 |
 |
Hello, All, I am a 70-year old retired Bible translator/photojournalist. I have always had somewhat of a "nervous disposition." My mother and her brother both had tremors over a period of many years that were thought not to be PD. By 1992 I began to notice a slight tremor in my right hand, but I could still handhold a camera at slow shutter speeds. In July of that year (after the Gulf War) I undertook a stressful trip to northern Iraq to visit some Kurdish friends. When I reached eastern Turkey I discovered my right hand shaking so much I could not countersign my travellers checks. I still managed to complete my trip and took many photos that appeared sharp enough. Upon returning to the States I remarked to my wife that my right arm "didn't feel like my arm." But I coped for three years before I consulted a neurologist. I must be sort of like those Europeans the Frenchman was describing. The doctor diagnosed PD plus Essential Tremor inherited from my mother. He put me on Carb/Levdopa 10/100 for PD and Mysoline 50 for the ET. For most of the next year (1996) I took two of each daily. I haven't seen my doctor for six months but plan to make an appointment for later this month. Now I am taking 3 tablets a day. I sense the PD progressing slowly and the symptoms vary from day to day and from hour to hour. I am typing this in the earlymorning and managing pretty well with my shaky right hand. My right leg is quivering quite a bit as I sit here. Sometimes I can write OK for a short note, other times, no... Eating sweets worsens my condition noticeably with the accompanying hypoglycemic reaction, I believe. I try to eat a balanced diet with lots of vegetables and fruits, and I take supplements. Chromium picolinate helps cope with refined carbohydrates, which I can't resist totally. I have always needed lots of protein and so I try to juggle the Sinemet between the proteins. In other words I take my medicine first thing in the morning on an empty stomach, then right before lunch or just before dinner. Again around bedtime. If anyone is interested in the supplements I take and what I think they do for me, email me privately. I am a dealer as well as a user and I know this is not a place for advertisements. I appreciate this forum that I just came across recently while browsing the internet. I don't post very often but I'll be reading with great interest. Best wishes to all, Paul Smith [log in to unmask]