Forum Replies Created

  • joe-escobar

    Member
    January 14, 2020 at 2:02 pm in reply to: What was your earliest symptom?

    Mary Beth,

    At this time they have only called it Parkinsonism. Most of my muscle stiffness is in my hip area, especially when I get up in the morning. Once I get moving, it settles down where sometimes I don’t even feel it. I still have full dexterity in my hands and arms, but my left arm and hand feels a little weird kind of like it’s a little slow to respond, like when I’m doing something simple like tying my shoes. And the quiver I get in my jaw shows up mostly when I’m doing something involving some kind of dexterity or concentration. Kind of reminds me of when some people stick their tongue out when they concentrate on doing something. Sometimes I wonder if the quiver in my jaw comes from nerve damage from a lot of dental work over the years, and I wonder if that could be what’s affecting my horn playing and causing an occasional stammer in my speech. I have a follow-up appointment with a neurologist in a couple of weeks so I will be curious to see what he thinks at this point.

  • joe-escobar

    Member
    January 2, 2020 at 3:16 pm in reply to: Linda Ronstadt and PD affecting her voice

     

     

    I really appreciate all the responses to my posts. I feel bad for those of you who have lost so much,

    I sang and played with a big band on 12/28 and did a small New Year’s Eve party on 12/31 with my quartet. My voice was solid, no issues as well as my trombone playing.

    I have decided that it’s just best for me to accept some of the minor symptoms that I have right now as my new normal. I’m adopting a daily exercise/stretch routine as well as a daily practice schedule for my music career. I am pretty much retired as of this month which will make it easier for me to maintain a schedule without having to worry about going to work.

    If anyone is interested in my music, my website is http://www.joe-escobar.com. If anything, it will show you what I do currently, and why I’m so afraid to lose it.

     

  • joe-escobar

    Member
    December 30, 2019 at 2:32 pm in reply to: Linda Ronstadt and PD affecting her voice

    A little follow up. I just sang and played with a big band a couple of nights ago. My voice was just fine and I received many compliments, and I also played in the trombone section when I was not singing. That went just fine as well, probably because I was just reading parts and not doing any soloing or improvisation. I think the one thing that bothers me the most is the fear if something is going to happen at one of these performances. Another symptom I have had of late is that my emotions seem to be really really amplified. If I see something sad on TV or in a movie, I don’t get teary eyed like I would in the past. Instead, I break into full blown sobbing. Same thing happens at the other end of the spectrum where if something is funny, sometimes I break into uncontrollable laughter. This causes me to be concerned that in the future, if am singing a somewhat emotional song, could it possibly make me break down and not be able to get through it. That would be quite embarrassing. I have always been thought of by my friends and family as sort of a Renaissance Man. I can pretty much a build or fix anything. I build my own computers, classic cars, I autocross one of my cars, work with wood, metal, you name it. Pretty much all of these skills require working with your hands. Although I still have full dexterity in my hands, I find that simple tasks like tying my shoes and buttoning my pants seem to take more concentration, causes a little tremor in my jaw and my left hand seems to respond a little slower. Has anyone found that they are less motivated? Even though I am retiring, I have a lot of hobbies and things to do to keep me busy and active. But I find that sometimes I have to really push myself to get going doing things that I normally find fun to do.

  • joe-escobar

    Member
    December 17, 2019 at 10:19 am in reply to: What was your earliest symptom?

    About a year ago, I noticed that I was getting really stiff in the morning. When I would take walks with my wife, I found it hard to keep up. So I scheduled a physical. All of my tests came through as perfectly normal, I did a treadmill stress test which also came out normal, but for some reason the doctor suggested that I see a neurologist and she said she would explain more after I saw him. but I was feeling really good about the fact that all my tests came out really good. It was after seeing the neurologist that I found out that they suspected that I had Parkinsonism. I have no visible tremors at this point. I do have a little shake in my jaw when I do anything that takes dexterity. My gait has changed and has become a little stiffer. Sometimes I don’t lift my left foot as much as I should when I walk. When I raise and lower my left arm, it sort of feels like it’s ratcheting instead of moving smoothly. I’ve also noticed a twitch below my right eye that has a tempo of its own and comes and goes randomly. I’m trying to exercise more and have been using some free weights at least every other day. Sometimes I find myself lacking motivation to get going in the morning and have to force myself to get moving. Once I get involved in something I’m just fine. Another thing I have found is that I cry at the drop of a hat! And I don’t mean just tearing up, I start full-blown sobbing when I experience something sad like in a movie run the news oh, it’s just crazy. It also happens doing experiences of joy. Fortunately, at this point, I can still function fairly normally and I just work  through these issues right now.

  • joe-escobar

    Member
    December 17, 2019 at 9:59 am in reply to: Linda Ronstadt and PD affecting her voice

    As a professional trombonist and vocalist, I have been very concerned about losing my voice and the ability to play. I’m still booking gigs and performing, but I think I have noticed a change in how my voice feels when I sing. I’ve been having a little stutter in my speech where I have to really think about what I’m going to say, or I will repeat a phrase two or three times. That has not been an issue when I’m singing at this point. My trombone playing appears to be affected mostly when I’m improvising in my jazz quartet. Phrases that I have played for years, have become difficult to play now, unless I slow them down. Which is something else I found. I was having trouble signing my name until I realized that if I do it slower, I can sign it just fine. It’s almost like my mind is responding slower. When I play trombone in the orchestra, I don’t really have any issues, and I think it’s because the music is very straightforward and regimented, and you’re just reading a part, where as in jazz improvisation, you’re creating a new melody line on the fly. It’s really frustrating when I watch videos of myself playing a few years ago where I could get around the horn so easily, something that just doesn’t happen anymore. I can still play a decent solo, but I have had to rethink how I improvise.

  • joe-escobar

    Member
    December 11, 2019 at 12:33 am in reply to: Where do you live?

    Joe Escobar in Oakland, CA

  • joe-escobar

    Member
    December 1, 2019 at 1:24 pm in reply to: Why did you join this forum?

    Thanks for your replies. My website is http://www.joe-escobar.com there are links to audio samples in links to YouTube videos.

    I also play trombone in the Oakland Civic Orchestra, very good local community Orchestra. My orchestra playing does not seem to be affected as the music is fairly straightforward. I have not had any issues with singing so far, but I’ve had to rethink my jazz improvisation based on the loss of some of my ability and range.

  • joe-escobar

    Member
    December 1, 2019 at 1:30 am in reply to: Why did you join this forum?

    Hi,

    I’m new to this forum. My wife actually found it. I got a Parkinsonism diagnosis about a year ago. I’m 65. I wasn’t feeling right and thought I should get a physical.

    All of my tests came through as normal, even the treadmill stress test. I thought all was good but my doctor suggested I see a neurologist

    It was that visit where I was told. I’m just getting ready to retire, so this has been a bit difficult. I’m a professional musician and vocalist and my biggest concern is losing the ability to play/perform. I’ve always been an exceptional trombonist and have lost some of my “chops” over the last year. Some of it could simply be age related but not sure. I don’t have any visible tremors, but I do have a sort of “beat” in my jaw that seems to be more prevalant when I’m doing something that takes some dexterity. I’ll be gathering info from this group for sure.