5/14/23 – Discovery
The thumb on my left hand started to tremble while I was seated in my favorite chair watching TV. Then it happened again. Over the next few weeks, its frequency increased to five or six times a day. Always when I was relaxed.
So, I went to my GP.
“Probably nothing,” he said after examining me. “But if it continues to bother you, here’s the name of a neurologist.”
It didn’t bother me enough for me to make the call. So I ignored it. The frequency of the trembling increased to a dozen times a day. I still was in denial. A month later, while at the dentist getting my teeth cleaned, my jaw began to shake. It lasted only a few seconds, the hygienist ;didn’t even notice, but it made me wary. Could it be a sign of something more serious? Parkinson’s? Muscular Dystrophy? Or something worse?
I googled ‘Parkinson’s’. I found out that there’s no definitive diagnostic test for the condition, although there are some being developed. In the absence of a good diagnostic tool, doctors currently look for a set of characteristic symptoms. I found a list. Did any of the symptoms on the list match what was happening to me?
Constipation? Yes, I had been uncharacteristically constipated for the last six months. Speaking softly? Yes, my friends often asked me to speak up. Phlegm in my throat? Yes, when I lay on my back mucus accumulated back there. Slow gait? Check. Stooped over when walking? So my wife ways.
Then there were other bothersome symptoms not on the list. Slower golf swing? I had been hitting the ball of the tee some 50 yards short of where I had been hitting a year previously. Difficulty in moving around in bed? Yes. And subsequent reading also indicated that this was a typical symptom. Trouble typing? Another sign of the disease. But I’m over 80 years old. Could these symptoms be just other indications of advancing age?
I needed to find out. I called for an appointment with the neurologist that my doc recommended. Her first opening to see a new patient was in December, six months away. That was clearly unacceptable. I needed answer sooner. Many sites on the Web said that people with Parkinson’s should start therapy as soon as possible.I didn’t know what to do.