Hello all,
I have been watching this information exchange for several weeks now.
I'm impressed by it's calibre and the genuine support the
contributors show towards each other. Of course, that only follows
true to form, because I am convinced that since being diagnosed with
Parkinson's I've met only the nicest people.
May I introduce myself?
I was diagnosed 8 years ago at the age of 34. At that time I was a
self-employed single parent who was totally involved with that
business and children. I've come a long way since then, sold my
business (it just became too stressful and physically impossible),
remarried, and basically opened many new doors and windows that I'm
convinced I never would have noticed before. That's not to
say that I'm glad I got Parkinson's, just that sometimes a major
shakeup causes us to stop and reassess priorities.
When I was first diagnosed, I continued with my vigorous aerobic
exercise program and I think it contributed to the fact that for many
years, people really had no idea that I had Parkinson's. However,
after being on Sinemet and Parlodel for the full 8 years, I'm finding
that they don't seem to work as well as they did before. Is that in
my imagination?
I'm finding it more and more difficult to keep active. My 'off'
times are dreadfully slow and stiff, the feeling of walking in a vat
of wet cement is very frustrating. Also, I am having problems with
morning stiffness. Once a 'bounce out of bed and get to it' kind of
person, getting going in the morning is a slow, frustrating process.
I started taking 1/2 Sinemet CR at bedtime (around 11) and was waking
at 3 am. I'd get up and do some 'computing' or something ,and I
noticed that I wasn't too stiff, so I started taking another Sinemet
CR then and now getting up, although not as easy as it once was, is
easier now.
Generally I attribute the fact that many people are surprised to learn
that I have Parkinson's to my positive attitude. Those days when even
being positive is difficult, I find that I tend to hide out, and
because no one sees me then, they have no idea of how Parkinson's can
look. That can be frustrating in a sense because they assume that
it's not really a big deal.
A group of my friends and our support group were responsible for
putting on the fundraiser to bring Kees Paap from Holland to Toronto
to speak at our conference in May. We are also working to bring the
idea of the joint 'walks' to fruition. The point is that alone, we
can only do so much, but TOGETHER we can one day make Parkinson's just
a bad memory.
Two questions, of many, ....."Does Parkinson's speed up or slow down
metabolism?"
and ....."When people speak of protein affecting medication's
effectiveness, are they referring to animal or plant protein?"
I'm looking forward to actively participating in the discussions now
that my 'lurking' time is over.
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