Let me summarize the past 4 years. The following is a scary list of symptoms and an account of my acquaintance with them.
- Bradykinesia
is the slowing down and loss ofspontaneous and voluntary movement. I continue to suffer from that. My walking is quite slow; however, when going for a walk at 4:30 am, using my trekking poles, I can more than double my speed over longer distances.
Rigidity / unusual stiffness in a limb or other body part. Sometimes but quite manageable
Resting Tremor/ an uncontrollable
movement that affects a limb when it is at rest and usually stops for the duration of a voluntary movement. Early on, before amantadine, this was the bane of my existence - a hand with a mind of its own. This starts jumping at the slightest stressed and for some reason, I am easily stressed. I am currently watching the Spanish drama "Grand Hotel", a fabulous story filled with minor stress that keeps one finger on my hand jumping around. For the most part the drugs keep everything relatively normal
Postural Instability / problems with standing or walking, or impaired balance and coordination, which can lead to falls. I can't say this is a bother in my life. I sometimes get a "head rush" upon standing and I have fallen three times probably due to dragging a foot while running.
Dystonia / involuntary movement with muscle contraction, such as a cramp and I am talking cramps to the nth degree. Early on my leg would go rigid and my foot would start twisting inward and upward. The drugs took care of those very quickly so that now I still suffer from cramps periodically, but they are just bothersome and not the monster type I suffered early on
Reduced facial expression / “mask-like” face due to bradykinesia. My wife commented on it during our vacation in South Beach one year, but it disappeared shortly thereafter and has not returned.
Speech and swallowing problems Speech - big time? People couldn't hear me and when I did speak, I would have trouble word finding. It is still a problem only much reduced with the introduction of L-dopa. As for swallowing, there was a period of 3 weeks, several months prior to official diagnosis where I at soup and drank milkshakes because I just couldn't swallow solids. This condition returns every now and then, stays a day or two and then goes away
Dyskinesia / involuntary, twisting/turning,jerky movements that can result from long-term use of medications that treat Parkinson’s disease. Not part of my life....................yet.
Impulse Control / inability to resist an impulse that is harmful to self or others that can result from use of medications that treat Parkinson’s disease. Fortunately I have avoided this little gem.
Non-movement/
Non-motor-related Symptoms
- Cognitive Impairment decline in ability to multi-task (no problem) and/or concentrate;(not me) potential decline in intellectual functioning (so far so good and onset of psychosis (don't think so, but you never know)
- Mood Changes / can include depression,apathy or anxiety- no more than usual which is very infrequently
- Sleep disorders / for example, REM sleep
behavior disorder, where individuals act out their dreams. I can't sleep without zopoclone and My wife has mentioned me having bad dreams and she says I have monster twitches while sleeping
- Hyposmia which means the loss of sense of smell. I lost my sense of smell a good 5 - 10 years before official diagnosis. Comes in handy in some instances.
- Fatigue overwhelming at times but I keep on slugging through.
- Constipation You betcha but in my case, it is a welcome relief as I used to suffer from Montezuma's Revenge at the most unfortunate times. I can do things with confidence knowing that it takes super human effort to clear my bowels
- Bladder Problems / a sudden need to urinate or incontinence. No incontinence, thank God. Need to urinate is no more than usual
- Orthostatic Hypotension / low blood pressure upon standing. Sometimes a little dizzy but no big deal
- Pain central pain other than pain caused
- by posture problems or dystonia - I suffered unexplaned pains for year.
Hope for the Future - As long as the pills keep working the future looks bright, but then those jungle drums startle me when I see the great Ali in a wheel chair. Then I remember he had it for 30 years and I doubt I will last another 26 years. So all is good - well - except for the death part.
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