Well the both of us are to blame then. lol. I went out riding yesterday for quite a ride, and had no problems with balance until I climbed out of the bathtub. I had to grab the towel rack because I lost my balance in the shower. Thank god for the rack otherwise I would have clobbered my head!


Anyway back on topic, I think the electric shock treatment was the worsed part of the ordeal. They seemed to go on forever and my muscles were twitching like crazy during them. You could hear the fasciculations on the needle part of the test, but the tech didn't make any note about them. That's one mean test and I agree there's got to be a better way of doing this. This is like the old frog and the battery experiment from the early nineteenth century!

John

libra,

i had 3 epidural shots a year ago and the pain is still gone. it's not fun getting them, but well worth it for my situation, which was chronic back pain. See it through and good luck!

paula

hi from Cape Cod. So,on this subject: in 1998, a year before my PD diagnosis confirmed what I'd suspected for a while, my internist ordered an EMG to see why my right hand was no longer working. I was thrilled to get a report that I had a pinched nerve, thinking, "Great, it's not PD!" Oddly, I've never had any of the expected symptoms that correlate with pinched nerve, where I should have numbness, etc. But it makes me wonder as I read , whether there is a correlation with PD and pinched nerves due to our styles of walking changing as we begin to drag one foot, and limp, and one side takes over more functioning? Just a thought...Be well, all.
I'm trying to enjoy my vacation, which is in my favorite place, but I have had such a staggeringly steep and progressive decline in my functioning, and such a rise in my "freezing" frequency, that I am actually fairly scared at what lies ahead. And yet, I can still, at odd intervals, walk around completely normally!!! And then, just like that, my med's stop working for 2 or three doses in a row, and with no typically predictable triggers whatsoever, and I'm helpless as an upside-down centipede, so go figure.
At these moments, I seem to be an incredible Scrabble player lately. And by way, what's funnier than 3 people with PD playing Scrabble and being obsessively unable to decide which tiles to use? A great paradigm for a clinical trial, to observe exective functioning in its high's and low's with us!

Sigh. What a mind-game this disease plays with us.
Leonore

Hi Leonore, from Haverhill MA where I live all the time.

You bring up a good point, and I've wondered that myself. For years I've suffered from various pinched nerves in my neck, back, and other jointed places. I think this has to do with the twisting that our body is doing with the bouts of dystonia and the overall stiffness that PD is putting our bodies into.

The mind games are swell aren't they? I was doing quite well until a couple of weeks ago with my medication increase. I spoke with my neuro on Wednesday about some BPV and told her about some dystonia in my arms, hands and feet that was occurring more and more frequent along with more and more stiffness overall.

What seems to work for a while then doesn't work is the most frustrating thing because we begin to feel "normal" again only to have the PD evil gods take that little bit away from us once again. It's as though they know when we're back to normal again and want to keep us under their thumbs.

The Scrabble games must be fun. I haven't played that in years. They're good for the mind as they make us think harder to keep the cells in order and in shape. I can't imagine what the games are like. The one thing that is bothering with the PD thing is the loss of written vocabulary. I seem to be losing my words more and more as I write so that sometimes I come across as a complete twit. It's a good thing there are online dictionaries available because they help me with my spelling and word use. So keeping the brain juices flowing with the Scrabble games is a good thing.

John

I knew for 10+ yrs that I was gradually losing use of left side but it was so slight that doctors didn't register it. My GP who is bril & long-suffering asked if I'd volunteer for a clinical trial on nerve conductivity (maybe to shut me up). The result of the test was that nerve conductivity was OK. When I went to hear the result everything happened very quickly. The neuro looked at my arms & could see some atrophy in the muscles of my left arm. He did the walking thing & gave me a thorough medical examination leading to a diagnosis of PD.
Angela.

More and more I have to think that it is blocked meridians - and interrupted Chi flow - that is the underlying (literally!) culprit in PD. Over time, w/ ever decreasing 'life force' to an area, the nerves and muscles fail to thrive, eventually suffering pathological changes to the tissues.
This is what seems to be happening in my body over this past pd decade.
Anybody out there know what I am trying to say, experiencing something simillar??
For me the big question remains...how to remove the blocks and restore proper chi flow.

Anyone out there w/ acupuncture experience for this?

ibby

ibby, i get my results today so i will attempt to ask him about blockages.

paula

look at tena's thread on essential oils - following this thread! i haven't read the entire article yet, but I think it's quite relevant to the topic of emo/physio trauma blocks. maybe we can sniff our way towards wellness...

looking forward to your report...wondering if the doc acknowledges the invisible chi!

ibby

Sorry, let's just say that this busy neurologist, hadn't heard of GDNF. He thought Chi was an acronym. He doesn't follow research until it's out of clinical trials - too busy. Oh well. My Florida neuro is more updated. I'll try him when I get back.
Nerve conduction, bloodwork all fine. I was convinced I had a vitamin deficiency - turns out I have PD. He recommended nicoret gum since i don't want a DBS yet.


paula

sadly,another par for this lousy course we're on. think i will try aroma therapy when i can.

ibby