3.02.2024

Parkinson's Diary: Episode Seven, Another Progress Report

 

Yesterday, I had an appointment with my neurologist/mobility physician who handles my issues with Parkinson's Disease. I am doing well, although I definitely have that ailment.  He increased my dosage of Sinemet, the mainstay in Parkinson treatment. This was a four month follow-up.

I certainly have problems with ambulation, but this is to be expected. My tremor is not a big issue; it’s mostly on the left side. One of the main things that it affects is my typing—this blog, for instance, has to be carefully edited and all those extra z’s and s’s removed. My handwriting continues to be awful—being almost legally blind doesn’t help. I’ve given up writing long-hand, since it is so difficult to read my own writing that I have to recompose whatever I’m writing when I try to enter it into a computer. Since vision is such a problem, I need to dictate into the computer.

--Stop! A significant new problem: the new dose of the Parkinson’s medicine. I took it for a few days, and noticed a distinct improvement with my mobility issues. However, a side effect soon became apparent. The medicine, Sinemet, is a combination of carbidopa and  leva dopa. The carbidopa helps the medicine pass through the blood brain barrier into the brain. There it can enter the basal ganglia, the mobility centers of the brain, and help motor function. Yet, I imagine, that its effects on the brain aren’t limited to the basal ganglia. I began to be confused. I still was aware of my surroundings, but the feeling bordered on panic. Is this a side effect that would diminish with continued use of the drug? Perhaps, but the side effect was so great that I’d rather deal with reduced mobility, at least for the time being. So I decided to take the increased dosage at night, which, I presume, will help me get out of bed better in the morning.—The medicine works, but if I can’t function, it’s best to stay seated!

….Well,I'm  seate--again.

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