You wrote:
>
>Item Subject: cc:Mail Text
>
>Hello all,
>
>My name is Barbara Zimmer.  I'm 43 and have had Parkinson symptoms for
9
>years.  Due largely to unsuccessful communication with my neurologist,
I've
>been taking Permax and Eldepryl for only the last 18 months.  Prior to
>that, under the apparently misguided illusion that I was buying time
(for
>the long term effectiveness of available drugs) I experimented with
some
>alternative medical  practices with variable results.
>
>The good news is, the Permax impact on my symptoms (tremor on left
side and
>more and more on the right, as well, shuffling gait, falling, shallow
>voice) has set me back to where I was about 4 years ago.  I can now,
among
>other things, once again  enjoy playing the violin/viola, and run
without
>having my legs turn mushy or toes curl under.
>
>
>I consider my PD symptoms to be an unfortunate smudge on my life which
has
>otherwise been blessed with 5-year old twin daughters, a wonderful
husband,
>a loving, supportive extended family, and a challenging and rewarding
part
>time consulting job in the high-tech industry.
>
>I have a few questions to pose to the group, mostly having to do with
>communicating about PD.  I'm sure I'm not the first to ask these
questions so if
>someone wants to just point me to past discussions, that would be
great.
>
>1.  What do you say to your young kids' friends and classmates when
the
>ask you why you're shaking?  Does anybody have any good one-liners or
>short, helpful explanations?
>
>2.  Bruce Warr's note on how he uses PD for teaching examples was
greatly
>appreciated.  My work demands that I teach some classes and
occassionally
>facilitate meetings.  Does anybody else have some stories,
one-liners...
>that would both help explain my symptoms and put people at ease?
>
>3.  Has anybody had any experience with Rolfing?
>
>4.  Are there any other runners out there?  Have you had problems with
>tripping or mushy legs?   As a former competitive athelete (Olympic
>Marathon trials 1984 & 88), I have found it somewhat difficult to deal
>with the responses I get to my running now.  I imagine myself now
looking
>like I used to feel after running 26 miles.
>
>6.  Do any other string players read the list?  Have you found any
>exercises that help your playing?
>
>I look forward to more of your insightly sharing.
>
>Cheers,
>
>Barbara
>
>Barbara Zimmer
>zimmer@ ce.hp.com                         (415) 857-4894
>
>Hewlett Packard Software Initiative
>1501 Page Mill Rd 5MR
>Palo Alto, CA 94304
>
Hi Barbara
Im Barry, pd for about 9 years,45 years old. Two types of responses:
1)Tell them the truth,and tell them its not contagious.We need the
publicity.
2)On, the humor side(albeit slight), tell them you never need an
electric blender.

I was a professional musician for awhile, clarinet. I still pick it up
quite frequently but I find that if my muscles are pd affected and
tight,that I loose the coordination to play well. I think that any
exercise you do with your fingers or hand would have to be just
stretching.I always overmedicate when I do a rare live gig. Ive taken
to MIDI and now compose with the aid of computers at my own pace.

I gave up running and took up swimming. Boreing but a great stretch. My
toes curl on occassion but popping my dosage of meds about 40 min prior
to the swim seems to take care of the problem.Sorry , but thats my
second chemical solution.

I try to keep as active as possible: flyfishing, camping,skiing,
scuba,gardening, woodworking...but had to give up "muscle" sports
because they gave me too much joint pain.

Good luch with your strategies!Let me know if you discover any
techniques.

Sincerely
Barry


[log in to unmask]