The Story of My Life with PD

6/29/20 My typical day! I got up at 8:30 didn’t sleep well at all. I watched several episodes of Law and Order during the night! When I got up, I showered, teeth brushed, meds taken, bed made, dressed, moisturized and headed down the steps at 9:30. I use to be able to do these tasks in about 20-30 minutes! I always put my clothes out at night. I am so freaking slow now. I went outside and watered my flowers in the ground and my flower pots. That took about 30-40 minutes! I am slow moving and I felt like I was going to fall forward a few times so I had to slow down and be more deliberate in my walking and in my steps! My Roomba is on an automatic schedule and it was running. I had to pick up all of the throw rugs and shake them out! Olivia came downstairs and told me that she was meeting her friend at Ulta (a huge cosmetic store) and we chatted until her friend called her and was ready to leave her house! I cleaned the refrigerator, microwave, dishwasher, and oven doors. I also cleaned ...

/6 25-6/27 On Wed., I didn’t get much done because I had a doctor’s appt. It is amazing how long it takes to go to an appt. It sort of ties up your day. When I got home, I did some gardening and then ran a few errands. I am starting to like my orange marigolds. I usually plant pink, red, and white flowers but I am so sick of the deer eating everything that I just decided to go orange and yellow this year! And they don’t eat marigolds! They have eaten plants that I have purchased that had a tag that said, deer do not eat these or something to that effect! But they did find my rose bush out front, it has deer netting on it but they managed to eat anything that wasn’t completely covered! I am working on a project for Olivia’s birthday so I got that in motion with some help from family members. Olivia had a few friends over to swim. I love to hear the laughter of young people! She has the nicest high school girlfriends. Olivia’s boyfriend is down the shore for a week and I think it was nic...

Tuesday, June 23 I just can't stand it when I am walking along and my leg freezes and I feel like i am going to fall forward. I just feel as if I am lurching forward. Today this happened in the morning which is usually my best time! I had taken my meds about an hour before it happened so my meds were not waning. It happened twice in the morning. So far, I have always caught myself but it is a terrible feeling. Usually when it happens, I just give up and go inside but  I had a lot of gardening to do. I had to water all of my flower pots and my planted annuals and do some weeding. So I stuck it out and tried to take smaller steps and be more aware so I could catch myself! I got less done than i had planned to get done outside today but at least I kept moving! When I went inside I did my wash, I forgot all about the falling and lurching and it didn't happen again. I noticed that my best time for having energy is the first few hours that I wake up. We had been camping for a few day...

Yesterday I won $300 on a $30 dollar lottery card!   Dan had given me a $30 lottery card on our anniversary on June 7 th .   I won $30, the price of the card.   I asked him to cash it in and he got me another card. Yesterday I won $300! That is the most I have ever own on a lottery card!! It was exciting to win. I paid for take-out for Olivia and Frankie and Olya because of my winnings!    Yesterday was not a good PD day. I had a telemedicine appointment with my gastroenterologist because of my “C” issue. My doc said that “C” is really a big issue for PD people and that he thinks it isn’t anything serious! He gave me new meds and said I could wait and did not have to have a colonoscopy right now!!!   I was thrilled about that news.   But whenever anything is wrong with me physically, my PD acts up! I had so much difficulty getting up and down from the couch or the floor. I finished my project for Adam and Renee’s birthday!   Dan actually had to ph...

          Last month my daughters were in a magazine. My husband was in a local magazine a few days ago!   Years ago, we were in the township July 4 th parade.   We and a group of church friends were on a float and later we were a marching group!   Dan and his friends were called the Marvelous Marchers and they usually won first place and were crowd favorites!   In the photo they all are hot dogs with the slogan 12 guys named Frank and the Great American Barbecue!    Those were the days, the parade was five miles long, I could never walk that now that I have PD!         I think I have found a new use for Miralax. I have been taking it because so many people suggested it for the Big “C” issue I was having.   Things are moving along slowly but I have been sleeping about 6-7 hours straight!! That has not happened in over a year, maybe even longer.   Maybe there are som...

t Today I have been married for 45 years! I am looking at the photo of my wedding day and thinking........did I know or have any idea what life would have in store for me then? No one ever thinks they are going to lose a child or get a terrible disease. I really knew very little about Parkinson's until I was diagnosed. I never knew of a family member or friend who had PD. The only celebrity I knew who had it was Michael J Fox. Since I have been diagnosed I have anally rea d so much about it. I know there are several stages of PD. I don't know whether or not it is better to believe that you could get the disease if you have a family history or is it better to not know anything at all?? I am a person who likes to know everything available, I want to know what to expect in life. There is no true one size fits all for PD. I believe that my PD is a result of using too much Round up weed killer or from taking Compazine many years ago. I got really sick to my stomach and the doc put m...

Today I feel well rested and have energy!! I got up and went outside and did some gardening! First, I trimmed the bushes with my battery operated trimmer. I am afraid to use the electric trimmer now that I have PD. The battery operated trimmer is lighter and slower. Then of course, I had to sweep up all of the trimmings. Then I had to take a 20 minute break. The heat really bothers me. Then I weeded. It is so difficult to weed with PD. But I am determined to get rid of as  many weeds as possible!! I HATE WEEDS. I am trying my best to come to terms with my weeds. I can’t use Round up weed killer now that I have PD. I use to use that stuff everyday. I use to have beautiful flower gardens in front of my house. Now I am trying to make myself content with planting perennials, especially the ones that grow and spread and cover the weeds. I love pinks and reds and lavenders. But now I am planting yellows and oranges and purples because the deer don’t eat them. I only have to cover my rose...

The REALLY BAD "C" Word CONSTIPATION I have had minor problems with constipation since my PD diagnosis. If I ate a banana daily, I usually was OK. I also eat a diet heavy in fresh fruits so I never thought it would be an issue for me!! However, recently I have had to also take a stool softener. Now I am having bigger problems with it. I hope it is only a PD related issue! When you have the big"C", it is all you can think about!! I get a colonoscopy ever y few years. The first time i got one, I remember the gastro doc saying to me."You have a really really long colon." LOL, I am not sure how to respond to that!! Should I be proud? Should I be ashamed? Should I be sorry? Or should i say thank you? Yesterday I went to CVS and got a bag of supplies. I purchased a plethora of items including, stool softeners, laxatives, Fleets enemas, Preparation H, and Miralax!! Now at CVS, customers just hold up the bar codes on the items while the cashier scans them and the ...