I was just speaking on the phone yesterday with a fellow PDer or Parkinsonian. She has great difficulty with steps. I am the total opposite. I actually smile when I see a flight of stairs. They are one of my greatest allies, and one of my biggest successes in battling Parkinson's. I do not know if it is the visuals of the steps or the different movements required for stepping that gives me precious momentum that I once took for granted. Perhaps the fact that steps do not require the fine motor movements that walking does is the reason why they provide success, and quite frankly, downright joy to me. All I know for certain is that steps give me a steady movement, as fast-paced as I would like.
I have also found — and this may truly be all in my head — that the carbonation in soda gets my medicine working faster. Someone suggested to me that perhaps it is the sugar content of the soda that gets me moving.
It is a point well-taken. I have since tried sugar free, carbonated beverages and still I find myself experiencing the same effect. It gets me moving. One additional benefit is that I am drinking something sugar free. Again, it is fine if it is "all in my head." The mind can be powerful in good and bad ways. In this case, it is good.
I tell you all of the above to let you know how important it is to have a movement disorder specialist treat my disease. The examples above show you how individual I am with my own classification of Parkinson's disease. Not just because of the specificity of my medical condition but also because it is so unique for each Parkinson's patient. So, I offer you my personal experiences. What works for me, may or may not work for you. Please ask your doctor before trying anything, even something as simple as taking your medicine with a sugar-free carbonated drink.
It is actually best to take medicine with a full glass of water. That is what I do for the most part. However, there are some times when I really want or need to be somewhere, that I reach for the sugar-free carbonated beverage instead of the water.
I also do something else for which I do not feel you need a doctor's advice. I accept there are things I cannot do and I make others aware of the limitations Parkinson's imposes. I tell people when there is a meeting or invitation of some kind that I will try my best to be there. Most of the time I am there. But I always include my affirmative response, "Please remember I have Parkinson's. If I cannot be there, you know why. Thank you for understanding."
Next time I will tell you about my movement disorders specialists — specifically how they have helped me, and how I have helped them.
