> My boyfriend is in a high stress job which requires a tremendous amount of
detailed concentration. As long as I have known him - about a year (he has
been diagnosed with Parkinson's for about 8 years) he has been forgetful and
I have no way of knowing how much was just him and how much can be
attributed to Parkinson's.
>
> At the moment he is under extreme pressure as he is winding down his job -
thankfully! I have begged him for the last few weeks to go and see his PD
doc but he insists on waiting until he finishes the final project he is
working on which will be next week (but that seems a lifetime away). There
has been a definite deterioration in his condition recently but I was
horrified today to find that he has no recollection of a fairly indepth
conversation we had yesterday. He said if he thought hard enough it might
come back to him.
>
> Does anyone have experience of this and if so do you think it is stress
related or purely PD related and
Elaine,
I think it is inappropriate and unfair for me to speculate about
the psychological and cognitive state of your boyfriend and the dynamics of
your relationship with your boyfriend. But most PWP experience
"deterioration," greater difficulties and aggravation of symptoms when under
stress. Here your boyfriend has stress from his job, which, although this
stress is apparently a considerable amount of stress, it will end in a week.
He also has stress imposed by you, described as you as pressure to see a
doctor about his deterioration and pressure to recall a specific, lengthy
conversation with you.
I was evaluated by a neuropsychologist because I was experiencing
cognitive problems after I was diagnosed with PD. I was concerned about the
change in my memory,. but the psychologist said that my memory seemed to be
functioning at a rather high level (although he had no prior testing and
evaluation to establish a baseline for functioning of my memory prior to the
diagnosis for PD). He said a problem, which was characteristic of PWPs, was
with "attention and concentration." The problems with attention and
concentration could block information from getting into the memory. Also, if
pressured or under stress, when expected to recall information from memory, I
might not be able to intentionally recall information from my memory.
When I was first diagnosed with PD, I was given the standard
information that PD was a movement disorder with specific physical symptoms.
I was later given, or found, information that PD does effect cognitive
functioning--everything for that matter! My employment disability was based
upon the neuropsychologist's evaluation and my problems with cognitive
functioning. I have a medical textbook which is devoted entirely to the
cognitive effects of PD. Apparently many, many PWP have, particularly in the
later stages of the disease, problems with cognitive functioning and/or
dementia. And these problems, as well as physical symptoms, are clearly
aggravated by stress.
You think your boyfriend needs to see his PD doctor about his recent
"deterioration." You are probably correct. I would just suggest, since his
major stress from his job will end in one week and he seems unwilling anyway
to see his doctor until the job is finished, that you consider reducing the
stress you put on him about your relationship and about seeing the doctor
until after his job stress ends. This suggestion is not meant to be
flippant, or insensitive to your needs or your stress and discomfort in the
past several weeks, and it does not foreclose the possiblity of emergency, or
more immediate, intervention if you deem it necessary. His response to you
that he might be able to recall your conversation later after he thinks about
it, when he is no longer under stress, and stress from you to recall that
specific information, indicates to me that it is possible he may have the
combination of cognitive problems and stress which I and many other PWPs
have. You are the only person who can know if his comments are due to his
personality or "Mr. P.D. talking."
Hopefully, once your boyfriend's stress is removed, or becomes more
manageable, his condition will also improve. And, then, the burdens and
stresses on you, and the relationship, should also be improve. Just some
armchair psychologizing from a PWP. Katie
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