not require additional medication”.

“It has also been proven by long-term experiments,” he added.

The scientists believe the clinical trials of the drug could take at least two years, after which it will be tested on humans.

Researchers have already filed a patent application for the compound.

Though the medicine will not cure the patients completely but it allows patients to live a normal, healthy life for a longer period, the institute spokesman said.

“Currently there is no cure for Parkinson’s disease, the main target of PD treatment is to give patients the maximum quality of life for as long as possible,” he said.

To paraphrase Jack Layton, Hope and Optimism define my future now.