thanks ......not

[floppy1]

i introduced myself on this site 6 days ago and i have not recieved a single reply may i say thanks for the warm welcome asif . i wondered if it was the light hearted way i introduced myself i like to inject a bit of humour you know what they say "laugh or you'll cry" anyway no hard feelings just a bit miffed and baffled ps it dont hurt to smile now and again yours floppy the joker

[Hidden]

Hey Floppy,

Welcome to this site. Will that do it for you? LOL

[compucure]

Hi floppy welcome to the site I am Sorry that you have not had many responses. It is great being able to share thoughts and experiences. Right now I am trying to cope with vicious anxiety - out of the mist. Be safe. Tony

[jazzfan53]

Welcome. I am 57, diagnosed 8 years ago, had DBS surgery last year, living on Social Security and Medicare.

[Jash in reply to jazzfan53]

How's your DBS experience been? Would you do it again, if you had to make the decision again?

[srarndt in reply to Jash]

YES!!!

But earlier enuf that i wouldn't have had to quit the job that i had and loved!

[srarndt in reply to jazzfan53]

Very similarly, i am 58, diaganosed 7 years ago, had DBS last year (14 months ago) am also living on SS and Medicare (and my wife's income.)

[Joealt]

Parkinson's gives a whole new meaning to shaking hands. Welcome. Share. Be well. Take care. Chin up. Think positive. Smile. Peace.

[floppy1]

thats more like it ,thanks to everybody who responded to my blog i was just about to have a seance to see if i could contact the living lol catch you all later and hey dont be a stranger yours floppy the joker

[shasha in reply to floppy1]

HEY FLOPPY - HOW YA DOIN ? SO SO SORRY NOT TO HAVE NOTICED YOUR ARRIVAL !! KEEp US ALL LAUGHING PLEASE ? XX

[sbtexas]

Hi floppy. Scott here 38. Dx' d. Almost two months ago. They say i have had ut for longer. Sorry i missed you light opening act. Lol. Glad u r here.

[floppy1]

hi shasha

thats what i like to hear the sound of laughter,it's a good job my hearings good because my eyesights getting worse yer i keep walking into pubs it's the way i tell em tatty bye

[Larry_H]

Welcome! I am new here as well. I was diagnosed Aug 2008. Humor has kept me going.. Not giving in to " whoa is me" attitude. Nice too meet u. I am a 64 yr old married male. A grandpa x 2. My typing sucks now. as well as my writing. Well almost 5 am and time for my morning meds.. round 1. .

[floppy1]

hello larry h

i was dx xmas eve 08 i am 54 divorced been with my fiancee 18 years we have 2 girls aged 6 and 9 and i have a son and daughter who are 32 and 29 i also have 7 grandkids hope u r well catch u later

[blackcat]

hello floppy, i am just new this morning to this sight , so i will say hello and welcome, i haven;t read your blog or comments yet, but what u posted here i understand your feeling of humor, i too make jokes and tease when things get to me. i hope to chat with u more and i would like to know more of your PD experience

good luck

[Norma55]

Hi sir, welcome to our growing community! I have a question for everyone, please tell me your place of residence. I'm in the Dallas Texas area of the USA.

[Jupeter in reply to Norma55]

I'm another newcomer(2 days) to the site. I live 10 miles north of Portsmouth in the UK. But I am originally from Manchester - the other side of the Pennines from floppy.

[shasha in reply to Jupeter]

hi jupiter - i used to live in chichester and selsey until we came to live in france in 2008 - i was ok then but looking backn i wasnt really ok if you know what i mean ?

writing was weird and i was getting stiff - put it down to coming off HRT !!

[Jupeter in reply to shasha]

Hi Shasha, I used to work with a woman who lived v. close to the sea at Selsey - in danger of being washed away with global warming! We are OK, I live in Clanfield, about 400 metres above sea level.

My first symptom was a tremor in the right hand, began to make it difficult to consume soup! That was back around 1997/8. Writing has become illegible - even with meds. Great to have credit cards and computer keyboards.

[shasha in reply to Jupeter]

hi again - sorry to say i used to be an estate agent and think i tried to sell the house near the sea- you have had pd longer than i have - can you still walk ?

[Jupeter in reply to shasha]

Sasha, I have problems with walking but not because of the PD - I have a severe scoliosis and consequent osteo-arthritis in the back. I walk with a stick but not too far. I still drive, however, and I have a folding electric scooter (a Luggie) which I can take on aircraft and cruise ships. That helps a lot with holidays (we like cruising) and visiting kids and grand-kids in the USA.

I try to keep mentally active by doing logic puzzles and I produce newsletters for our local "Environmental" group and also for my political party.

I think it is important not to let PD take over your life. Keep doing the things you like/need/want to do until you physically can't do them any longer.

Are you still working? Are you still walking?

One more question - very important. Text language and acronyms have somehow passed me by - what does "lol" mean??

It is really bugging me!!

[shasha in reply to Jupeter]

lol means - laugh out loud ! no i am not able to work here in france but would not want to anyway - no i cant walk v well at all and am hoping the ss will be providing with a motorised scooter - i have a push along wheel chair whuich my husband fred pushes me around the shops etc in ... i too have a scoliosis though obviously it has not been as bad as yours .i dont drive anymore due to my consentration goig awol ...

[floppy1]

hello blackcat

nice to meet you pity it was on a pd site still never mind. as i said i was dx 08 but with hindsight i remember having some of the symtoms back before 04 my symtoms are tremor in right hand slowness of movement [although my ex employer said he never noticed lol] and when i walk any distance my right toes start to curl under you should see my impression of a roosting owl .by the way are you by any chance from the usa i just noticed how you spelt humour i myself am from england a proud yorkshire man to be exact hope to hear from you soon

[Paul_Dineen]

Welcome, floppy!

I'm in Fort Collins, Colorado. That's in the north-central part of the the state, along the Front Range of the Rockies (a north-south stretch where the mountains suddenly end and it's comparatively flat many states far into the east).

I'm just an occasional visitor to this site (although, I like it). Busy these days at work -- my team lost a very valuable member, and our staffing was minimal to start with. And I'm doing an online course in the evening that gets time-consuming. It's taught by a Stanford computer science Professor (who's also the dept chair). I knew her personally at Indiana University; it's cool when someone you know becomes that successful. The post-class certificate of accomplishment is not from Stanford -- it's personally from her. Regardless, it's a good class and I'm (re)learning good stuff. It's the same material as what the real, on-campus Stanford students get (although they give us online people longer to turn in the assignments). There are, at last count, over 84,000 online students enrolled in this single offering of the class! After I'm done with that, I'll have more time for things such as this site. Then I'll feel more like one of the gang here, which would make me feel that it's more legit for me to welcome newcomers.

> ... i was dx 08 but with hindsight i remember having some of the symtoms back before 04 [...] and when i walk any distance my right toes start to curl under ...

The timing for me is quite similar. I know that at least by '04 I had some of the most characteristic symptoms that I later learned were caused by PD, But I might have had some more subtle symptoms back in '03 that I don't recall now. I could have been Dx'd earlier than Jan '09, but I let it go too long. Part of that was that I was diagnosed with Cervical Stenosis on the right side (pressure by the vertebrae on the nerve column). But, when I saw a spinal surgeon, he said I had some CS, but not enough to account for my symptoms, and not enough to justify an operation.

There are also the longer-term things that are at least associated with PD that I've had since either childhood or since about my late 20's (I'm 55), weak sense of smell, sleep difficulty, mild depression. Conceivably, I could have been DXed decades ago. But, maybe no one knew enough about PD back then to make that Dx?

I've been seeing neurologists for about the last 3 years. I saw my first neurologist for about a year, but no definite/confident diagnosis because my symptoms kept changing during that time. After pressure from friends and family, I switched to a 2nd neurologist who Dx'd it as Parkinson's, but couldn't find an adequate solution. So, he referred me to a 3rd, who sees patients like me much more often than the first two do. Based on my 4 or 5 visits to him so far (~60 miles away), I'm confident that he is all over this PD thing, and he can help me as much as anyone can.

I have PD on my right side (I'm right-handed), and for a while, my right toes were curling some when I walked while wearing any footwear. I suspect that the toe curling went away because of the med changes from my 3rd neurologist improving my walk. Each visit, aside from him asking how I'm doing, doing physical tests and observations, he makes changes in which meds I take and how much of each -- trying to reduce the PD while minimizing the side-effects.

> i am 54 divorced [...] i have a son and daughter who are 32 and 29

I divorced (amicably) in '04. We have one son, a high school junior now, whom we adopted (Jan, '96) from Korea when he was 4 months old.. He spends half of each week with each of us. If I got PD at least in part from genetics, then I'm glad that I couldn't have passed it on to him. I have a large extended family -- 38 cousins, for example. There have been a few of my aunts/uncles/grandparents/great-grandparents who've had neurological problems, but we don't know of any who've had PD.

Once again, welcome!

pd

[Ronald]

Hi Floppy Friendship is born at the moment when one person says to another

What you too? Thought I was the only one.Connecting with fellowtravelers on our journey with parkinson's disease gives us reason to believe that we can persevere through good times and bad.how well we meet life's unexpected challenges and make the journey easier for others We are the world,we are the people, so let's start planning to make it a better place Lastly may you have good health,peace and wonderful times with laughter and love on thanksgiving day as on all other days