Parkinson's and me

[lambee11]

Hi my name is Elaine and I was diagnosed with Parkinson's when I was 69 I am 71 (72 in January) after about 5 years of symptoms brushed off as old age etc. I am on levidopa-carbidopa and Ropinirole I do not have shakes/tremors which is what probably delayed my diagnosis ..... my walking is unsteady and I do fall a lot ...I cannot write at all and my speech is going down hill rapidly in spite of my speech therapy and exercises daily....if I had to rank all of my difficulties in a list of what I hate the most about this disease it would be

lose of speech along with facial expresssions

incontinence

inability to walk without dragging my leg and looking like a drunk

falling down

and now some drooling

Parkinson's is the disease that keeps on giving

I go to a qi gong (Tai Chi) class 2 to 3 times a week ,walk on an elliptical machine, Physical therapy 2X week right now .... always trying to be active. My qi gong class also affords me to a social life which is so important to health as I get older we say we do Tai chi for an hour and then have Chai tea for two hours after class...going out for coffee/tea with the ladies in my class forces me to talk nd be part of the group...I have made friends which is important for me to do....

In my past life I worked as a Project Manager retiring from Xerox at 69 due to m speech lost and in-between careers I taught high school history, and geography.

[Hidden]

hello Elaine, welcome to our P family

[Fredzu]

Hello Elaine,

Welcome. Please talk about satisfying moments you had as a teacher. I was a kindergarten teacher and there were times that I fondly remembered.

What skills did you need to have at Xerox to be successful?

You will be an addition to our group.

FJohn1

[Nimvas5962]

Don't feel down parky plays these weird tricks in the sense it makes you feel good and then rears its head like a Cobras head you should be like a snake catcher just hold that head of his down. Until 2months back I was just on C/l thrice a day with pramipex and now I'm battling keeping that hood down with c/l entacapone pramipex u name it but every 3 hrs my left leg just twitches to remind me to feed him his milk to keep him silent. I'm just 55 and a long way to go but I will not allow him to dunk me underwater

[Blackfeather]

I would highly recommend you try taking vitamin D3. It stopped my drooling and foot drag and greatly improved my balance. I take 10,000 iu daily. You may want to try a loading dose of 30,000 to 50,000iu for a few weeks. My improvement was quick and dramatic.

[lambee11 in reply to Blackfeather]

will do thanks for the suggestion

[Burlingtongal in reply to Blackfeather]

Interesting, I was put on D3 the last time I had bloodwork because my D3 levels were low. I only take 5000 iu daily. I didn't know it could help with PD symptoms.

[park_bear]

Vitamin D is excellent. B complex too, especially for Parkies. That said, NAC (N-acetylsyteine) has been shown to improve the underlying condition: journals.plos.org/plosone/a...

[paddyfields in reply to park_bear]

Another thing to check is B12 deficiency which can mimic PD. Not that I am suggesting your PD dx is wrong but that B12 deficiency which is more common as we get older and could be adding to the symptoms.

[BillDavid]

Before PD, I too Participated in TaiChi, with following Social Activity., Enjoyed a Lot.Recommend you look into LSVT BIG to address gait and speech issues. Persoonally very helpful.

BillDavid

[andrewij]

Hi, It does seem like your symptoms are worsening at a faster rate than some of us encounter. Perhaps you had a late diagnosis. I would agree that you should have tests for vitamin deficiencies, I have a B12 booster evert three months. I completely understand your feelngs regarding your condition, but you must battle against this disease as much as you are able to. I always try to think of something nice when my head hits the pillow, no matter how difficult this may be at times.

[MaryCM]

Elaine, it might pay you to look at joining PD Warriors and eating Coconut Oil

[Burlingtongal]

Hi Elaine, I'm relatively new to the group, as well. I was diagnosed recently, at age 71 and most of my symptoms are non-motor. Welcome to the group.