Saturday, March 24, 2012

Getting it through my thick head

When will I get it through my thick head that I NEED to get enough sleep and exercise (not at the same time) and to remember to take my vitamins as well as my meds?  the last few weeks I've felt just awful.  I had hardly any "on" time, got exhausted by the smallest things and was unable to exercise because of the fatigue, stiffness and pain.  Then I remembered that I had not taken my vitamins all through the holidays and well into February, so I started up again a couple weeks ago.  I also decided to exercise even though it knocked me out.  Sure enough, I'm soooooo much better now.

I am both Vitamin B12 and Vitamin D deficient, like a lot of other Parkies.  Fortunately, the oral supplements work just fine for me.  I tend to stop taking them when I feel better;  I hate taking more pills.  It's time to face the facts, though; I'm going to have to probably take them for the rest of my life. O.K.; could be worse.

If I don't exercise, I always regret it.  I get stiff and shaky and then it becomes a vicious circle.  No matter how much I don't feel like it, I have to remember to get up and walk, to dance, to do something and not just sit there turning into a statue.

So, I guess I'd better pull on my "big girl panties" and get on with it, right?

5 comments:

PZ said...

Luckily, I have made a daily walk a part of my day since about 1998, so when I was diagnosed in January, it reinforced doing something I was already used to doing. Hope you can keep moving.

Anonymous said...

My name is Mike Justak. I'm a young onset patient diagnosed in 2004 at the age of 47. As you can see I have started a non profit. For Awareness month I have begun a project I call the "Faces of Parkinson's Video Wall." It will be a compilation of videos submitted by Parkinson's patients.

The compiled video will be submitted to PAN and other Parkinson's advocacy groups.

Please take a minute to take a look, and if you wish please spread the word.

You can see the concept video on my website at:

http://www.mjfpd.org/FaceProject/FaceWall.htm

I would love to include a video from you as well!

Thanks for your consideration,

Unknown said...

I love your sense of humor in the day to day life of LIVING. While I am not a person with the disease, I do encounter the disease daily as my best friend has an advanced stage of MSA-C so it includes the PD and I am one of her primary care-givers. There are times that we wonder, how do others see us on the outside because we do have a warped sense of humor ourselves. It helps to cope sometimes. I love your blog and look forward to reading more in the months to come. Being new to the blogging world, I too have begin a new blog in attempts to put our stories out there for others to maybe seek guidance or knowledge or just a little word of encouragement. Keep LIVING and blogging!

Mike Byer said...

I guess I a hard-headed as well. I was diagnosed a year ago. I am now 40 and still not completely convinced I have PD. I'm laying awake at 0300 in the morning struggling with that still. I've just completed a whole day of not taking any of my Meds. I was able to make it through the entire day feeling great. Have you ever had days like that? My Wife was pretty upset with me, but I can't help but wander if I really have PD or not. I haven't been able to find much support out there yet, with the exception of all of my wonderful family and friends. Pretty lonely right now. Thanks for your blog.

Marian said...

Mike J.: Love the video wall! If I get the nerve up, I'll submit a clip myself. What a cool concept.

Kristianna: thank you so much, it's nice to hear that someone is getting something out of this project of mine. I hope you do start a blog yourself; it's very therapeutic for you and for others. If you could, please post a link to your blog when you're ready..?

Mike B: I know exactly what you mean. Every day I wake up and before I move at all, I think "maybe it's gone; maybe it was never there". Then I try to get out of bed, and I know it wasn't just a bad dream.
It's easy to think that maybe you don't have PD when you're feeling well, especially early on. But it lingers in the background, and it gets more real every day. Personally, I think a little denial can be a good thing, if it keeps you motivated and moving; why give in to Old Man Parkinson and let him spoil your day? You just have to be reasonable enough to take your meds and take care of yourself. Some days, I pretend that I'm taking all these pills as a beauty treatment. It's just not working yet. :-)

About Me

My photo
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.