Parkinson's Disease Community

DACHSHUNDSIX
1)Write down the information for your doctor. Trust me your neurologist will understand and appreciate it.
2) Make sure to tell him\her the medication that you were taking that caused you to become nauseated. There are different brands available. Keep in mind it sometimes takes time for your system to adjust to the medication.
3) There are patches out there for memory. There all types of dementia. In parkinsons dimentia you do not loose your memory it just takes awhile to come to the surface.

It took a long time for me to be diagnosed. I would stager and fall when I walked. I had memory problems and I no longer could use my right hand or arm for any thing. It just hung down with no movement. My vision was affected. I still have a lazy eye and they donot work together. So I use one eye and when it gets tired my vision switches to the other eye. This happens automatically.

You are not alone. Do a little research and you will be surprised at the number of functions affected by the lack of dopamine. It is involved in more than just movement.

Do you have any specific questions? If so put them out to the community and hopefulyl we can answer them?

You will find Dr Stacy is great. He usually answers the questions posted every 7 days as long as they are related to parkinsons.

Hope I have helped
w

Dachshundsix
Just a suggestion. Type what you want to tell your doctor in your computer journal and print it out or if you do not have a printer let the neurologist read your journal off of your computer. I know it is painful to write and it is going to take you a while do to the pain when you move. Think positive and keep moving. The less you move causes parkinsons to become worse. Before I was diagnosed I used a treadmill. I made sure to keep my hand on the side rails. This helped with balance and kept me from falling. the speed was really slow. After about 30 minutes of walking on the treadmill I would switch to the stationary bike for 30 minutes.I found the pain would disipate(sp) slightly and movement was easier.
You are not alone concerning spelling. Most people who have parkinsons become lousy (SP) spellers.

One last suggestion---Keep away from negtive people. They will suck the life out of you. Try to avoid stresful situations and over work. This will cause fatigue.Telling people is a personnel decision. I have no problems telling people. This helps people learn about parkinsons and it gives me a chance to educate them about parkinsons. You will be surprised at the question they will ask. I had one co worker who wanted to ask questions but was afraid of prying. I also work in health care and told her to ask away . The more she knows the better she can relate to patients.
I do have one warning for you. When your employer finds out that you have parkinsons you may be put on probation to make sure you can perform your job. I was put on probation. Even with parkinsons I still have more knowledge than most of my coworkers. Can still multitask, oranize, well enough to work for the assitant director, 3 supervisors and work the bench performing laboratory testing. So do not think that parkinsons is the end. Life is what you make of it. Sit on the sidelines or get out and grab the brass ring.
FYI--I was diagnosed in 2008 or 2009. My sypmtons started in the 1990's.

w

I am another RN who was diagnosed withe PD in '08 after having numerous problems that didn't seem to fit together. I was determined to be permanently disabled in 2010 after fighting Social Security for several years. Thank goodness my husband and good friends stay by my side and handle all of that stuff now. I develped foot drop on the right side and now wear a brace and am unable to drive anymore. My memory is bad and I have a hard time speaking, between stiff mouth and my voice is soft.

Read as much as you can about PD. What we learned in nursing school barely scratches the surface. You aren't alone, as it was said above. And, write specific questions both on this site and at your doctor's office.

Welcome Dachshundsix,

Welcome to the community. It looks like you have already received great support and information (thank you worn1!).

Please do address a specific discussion to Dr. Stacy if you have a question for our expert. He is an amazing expert and we are very fortunate to have him here!

Haylen

Hi Dach,

Welcome to WebMD PD website. Dr. Stacy is great and I have learned much needed info here. When I first went on the meds my doctor used the following scheduled:
? pill in morning for 3 days
? pill in morning, ? pill in afternoon for 3 days
? pill in morning, ? pill in afternoon, ? pill in late afternoon for 3 days
1 pill in morning; ? pill in afternoon, ? pill in late afternoon for 3 days
1 pill in morning; 1 pill in afternoon, ? pill in late afternoon for 3 days
1 pill in morning, 1 pill in afternoon, 1 pill in late afternoon

My doctor told me to take the meds (Sinemet) with food to help with the nausea but since I heard that protein stops the meds from entering the brain I take my meds one hour before dinner or 2 hours after dinner. I did not have any nausea with the above schedule. The best time for me is 6AM, 11AM and 4PM. But if I am late I always make sure I have 5 hours between doses. So far I only need three 25/100 per day. Don't ask me why I can stop my meds at 4PM and not need them again until 6AM. I do not know the answer. This will probably change in the future as my disease progresses.

I have noticed that if you would like Dr. Stacy to answer your post it is best to start your post with "Dr. Stacy"

Again welcome to this web site. I also go on the Daily Strength web site for Parkinson's which is very well attended.

Sorry the ? is one-half pill

I am new also. From what I can see there is great support and answers. I take requip(ropinirole) with no ill effects. Using you computer to comunicate with the Dr. is a wonderful idea. You might keep a running page and add to it as things occure to you. I certainly understand about the writing. It is so frustrating not to be able to fill out a check. I have improved a lot in that area and am able to function most of the time. Some days can't, havent been able to figure out why. Losing words must be par for the course. I am usually able to reteive in about 15 minutes. See the neurologist asap. There may be medication out there that will help you get back what you have lost. Do not waste valuable time when there is a chance for improvment. The neurologist will be looking at a lot of things about you that you don't realize he is looking at and not depending all on verbal communication. I wish you the very best.

The only thing can think of to add to the suggestions is to have someone you trust and understands what you go through day to day accompany you to the doctor appts. I have such a hard time trying to figure out how to reply to "so, what's new?" that it causes me more anxiety and I can't think right. My husband a close friends know me so well that they can figure out what's going on with me at any particular time that and are much better at talking for me sometimes,

My heart goes out to you. I have PD and I've been taking L Dopa 3XDay/one hour before each meal. My neuro Md put me on Phys. Therapy. It has helped very much in finding my balance.Courage and stay active! Read and try to do phisical things.

Hi,
I,too, am an RN. I was diagnosed 9 years ago the day after my 51st birthday.
Sadly, I had to stop working about 51/2 years ago. I am also experiencing difficulty with swallowing. I recently had a swallowing study done and it showed delayed esophageal peristalisis. I now have to see a GI specialist that works with PD patients.
Spelling and math have become difficult for me at times,as well. My handwriting is a mess and typing has become difficult.
I wish you well, and hope to hear how you are doing.
Best Wishes Zoey05

I also went for several years before enough of my symptoms made sense. I kept reporting EVERYTHING to all of my doctors and finally we came to the diagnosis. Keep a good journal (type in the computer if you can't write or have someone else to it for you). And most important TAKE SOMEONE YOU TRUST WITH YOU TO YOUR APPTS. With all of our memory impairment, we need someone to be our ears and sometimes, our mouths!

Oh, Zoey, you sound so much like me! I am scheduled for my third esophageal dilation in less than a year. I am finding that it's so much harder to find the word that I want to when talking and sometimes, in mid-sentence, I totally forget what I am saying. I don't write much at all anymore, and when I do, it's printing. My signature isn't even readable.

Zoey, you sound so much like me!! I am going for my 3rd esophageal dilation in less than a year. My memory sucks and I often forget what I am saying in the middle of a sentence. Math? forget it! I only use cursive when signing my name, which doesn't even look like my name anymore.

Oh, it's nice to hear that I am not alone and that someone else knows what I am talking about!