The Energeezer Parkie - Living with Parkinson's Disease

Bev's battery

Christine Miserandino wrote a wonderful story called The Spoon Theory (Spoon Theory) to explain to her friend what life was like living with Lupus. I have a slightly different way of explaining Parkinson's Disease and use my peculiar sense of humor. I say I'm like the Energizer Bunny, except my battery has Parkinson's and doesn't hold a charge like it should, so I am the Energeezer Parkie.  

100%

Everyone has had experience with rechargeable batteries, in cell phones, laptops, cameras, tooth brushes or power tools. We know that when the batteries are brand new and reading 100% charged, they work for days. However, after a while, a 100% charge only gets you half a day or just hours.  

Warning, battery dying!

This morning, I slept great, woke up feeling good and decided to do the laundry. After the second load was done and the third was in the washer, my battery suddenly died and it was only 10:30 am. It was all I could do to finish the laundry and then I told my Wonderful Husband that I needed to lie down a bit. It was 11:25 am and I asked him to wake me at noon for lunch. I could hear him in the kitchen and I woke up on my own. It was 1:30 pm, I had slept for 2 hours!  


When I asked him why he didn't wake me, he said "You needed the rest." Now you know another reason why he is the Wonderful Husband.

Which one did I get today?

The problem with having Parkinson's is you don't look sick. I wake up almost every morning with my battery reading 100%, but I don't know which battery I got. Did I get the 10 hour battery, the 6 hour battery or the 2 hour one? I never know. I will never have a brand new battery again and I have accepted it, but when you wake up feeling 100% and then crash 3 hours later, it makes it difficult to plan your day.


The good news, for me anyways, is that sleep recharges my battery, so a nap can get me through the day.


Thank you for reading this story, I hope you enjoyed it. This is just one of a hundred stories in my book, Parkinson's Humor - Funny Stories about My Life with Parkinson's Disease. Please consider purchasing a copy from Amazon.com or your favorite online book seller. Thank you and have a Happy Parkie Day!

Parkinson's disease Drug Side Effects

I am different than most Young Onset Parkinson's disease patients and that difference may explain my sense of humor.  I went eight years without a diagnosis or any medicines to relieve my symptoms and as I got worse and the Doctors kept saying "I don't know," I was still optimistic.  Just before diagnosis, my symptoms were very similar to Muhammad Ali, I was almost frozen like a statue (Liberty, Venus, David?), but I was still alive, whatever I had wasn't fatal, so what was there to be sad about?

Yes, it's a coffin.

Most Parkies take drugs early on, when a tremor is their only symptom and some don't realize they are getting worse, and therefore, don't appreciate how much the medicines are working.  Some even say "I'd have to quit taking them to tell if there is any difference."  I know, absolutely, that mine are helping me AND causing some of my problems.
 

They help my stiffness and shakes, but cause my sleepless nights and 2 really aggravating things: dyskinesia and dystonia, big words that are hard to spell and even harder to pronounce. (Parkinson's Vocabulary)

Dyskinesia is a dopamine side effect and is a jerky, dance-like movement of the arms, legs and or head.  In other words, I wiggle around like Michael J Fox.  I call it doing the "Parkie Disco" and I do a good job of timing the movements to music.

Foot cramp

Dystonia is severe muscle contractions and are also a medication side effect.  In other words, severe cramps that cause your foot to try to turn itself inside out and tend to happen while crossing a busy street!  These have been helped recently by eating bananas and doing stretches, advice I got from a Physical Therapist who took time to visit a Parkinson's Chat Room and answer questions we had (Thanks Barbara G). 

I was going to write a song parody about dystonia, to the tune of My Sharona, but haven't gotten around to it.  Sorry, now you have that song in your head, don't you?  You see, the whole trick is to figure out how to relieve some symptoms without causing worse ones and it's like standing on someone's shoulders as they ride a bike across a tightrope.  It ain't easy!  But it can be done!

Little Bev with watering can

I am lucky, so far, I have not showed any signs of the obsessive /compulsive disorders that plague many who take the medicines (Mayo Clinic - Parkinson's disease and OCD).  Unless, making people laugh is my OCD........nope, been doing that all my life!  So, Don't Worry, Be Happy!  Now you have this song stuck in your head instead!!

Clicking on the colored words will open a new window and take you to a different story or link


Thank you for reading this story, I hope you enjoyed it. This is just one of a hundred stories in my book, Parkinson's Humor - Funny Stories about My Life with Parkinson's Disease. Please consider purchasing a copy from Amazon.com or your favorite online book seller. Thank you and have a Happy Parkie Day!

Parkinson's Disease and Sleep

There is one thing many Parkies have in common; sleep abnormalities.  I had Parkinson's disease for at least eight years before getting diagnosed and NEVER had trouble sleeping, in fact, sleeping was the one thing I could do to relieve my symptoms.  Exactly three months after I started taking Sinemet (carbi/levodopa) for my symptoms, I started waking up early, very early, like before Mr. Sunshine even thinks about peeking his bright face over the mountains to my east.  This lack of eight plus hours should have made me grumpy, but it did not.  My humor was intact, maybe more so.

The first morning I awoke early was New Years Day and I got a crazy idea.  I had a bench in my yard that I put Bears on (more thrift store goodies), dressed up for the holidays and I had Bears dressed in formal wear for New Year's Eve, the night before. It was about 4 am and I knew that none of my neighbors would be stirring at this hour, heck, most had just gone to bed.  

So, I started searching for what I needed.  I went down to the community hall and found empty beer cans and party favors,  then I raided my own closet, the costume box and some household items.  By 5 am, I had all I needed and re-set the Bears for the neighbors to wake up to.  And what a wake-up it was..........their laughter and hooting woke up my Wonderful Husband about 7 am, poor fellow.  By noon, cars from the neighboring communities were driving through, taking pictures.   

You see, my Bears had a wild night, they were in their undies, Mr. Bear was hanging upside down with a lampshade on his head and Mrs. Bear was passed out with Mr. Bears pants on her head.  OH, my!!!  It was shocking.  Especially since the Bears owners did not drink, at all.  Some people thought that someone else had done it and that I would be upset.  Boy, did I have them fooled!  Many more Holiday "mornings after" followed and neighbors began to look forward to what I would come up with next.  I had a blast, while everyone else slept.

PS I still do most of my creative stuff while everyone else is sleeping.......like writing this blog story.

Clicking on colored words in a story will open another window and take you to a different story or link.

Thank you for reading this story, I hope you enjoyed it. This is just one of a hundred stories in my book, Parkinson's Humor - Funny Stories about My Life with Parkinson's Disease. Please consider purchasing a copy from Amazon.com or your favorite online book seller. Thank you and have a Happy Parkie Day!