-
Don Harris replied to the topic Will you continue to get COVID boosters and vaccines? in the forum Coronavirus (COVID-19) and Parkinson’s 1 day, 13 hours ago
Four shots so far and I guess more to come, possibly on an annual basis akin to flu shots.
A Covid positive test was followed by feeling slightly below par for one day only but very prompt application of anti-virals probably helped.
Over a third of all Australian Covid deaths are the unvaccinated but they are only 3% of the population.
-
Don Harris replied to the topic Which symptom is most challenging to navigate? in the forum Parkinson's Disease Symptoms 1 week, 4 days ago
Muscle atrophy is my main concern but I don’t know whether PD is the culprit. Whatever, everything is a lot heavier than it used to be!
-
Don Harris replied to the topic Do you still have your driver's license? in the forum Living With Parkinson's Disease 1 month, 4 weeks ago
I am still driving as normal including long trips and at this stage (8 years since diagnosis) PD seems to have had little, if any, affect on driving ability.
If/when it does I will find it very hard to give up a lifetime of mainly enjoyable driving but my wife is a good driver and will step into the breach.
-
Don Harris replied to the topic What's your weirdest symptom? in the forum Parkinson's Disease Symptoms 2 months ago
I have chronic rhinitis – a box of tissues only lasts a day or two – and watering eyes, both symptoms of which have been attributed to PD.
But my weird symptom is a tingly sensation in my index finger when urinating! I cannot recall whether the sensation occurred before I was diagnosed about 8 years ago. -
Don Harris replied to the topic Should I start Levodopa right away? in the forum Parkinson's Disease Medications 4 months, 1 week ago
Ron
What i was to say has already been said in various ways but it deserves emphasising.Numerous studies show long term use of levedopa induces dyskenesia which may be worse than the tremors it is trying to treat. The side effect is bad enough for some drug companies to be researching antidotes!
Despite my neuroligist’s objections I have cut…[Read more]
-
Don Harris replied to the topic Were you exposed to toxins during your life? in the forum Living With Parkinson's Disease 4 months, 3 weeks ago
Hello Mary Beth
I have been exposed to small amounts of glyphosate but by far the biggest toxin for me is asbestos. In the 60s, 70s and and early 80s I used to build with asbestos cement sheeting although I used to cut it with hand tools, minimising the dust.
If I were a candidate for asbestos related diseases it should have happened by now.…[Read more]
-
Don Harris replied to the topic How did your booster compare to initial vaccines? in the forum Coronavirus (COVID-19) and Parkinson’s 6 months, 3 weeks ago
I had my Pfizer booster a month ago with no effect at all, just like the two AstraZenica jabs beforehand.
For all the effect I had I may as well have been given distilled water!
Does anyone else agree that continuous video clips of injections going into arms is off-putting?
-
Don Harris replied to the topic Sleep disturbances and night terrors in the forum Parkinson's Disease Symptoms 7 months ago
REM behavior disorder (RBD)was one of my first clues that I have PD.
Whilst my wife is still game to share a bed with me she does so at some risk as I sometimes lash out (mainly hitting attacking animals in my dreams). Keeping as far away on the opposite side of the bed helps mitigate the risk but means I am liable to roll over onto the…[Read more]
-
Don Harris replied to the topic Where do you live? in the forum Diagnosis Information and General Questions 8 months, 3 weeks ago
I am glad to see that I am not the only Australian on the list. We are building a new house at Aldinga Beach south of Adelaide, South Australia. It’s a great location – next to a beautiful beach and nearby McLaren Vale wine district.
May I add that Parkinson’s News Today is veery worthwhile. -
Don Harris replied to the topic Can exercise delay Parkinson's progression? in the forum Parkinson's Disease and exercise 9 months, 1 week ago
Not sure if exercise is effective in delaying PD as my main form of exercise is busy daily living but I do 2 exercise classes each week and find the balance sections exacerbate my mild tremor into something much more severe. So much so I am thinking of quitting the classes.
-
Don Harris replied to the topic Will you take the Covid-19 booster when it's available? in the forum Coronavirus (COVID-19) and Parkinson’s 9 months, 1 week ago
At this stage I think being ‘fully vaccinated’ means having 2 jabs but with efficacy of a booster it proably will be a requirement in future to meet the fully vaccinated criterion. To answer your question, yes I will have it as soon as 6 months have elapsed since my second jab.
-
Don Harris replied to the topic How long have you known you have Parkinson's? in the forum Living With Parkinson's Disease 10 months, 3 weeks ago
I was suspicious that I had PD 10 years ago and it was confirmed 2 years later. PD has progressed very slowly to the extent that it is only early stage one.
As any medication or treatment has no effect on the progression of PD but can only treat the symptoms I wonder what benefit there is to be gained in early diagnosis.
-
Don Harris replied to the topic Do you ever feel misunderstood? in the forum Parkinson’s Disease Awareness and Advocacy 11 months, 2 weeks ago
My wife does not always understand me but then again, I don’t think she ever has!
It would be nice to have something but me to blame. -
Don Harris replied to the topic What do you think of the term 'Parkie'? in the forum Parkinson’s Disease Awareness and Advocacy 11 months, 2 weeks ago
Do we now refer to Long Covid sufferers as Covies and those with Cerebral Palsy as Palsies? Hopefully Parkies does not catch on.
-
Don Harris started the topic Benign tremulous Parkinsonism in the forum Diagnosis Information and General Questions 2 years, 6 months ago
By chance when reading a Forum reply I heard of Benign Tremulous Parkinsonism (BTP) where limited PD symptoms are very slow progressing and generally are not responsive to levedopa. Local enquiries about it have mainly drawn blanks so I wonder whether there are others who seem to have the characteristics eg. tremor at rest but mild non-tremor…[Read more]
-
Don Harris replied to the topic Moving House and Parkinson's in the forum Living With Parkinson's Disease 2 years, 6 months ago
My wife and I spent a lot of mainly enjoyable time maintaining and improving our large, intensive garden of about 1 hectare on some steeply sloping ground in the scenic Adelaide Hills. Some little while after I was diagnosed with PD we decided to bite the bullet and downsize onto a more manageable property. This happened about 3 years ago but my…[Read more]
-
Don Harris became a registered member 2 years, 8 months ago