Marlene Donnelly

I dream often.  Most are pleasant, but maybe once every other week I have what I call a PD dream.  They are always related to teaching (I taught happily for about 33 years), and always cause anger and anxiety because things are going very wrong.  I NEVER had the problems in real life that I do in my dreams!  I wake up exhausted, and frequently my…[Read more]

Temperatures above the high 70s make me feel sick – nauseous, light-headed, and very uncomfortable.  Before PD this was not the case.  I spend most of my days from May until October indoors with air conditioning (we live in NJ).  I am also less tolerant of cold than I used to be, though that’s not as bad as the heat.  In the house I keep the the…[Read more]

I completely agree with the three comments above!  I think it is very important for others to understand the variability of PD.  Each person’s journey is different, and for that one person we focus on, the journey for that person is also extremely variable.  One day (or hour!) may be very different from the next.  I choose to consider PD my adv…[Read more]

I never thought of this as a PD problem. Like you, Charles, I have many health issues and lots of daily medications. I was diagnosed with PD over 10 years ago, and for many years this was also part of my reality. Even had to have a plumber in on one occasion. The plumbing solution was to find a very long shoehorn and slice up the stool (of…[Read more]

I have been taking virtual exercise classes since last spring, when the exercise classes (yoga, t’ai chi, general exercise) I had been taking at my local hospital stopped having our regular classes. These classes are given by the same instructors at the same time as we had previously had our classes, and I find them to be excellent. I also have…[Read more]

Shelly, I also have chest tremors on occasion. mine are not as bad as yours – my entire torso does not vibrate, and they have never woken me up – but they definitely are disconcerting, much more so than the tremors in my right hand.

I was diagnosed with PD about 10 years ago and am 73 years old. During the first couple of years I had a couple of really bad falls. Then I signed up for a T’ai Chi class at my local hospital. That helped me focus on the steps I take, first starting on the heel and moving toward the toe. What had been happening was that I was putting my whole…[Read more]

Jo, you struck a chord when you spoke of yelling and screaming some nights. I do that too on occasion. Usually it is in early morning, and often my husband is already up, so I don’t scare him, but he can hear me from the kitchen. I am invariably dreaming about teaching, something I did for about 33 years and loved doing. My dreams usually…[Read more]

I’m from NJ, and we were hit hard in March and April. At that point our daughter did our grocery shopping because both my husband and I are high risk individuals, he with heart issues and me with asthma and heart issues besides PD. We have been doing much more online shopping, and my daughter cuts my hair. Now that things have calmed down my…[Read more]

I understand about how two illnesses can complicate things. I have fibromyalgia as well as PD – there is always pain, but from which one? I gave up trying to match the symptoms with the illness and just look to treat the symptom as well as possible.

As for my most bizarre symptom, I call this my PD perk. I have lost my sense of smell, but not…[Read more]

Mary Beth,

The first class I took was T’ai Chi Chih, which is one of the many forms of T’ai Chi. Parkinson’s disease had caused me to take a couple of really nasty falls, and what I found was that this class gave me my balance back and essentially eliminated further falls. Then I tried Yoga, and that continued to help with my balance along with…[Read more]

For the past couple of weeks I have been taking two different Chair Yoga classes besides the Qigong class. I found it really interesting that they were so different from each other, one definitely more gentle and the other more physical. I tried two different Zumba classes, but they were both too much for me! I have been using my computer,…[Read more]

Just this past week I received the magazine from my local hospital, letting us know of the classes that will be offered as of the last week of July. My expectations were correct; all classes will be provided through Zoom, none will be in person. I was very happy to learn, however, that I could sign up for the same classes I had been taking for…[Read more]

Mary, I have a feeling that online sessions will be our new normal for quite a while to come. I live in New Jersey, and with our dense population we were a hot spot for the virus since the end of March. We are just in Phase 2 of things reopening, and I think, with the possibility of a second wave, the classes that I took will not be meeting in…[Read more]

Previous to COVID-19 I attended Yoga, T’ai Chi, and an exercise class each week at my local hospital. These classes did much to improve my physical health as well as to provide wonderful social experiences. Once we needed to stay home I became much more sedentary. I knew I should exercise but just could not make myself do it on my own. I…[Read more]

I have had online appointments with my neurologist, my allergist, and my primary care doctor. All of the appointments very well. I was surprised with how through each appointment was. My neurologist watched me walk and do other things that I would have done in the office. My primary care doctor had me check my temp. and my blood pressure (I…[Read more]

Hi Steve,

I’m sorry your mom is having such a rough time.  I was diagnosed in Jan. 2011, and the summer of 2013 was absolutely my worst time, so I hope my response will provide some encouragement.  I see that your mom is on anti-anxiety meds (so am I), but I don’t see an anti-depressant in your information.  I started taking the lowest dosage of…[Read more]

Having been diagnosed over nine years ago, I find that apathy is not connected with depression (on Venlafaxine and doing well), poor sleep (I’m very lucky to sleep very well!), or fatigue (often tired even though I sleep well).  It comes and goes for me, though usually it is hard to get up any morning.  I find that the best medicine for me is to g…[Read more]

I found all of the above comments on target, especially Dan’s and Tina’s.  I take to heart the concept of acceptance, attitude, and gratitude – it certainly puts things in perspective for me.  I have had PD for over 9 years, and I found that my second and third years were probably the roughest – symptoms were increasing and I hadn’t yet started d…[Read more]