Post DBS Results: Three Months After

It is now three months since they drilled holes in my skull, inserted wires and hooked them up to electricity (in the form of a generator implanted in my chest), so it's time for a DBS Surgery update.

The good news:

YumaBev hair growing back

I haven't had a single foot cramp since the morning of my surgery! My Parkinson's tremors, rigidity and slowness of movement are pretty much gone. I am taking less than half the medicines I was prior. My Stone Face has lessened. I have almost no dyskinesia. My hair is growing back (with more gray in it, unfortunately) and my sense of humor is intact, none of it leaked out.

The bad news: None really, except I can't wear strapless gowns anymore, but that's okay, they were always uncomfortable. 

No more strapless gowns

Since my last DBS update, I have made two more trips to Tucson, Arizona for programming. One just before Christmas and one last week (Jan 11, 2013). The one before Christmas was done by Dr. Norton, my surgeon, and the one last week was done by Stephanie (who runs a DBS programming clinic at Tucson Medical Center). Dr. Norton's settings took care of my tremor, rigidity and slowness. 

That being said, I am still having trouble with my upper lip, not only does it want to curl into an ugly sneer, it also tightens so that when I try to speak, it doesn't move, making me look and sound like a very bad ventriloquist. Stephanie tried some different settings, and I actually got relief for a day or two, but now my right foot wants to turn inward when I walk, so I think I may just forget about it and just continue to take the carbi/levodopa for my lip.

I still get tired very easily, and this past trip to Tucson was a very long day. My Wonderful Husband was "under the weather" so I made the trip alone. I won't do that again. 

YumaBev using chopsticks

I am sleeping about seven hours at night, on average, which is an improvement over the four to five before surgery. My dexterity has improved; buttoning buttons is no longer a problem and I actually ate with chopsticks the other night, however, my handwriting may actually be worse and my typing is erratic. My fingers seem to rest a bit too hard on the keyboard at times, causing things like thiiiiiiiiiiissssssss. 

All in all, I am very pleased with the results. The DBS surgery fixed, for me, everything Medtronic promised it would (tremor, rigidity, slowness). As for the rest, it is not a cure and will not fix everything. I still have a degenerative neurological illness and will continue to get worse, but for now, it's nice to be able to get myself dressed and undressed, fold sheets again and get up from a chair without help. 

Who knows, maybe I will be able to do a Parkinson's Humor Road Show this summer. I already have two bookings so far (one in nearby California on March 6th and one in New Orleans, Louisiana on April 6th) and I am sure there are hundreds of Parkies and Parkinson's support groups to visit along the way!


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Parkinson's Disease: Life in the Slow Lane

It happened again this morning. I was doing laundry and folding the items as I pulled them from the dryer. I normally fold fast, so, why was I having such a hard time folding this sheet?  

I learned how to fold stuff when I worked at Disney World as a teen. I worked in Re-Wrap. Visitors open packages, look at the items and then purchase unopened ones. All the opened items (shirts, towels, bedding) went to Re-Wrap. Items that weren't damaged were re-folded, re-wrapped and put back in the shops and I was one of their best. 

So, what was going on today? I wasn't stiff; I could bend my joints easily, so it wasn't the rigidity thing. I was just moving in slow motion. I thought I knew the answer, but I wanted to double check, so I went online and searched "Parkinson's slow motion", and there it was.  

Bradykinesia - slowness of movement. 

Darn! I now had another symptom of Parkinson's to add to the list. I may have had it for a while and just mistook it for rigidity, after all, the effect is almost the same, you can't move fast. 

Since my body wasn't rigid, what was causing the slow motion? I read all the medical gobbledygook and decided it was a speed problem. The instructions from my brain to my hands used to come at Star Trek warp speeds and now they were coming by Pony Express.

When I explained this to my Wonderful Husband, he chuckled and said “I think your horse died.” I agreed.

Looks like we both still have a sense of humor.

 Yee Haw!