Does My Family Really Understand My PD LIMITATIONS??

        I was diagnosed with PD about a year and a half ago but I think I had it for close to a year before that. Once I got on the Carbidopa Leodopa, my life settled back into a "new normal" routine.   My painful Sciatica has always bothered me more than the PD. I don't have tremors, at least not yet. I think that is because I am in the early stages. I have a handicap license plate so I don't have to park as far away from an entrance as I use to have to park.  My husband is always willing to drop me off at the entrance if I don't want to walk as far.  But I try to do the walk so that I stay agile and my muscles don't freeze up too much.   My most noticeable trait is my slow, and shuffling gait.  I can still drive, totally take care of all of my personal needs, go out socially, travel, cook, etc.  I am scared when I have to go up a flight of stairs because I am off balance and I feel like I might fall backwards. I have a death grip on the handrail!  I am not as scared going down because I can sit if I really need to or if I am having a really off balance day!  I think that my family thinks that the pills are a type of "cure" for me and that I feel fine as long as I take them!

        I have always been fiercely independent and rarely asked others for help.  I worked full-time and raised five kids and tutored after school and on Sat mornings. I was in PTOs and on other school and community  and church groups  I have always been in a book club of some type. Now I am in two bereaved parent groups(I run one of them), book clubs, I've blogged daily for a few years, I run an Older Adoptive Moms Facebook Group, and People With Parkinson's Facebook Group. I think my family sees me involved in life and activities so they think I am fine even though I have PD.  But I am really not fine. I HAVE to FORCE myself to get up and get moving many day.s I would prefer to just lie there in bed. I am scared when I feel off balance or if I am light headed. I am not afraid to be alone if Dan is away but I am afraid I will fall in the shower or getting out of bed. I am always afraid of falling. I am nervous living in a two story house even though it is sort of manageable for now. I also dread the idea of packing and moving and looking for a new place so maybe I have forced myself to be content here. I think I am just having a depressed day. My Sciatica is back and it is angry and my PD is angry today too! My eye is burning and my vision is really blurry today so sorry if there are tons of typos in this blog post today.