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On Fri, 25 Jul 1997 00:10:55, George Andes wrote: >Several recent posts to this list have been complaints, >not complaints about the list, but complaints about our >common condition, Parkinsons. The person complaining often >sounds half-apologetic about his or her condiion. Taken >all in all this list has well over 1000 PWP in various >stages of affliction, from the trembling green recruit >clutching for any word of assurance that things won't >really become as bad as rumor has it, to the grizzled >and battle weary veterans who know the truth first-hand. george this is a subject i've been mulling about for a long time during those enforced pauses when my meds have kicked out and i can do nothing much but rest and think i do believe that everything that happens to us happens for a purpose good or bad all experiences are given to us to learn from if i can accept this and expect life to be a difficult challenge rather than easy then i find my attitude changing from 'poor me! why is life so unfair?' to 'okay, okay... so what in heck am i supposed to be learning now?' when a couple of friends described me as courageous my sister's reaction made me laugh: she shot back, 'she doesn't have courage, she has parkinson's!' isn't maturity supposedly recognising reality and dealing with it to the best of our ability? and if it's a lesson why not make it as positive a learning experience as possible? admittedly my perspective on the future of this disease [as a relative newbie of 9 years] in 1997 is a far cry from the 'grizzled and battle weary veterans' but then again, i can't predict the future why sour today with self torments about me and pd in 2007? i might be hit by a truck tomorrow! and then would have 'wasted' the joys of today >And yet, the number of posts complaining about our situation, >bleak as it may be, are relatively few. >Are we really that brave or stoical? my soapbox theories about our society's brainwashing now rush to the fore, again! it's not generally considered 'acceptable' to talk about negative emotions it's regarded as a sign of weakness not being a good sport not keeping your chin up not letting your side down something to be ashamed of >The Brian Collins's, Camilla Flinterman's, Charlie Meyer's, >.... have found a new avocation in helping all of us. i value this 'connection' more than most in my isle-olation but i also look on this 'extended cyber family' as a miracle of our time maybe this 'family' is the real lesson here not pd who knows? i know i have no regrets and wouldn't change a thing in the curriculum so far >The recent few complaints have concerned sleep... >I don't move or turn over in my sleep and more than two hours >in the same position (left side, right side, or back) >would cramp my muscles ... i've never seen this mentioned on the list before but it's something i've noticed as a major change in my sleep habits since diagnosis or since medication i think patricia yothers and i compared notes on this privately [in fact it was the core of the 'stubby log-rolling tail'] i wonder if it's more common than just the three of us? >I said "no," except that they don't work anymore. He smiled at my answer. now this gets me a tad riled a condescending or bashful smile is of no use to anyone might i suggest getting a second opinion? it occurs to me that if female hormone levels can affect the meds or the symptoms so dramatically why not male hormones as well? i believe that we all, male and female, have varying amounts of all the hormones, male and female, as part of our individual chemical bouillabaisse >My final words, for now, concern time. If there is any >single symptom I would call characteristic of my PD >it is my altered perception of time. Time just doesn't >pass more slowly or more rapidly; it is just out of control. >"Hours creep. Days fly." the idea of days and months and years flying by ever faster as we get older i think is universal not due to pd if the hours creep all the more time to extract some sweetness out of them it's all around us with love from your syber-sis janet [log in to unmask]