Parkinson's and Vision and Voice

         I have had macular degeneration for almost 20 years.  (Macular degeneration is damage to the macula -- a small part of the retina that maintains the center field of vision. As this disease progresses, images in this area can appear dark, blurry or distorted. Limited treatments are available).   I can still see fine except not as well at night. I have had about 8 or 9 shots in my eyes because my retina occasionally bleeds and the shots stop the bleeding.  It is so scary when you have a needle heading for and then entering your eye and you know it has to stay open.  They put an eye  clasp to keep your eye open  but that hasn't usually worked for me so a technician needs to hold it open because my instant reflex is to keep it closed. You actually feel ok after you get it a few times. I have not had a shot in over a year and I am so thankful for that.  Parkinson's disease can affect the eyes.  I don't know if my current vision difficulties are due to Parkinson's or my macular degeneration! I have just noticed that I get double vision when reading! I LOVE TO READ! I belong to two book clubs and I read other books also.  My favorite thing in the world to do is to read.  Reading opens a whole new world to the reader. I found this information below online.
       (https://www.apdaparkinson.org/what-is-parkinsons/symptoms/eye-vision-issues

• Blurred vision or difficulty in focusing may be due to difficulty in moving the eyes or due to the side effects of Parkinson’s drug therapy, especially anticholinergics. This problem may occur on starting treatment with anticholinergics, but normally improves over time. It may also occur with long-term treatment with anticholinergics or after some dose adjustments.
• Double vision usually occurs in Parkinson’s disease due to problems in moving the eyes in alignment from side to side, such as when reading. This occurs as a result of impaired coordination and fatigue of the muscles moving the eyeballs.
• Excessive tearing (lachrymation) of the eyes.

Could Parkinson's be affecting your speech and swallowing?

Do people ask you to repeat?

Does your voice sound hoarse, scratchy, or breathy?

Does your family say you speak too softly?

Do you clear your throat often?

Is your voice strong on some days, weak on others?

Do you cough when you eat or drink?

If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, you might benefit from SPEAK OUT!®.

        Today the speech therapist came to assess me for the LOUD program  or the Speak Out! program for Parkinson's. It is a voice program.  She assessed me and told me that my normal speaking voice is in the high sixties 67-68.5 and should be 70 so I am not that far below where she wants me to be.  I don't think that I was ever a really loud talker except when I was teaching! So now we will start a program next week! We are going to do the Speak Out! program.

SPEAK OUT!® is a highly effective speech therapy program developed by Parkinson Voice Project.

SPEAK OUT!®  is the first step in Parkinson Voice Project’s two-part therapy approach.  SPEAK OUT!® typically consists of twelve individual speech therapy sessions conducted by a speech-language pathologist. Together, the patient and the speech-language pathologist work their way through a series of speech, voice, and cognitive exercises outlined in a comprehensive workbook provided to every patient in the U.S. as a gift from Parkinson Voice Project. Each therapy session lasts 40-45 minutes. The primary goals of SPEAK OUT!® are to strengthen the muscles used for speaking and swallowing and to teach patients how to speak with intent. Once patients complete SPEAK OUT!®, they transition to the second part of Parkinson Voice Project’s program called The LOUD Crowd®.

Parkinson Voice Project treats individuals with Parkinson’s and Parkinson-plus syndromes in its speech therapy clinic in Richardson, Texas and also trains speech-language pathologists from other clinics through in-person workshops and online instruction.  The organization’s vision is that people with Parkinson’s worldwide will have access to SPEAK OUT!®and The LOUD Crowd®.