Parkinson's Disease Support Group
Parkinson's disease is a movement disorder often characterized by muscle rigidity, tremor, a slowing of physical movement, and in extreme cases, a loss of physical movement. The primary symptoms of Parkinsons are due to excessive muscle contraction, normally caused by the insufficient formation and action of dopamine, which is produced in the dopaminergic neurons of the...
I am 43 and had a stroke at 23 and a tbi in my late thirties. I was neuropsychology tested in o6 and now in 08. I have a moderate decline in my testing this year compared to 06. I am looking for support and am not sure where to go. I have been put on Exelon patch for this, I am also on anxiety med because I have been so upset over this. Any support would be greatly appreciate. Oh yeah they fill my two injuries and parkinsons has caused this. I will know more in two months when I go back to the neurologist.
Thanks for listening
Thanks for listening
My mom has Parkinsons and has many cognitive issues, I have MCTD and I have some, too, though they are sporadic and very different. A wise man once told me, "focus on what you can do, not what you can't." I will bet there are things you can do better than other people, and cognitive areas that are not affected-- Parkinsons does NOT attack all of your cognition, it can be very spotty.
On really bad days, I think of Ed Harris in Apollo 13 when he said, "All right... what do we have on the ship that works?" Try not to focus too much on what's not working-- try to just be aware of it, and then move on. Be aware of your strengths and try to leverage them in different ways. You may have to use parts of your conscious brain to control some movement. (My motor skills are still great, but I have problems with spatial orientation sometimes, and I try to get the verbal side of my brain to pick up the slack. Compensate, compensate, compensate....)
Lord, I have no idea what a brain scan might reveal for me-- vasculitis, lewy bodies, probably some scary stuff. Tests will not tell you how well you would function in the real world. I bet there's some moron out there right now who had a perfect brain scan and just rear-ended someone because he was talking on his cell phone!
Anyway, sorry you're having a rough go, I know this stuff can be depressing. Hang in there, hope some of these rambling thoughts were helpful...
==Catalyzt
Wow, Catalyzt, I love that! What a great way to look at things. Thanks.