Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Today is the First Day ...

I am a 60-year-old, otherwise-healthy guy who has Parkinson's. They call it "young onset," because I was diagnosed when I was just a kid - 58.

My symptoms are rare - no tremors, but loss of strength and balance. Rarer still, it affects the right side of my body mostly.

At first, I resisted Western pharma products. I've been practicing Transcendental Meditation and have made certain lifestyle choices, like vegetarianism and the use of natural products and organic foods.

When my symptoms caused me to rethink my resistance to Western approaches, I was initially put off by the side-effects, so I stopped the meds. After a while, though, I jumped back on the meds and found the symptoms to be worthwhile trade-offs.

Meanwhile, I supplement the meds - currently Stalevo and, experimentally, the Neupro patch - with Vitamins C and B Complex and a product called Aqua Hydration from Wild Medicine in Australia (http://www.wildmedicine.com.au/) ... the latter recommended by Dr. Jon Coleman in Stop Parkin' and Start Livin', which book resonated with me, although I'm keeping an open mind about his claims of complete recovery.

As I write this (with my left hand), I am getting along fine. It's more difficult to to some things - like dressing, tying laces, putting on shoes - but one adjusts. Thankfully, my work is home-based and involves, as my wife would say, "Gabbing on the phone and playing with the computer" ... so I can carry on, although fatigue is somewhat of an issue.

My attitude has been good since Day One, when my reaction to the diagnosis was, "That's interesting." Am I in denial? I don't know; I don't think so.

I am not doing one thing I know I should: exercise! I really need to get on it ...

Tomorrow. Maybe.