Symptoms and Therapy

8/28/23

A few Parkinson’s sites have suggested that sufferers keep a diary of symptoms. I’m much too undisciplined to do that on a regular basis. But here’s one entry.

So far, the disease has been more a nuisance than a disability. The major problem that I’m having with it is that my typing has gone to pot. While I don’t actually feel my hands shaking, when I’m over the keyboard I often hit the wrong key and the same key repeatedly. It takes me twice as long to type something as it had when I was younger. BTW, this isn’t a recent phenomenon. I first noticed this behavior two years ago. It caused me to purchase another keyboard (it didn’t help).

Another symptom I’ve noticed is that for the first time in my life I’ve been getting headaches. Not really severe ones. More like my head is swelling. This feeling is often accompanied by a feeling of light-headness, kind of like when I’ve had a bit too much too drink.

My sense of balance is a little off, but not too much. And I’ve experienced REM sleep disorder, another common symptom of Parkinson’s. It hasn’t happened often. On three occasions, I’ve acted out dreams when I’ve been sleeping, much to the consternation of my wife.

Of course, I’m walking slower, slouching a bit, and I’ve noticed a little difficulty in speaking sometimes. Mucus accumulates in my throat when I’m lying on my back.

Thankfully, I’ve not lost my sense of smell or had difficulty sleeping. My urologist told me that Parkinson’s people often have an increased urgency to urinate, but that hasn’t happened to me either. And finally, it hasn’t hurt my golf game, although my swing has slowed down a bit. And the constipation that I’ve been experiencing for the last few months, is getting better.

I guess my biggest issue is what the future will hold. How fast will the disease progress? What will the next symptom be? What kind of long term plans should I make?

Next time, I’ll talk about the medications I’ve added to the standard carbidopa/levodopa therapy that the doctor prescribed.