Originally Posted by ol'cs

Many of us here have more than one medical issue. This often leads to people who have , or know people who have PD, judging us as having a disease that is "really not as bad as they say it is". This irks me to no end. I have other medical issues , and my wife has said to me on numerous occasions "well i've seen x's dad , and he's had PD for 15 years and is not as bad as you". Well, dahhh, x's dad doesn't have heavy calcium deposits in his spine, and gouty arthritis like i do, along with other ailments concurrently with PD. People without parkinson's often miss these facts, and think that we are complaining about nothing. Cancer is a bigee, and can have serious psychological effects , increased anxiety and general side effects that have nothing to do with PD. They have to walk a mile in your shoes, prefferably in 6 inch stilleto pumps on a slippery rock surface , downhill. Get the idea .