Ted Wilton
Forum Replies Created
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For quite some time my family marveled at stories about my dreams, but no one connected the to me having Parkinsons (our son is a critical care paramedic, and three of our four daughters are nurses). One day one of our daughters (she has Parkinsons and is not a nurse) observed me walking down the street, and I was not swinging my arms. At that time, I was also having difficulties sleeping and our daughter wondered if I had Parkinsons (my father also had it). My wife made a comment to our family doctor about my strange gait and my dreams, and he made a preliminary diagnosis. So, a daughter (not a nurse) who has Parkinsons, and a strange gait were the were the keys to my diagnosis.
Ted Wilton
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I do not like the term “Parkie”. It seems to convey a light-hearted reflection on Parkinson’s Disease, and from my experiences, Parkinson’s is not a lot of fun.
Ted Wilton
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Dizzy spells [perhaps caused by low blood pressure] and the so-called “goofy head” are most annoying to me, as both have hindered my mobility on uneven surfaces [I am a geologist, and this has essentially eliminated all of my field work now. As time advances these two symptoms seem to be getting routine, especially for the first few hours after I get up in the morning.
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After I take my Sinemet along with a single Colace tablet in the morning, I take a single cap full of MiraLAX (actually the Costco version, which is less expensive than the MiraLAX brand) in a large cup of coffee. This seems to work almost all of the time and is generally effective in keeping me regular. I used to travel extensively with my job, and that always upset my system, even when I was able to use my regular routine, and it took a few days to get “back on schedule” once I returned home.
Constipation showed up several years before I was diagnosed with PD, and the routine of daily MiraLAX was endorsed by a doctor when I had my most recent colonoscopy (about two years prior to the PD diagnosis). My neurologist has supported my use of MiraLAX, and suggested taking a double dose if problems become more frequent, but I have not had to resort to this increase.
TED
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Our youngest daughter, who is 37, had the surgery earlier this year, and it turned her life around, essentially it has been a miracle for her. So many of her symptoms are no longer active, and the reduction in her medications has been significant.
I had been skeptical of its benefits, but in her case I was wrong. My PD is less pronounced than hers was, but if I ever get to that point, I will reconsider my earlier objections to it.