Still Doing Pretty Well
I’m still off the PD meds, and I just updated my Profile on PLM. My PDRS score, which is a way of quantifying symptoms, is better than it was a month ago. Of course it’s still a very crude way to put a score on something that really can’t be scored. If you’ve ever had to tell a nurse or doctor how you rate your pain on a 1 to 10 scale, then you know what I mean.
Church is still hard on me, as the pews are not comfortable for me now. They should be, as they have a very good cushion, but the space between pews is narrow, and the backs are hard. Turning to look at the preacher while he speaks still aggravates my neck, too.
I’ve stopped using the TEN’s until I can talk to the Physical Therapist. They told me not to put it anywhere near my heart, which makes perfect sense. But there have been several times when I would get what felt like a pulsing muscle pull where my heart is in front, when I have the electrodes near the bottom of my shoulder blade. That would put the electricity near the back side of my heart as near as I can figure. So, I’m doing without it for now.
The cervical collar and the exercises seem to be helping, at least.
I have noticed several times in the last few days that I had had a painful burning sensation at different places on my feet. When I grab the place and rub it out, the place goes numb for a little while. I’m guessing that the PD meds have been blocking some of the Peripheral Neuropathy pain that is common with that problem.
I’m in the process of checking out a new laptop I bought this weekend. It was an open box item, so I only have 14 days to be sure there is nothing wrong with it. Plus, it came from a big chain store who had put all kinds of software on it advertising their company. It even had a user with a password they hadn’t bothered to tell me about. I got around that by reinstalling the original disks. But now, I’m still uninstalling all that junk the computer manufacturer lets various software companies fill the computer with.
Most people probably pay the store to get the computer ready to use, but I enjoy the challenge. Fiddling with computers has always been enjoyable to me, but the most pleasure these days comes from the absolutely wonderful feeling hubby and I both get when we can help one of the families who have told their story on our Plush Memories Lost Toy Search Service blog find a lost lovey. And, to do that, I have to have a computer. So, to get the best thing – helping people – I get to do the next best thing – working on my computer.
So, I continue to watch how my body is behaving, and working on the computer, too.
Life is a mystery at times, especially when it comes to the human body. With all the years of experience I have had in the medical field, with all the knowledge and technology that exists, medical science remains what I like to call “an exact guessing game.” I believe that is God’s way of reminding us that we may be smart, but he’s still in charge.
“We are fearfully and wonderfully made.”
I wish you luck with all that you are going through, and will keep you in my prayers.
How right you are! There is no way to understand even a small fraction of how our anatomy works as a whole, but it’s fun trying. I am encouraged that I did not regress to the state I was in when I went to the ER. I was expecting to end up being a bowl of Jello basket case when I went off all the PD meds, and have been pleasantly surprised that I am really doing pretty well.
There’s a man on PLM who has been diagnosed with PD for 28 years who does not take any Parkinson’s drugs. So, I know it is possible that I do have PD, even though it must be very mild. Not that I’m complaining, mind you!!!!