Friday, July 23, 2010

Still kicking

I'm still hanging in there; kind of walking around in a dark cloud, grieving over the loss of our dog, but turning my face back towards the sun slowly but surely.

It's amazing to me how much the PD symptoms are amplified by stress, either physical or emotional. I can barely type right now; the muscles in my arms, wrists and hands are so rigid. Maybe it's not that way for everyone, though. Lord knows, this disease works differently for every patient.

There's been a lot of interesting Parkinson's developments in the news recently; genetic treatments, laser treatments, studies about possible causes. It's hard for me to get too excited about any of it right now. Give me a cure, then we'll talk.

I find it interesting that at least one study is linking Parkinson's to vitamin D deficiency. I was diagnosed as vitamin D deficient in May. Oral supplements have fixed that, though. I have also been deficient in vitamin B12 and iron on some occasions, and have had higher iron levels than normal on others. This is a bit of a concern for me, as I carry not one, but TWO copies of one of the milder genes for hemachromatosis (iron overload).

I know that in order to find a cure, we need to find a cause, but sometimes it's frustrating just to be handed pieces of the puzzle, when there are no edge pieces and they're all the same color.

Know what I mean?

2 comments:

Patrick Younts (and my Wingman) said...

I'm very sorry to hear about your dog. We treat all of our animals like family members so I know how hard it must be for you.

Stress, anxiety or over-excitement seem to amplify my PD also. I'm like you and get excited about the research, and my hope for the future is that they will find a cure. I'm an eternal optimist.

I was happy to read in an earlier posting that you received a check for your t-shirts. It's nice to have a reward for all of your efforts.

I list your blog on my blog site (movetolivebeatingparkinsons.blogspot.com). We Parkie bloggers have to stick together.

Stay positive, keep moving. I look forward to reading your future postings.

Marian said...

Thanks so much for the kind words, Patrick! It means a lot to me. Sometimes it feels like this blog is one big message in a bottle, and when I find that someone has picked up the bottle and read the message, it means everything. I'm very glad to have discovered your blog, too; it's warm, funny and positive.

Keep writing!

Marian

About Me

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I'm a lucky lady. I have a wonderful husband of 27 years, a fantastic 25 year old son (I'm so proud of him!) a loving and supportive family, the best friends in the world, a job that I love, and... Parkinson's Disease. I was diagnosed in September 2006. That was a jolt, but I'm learning to deal with it.