FIRST DAY AFTER OFFICIAL PARKINSON'S DIAGNOSIS

       Yesterday I received the official diagnosis.  I knew that I was having some type of problem for close to a year but I attributed all of my issues to my painful sciatica. I always thought that I would have tremors with a Parkinson's type disease so I sort of ruled that out of my mind.  Eventually I had to give up the dream of my problems being only sciatica. I knew there was something not quite right!

        Today I met my friend Helen for lunch.  She is a very positive and upbeat person and I really enjoy being around her so that was a nice start to my day! After I was with Helen, Dan and I left to go visit Olya at school and go to the movies. Dan really wanted to see Captain Marvel.  I didn't think about my sciatica the entire day!! No Pain from it!! My friend Nancy gave me her mother's walker which has a seat.  It is lightweight and easy to use,  I used it today!  I now have a walker in each car and a walker on each floor in my house and it has made my life so much easier.  When I was at the Parkinson's doctor yesterday, he was telling me to get a walker with a cart in it and I told him that I had one.  My friend Carol gave it to me.  It helps me so much in my house because I can carry things from room to room.  I don't think anyone realizes how much they use their hands until they aren't free to use because they are pushing a walker!!

I drove, I have no problem at all driving as of now, my sciatica problem is on my left side.  And it is just about resolved.  My fried Helen is going to use my chiropractor because I told her that he is fabulous! We had plenty of time to stop along the way because we thought that Olya wouldn't be available from her classes until about 4 p m. We stopped at a Goodwill store. My friend Priscilla is looking for a twin headboard so I wanted to check and see if they had one. They didn't but I had fun wandering around the store for 30 minutes. I bought a brand new salad strainer and cover that you can slice salad through these long grooves. It is probably a hunk of junk but I'll check it out and see. 

It was only $5.00!  Then we stopped at a Sheetz and got some snacks.  We got to Olya's campus and called her about 3:45.  She usually is walking back from campus to her apartment about that time. She was working on a project and didn't finish until 5 pm and we picked her up at her class. We didn't mind waiting because I had my book and Dan had his newspaper.  Then we picked up her boyfriend Matt and went to the movies.  Dan had bought the tickets online a few days ago.  We were going to eat at the food court at the mall.  The movie theatre was in the mall.  We got there so close to the movie start time that we didn't have time to get dinner in the food court.  We had to suffer and eat popcorn, pretzel bites, and candy at the movies. Olya was planning to stay in for the rest of the weekend because she has so much schoolwork to do.  She only has about a month of school left and then she'll be home for a few months!
       Today my sister-in-law Pennie sent me the nicest sweetest card in the mail.  She knows how upset I am about my friend Roe's sudden death, I am torn apart.  We had a special friendship because we both lost children.  We use to meet at the gym 3 times a week and chat while walking on the treadmills.  It makes the time go faster when you are with a friend. I quit Planet Fitness last year because of my sciatica.
     Today is the first day that I had an increase in my Levodopa. I was taking  a 25 mg tablet three times a day.  My doc told me to increase to a tablet and a half three times a day!  For the most part, I forgot I had Parkinson's today so that was an excellent day!!  I occasionally did the two step shuffle while walking with or without my walker. I probably could have walked all day without my walker but I now worry that I might need it so I bring it with me!

When Parkinson’s disease (PD) damages the neurons in the brain that produce dopamine, the motor symptoms of PD appear, including tremor, rigidity, impaired balance, and loss of spontaneous movement. The motor symptoms of PD are related to depletion of the neurotransmitter (chemical messenger) dopamine in the brain.

Dopamine is the neurotransmitter responsible for producing smooth, purposeful movement. Research has shown that by the time motor symptoms of PD appear, approximately 60-80% of the dopamine-producing neurons in the brain have been damaged or destroyed.

The combination of levodopa and carbidopa is the most effective treatment available for the management of motor symptoms of PD. Levodopa, also called L-dopa, was first discovered as a treatment for the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease over fifty years ago.

Giving dopamine as a therapy by itself is ineffective, because it cannot cross the blood-brain barrier. However, levodopa can cross the blood-brain barrier and can relieve the motor symptoms of PD.^1,3,4 Levodopa is the precursor to dopamine – it is the substance that is used to make dopamine.^1,2

Carbidopa is added to levodopa to prevent levodopa from being converted into dopamine in the bloodstream, which allows more of the medication to get to the brain. This also means that lower doses of levodopa can be given. The addition of carbidopa also reduces the risk of the side effects caused by dopamine in the rest of the body, such as nausea and vomiting.^1,2