Odd Physical Therapy Today

I went to PT this morning, and they did start me on some exercises, all for my arms. The first few were fairly easy, but then she had me pushing down with what seemed like more resistance than the others were set for. I stopped at the first set of ten on that one, instead of doing two sets of ten the way I had done all the others.

Then I moved to the pulley rope, which I've done before with other therapy, and it's always fairly easy, unless you just can't raise your arms. I had no trouble with that at all. Problems came when I stood up from that one, though.

I woke up this morning trembling more than usual, and getting into the cold car this morning just made it worse. And then I did all this new exercising on top of that. I guess everything just worked together to bring major big time tremors in my legs and arms, all at the same time. I was frozen in place, unable to move, because I was just not in control at the moment. The Aide immediately pulled a chair over for me, and I didn't do any more exercises. They hovered over me for awhile, with me assuring them that I was OK, that it would ease off on its own, that there wasn't anything they could do, and I really was OK.

After I convinced them that I was not going to fall, they moved me to the room where they do the ultrasound and heat therapy with the TENS machine, and everything went as usual. About half way through all that, the tremors settled down to just the usual quiver in my right arm and leg.

The only thing I can think of is that using the machine that was apparently set with too much resistance for me to handle just used up the dopamine I had available for a little while. It will be interesting to see if I can find anything to agree or disagree with my hypothesis.

It's been a shaky afternoon, and I just gave in to my chocolate craving - that's my way to deal with stress, as any chocoholic will tell you. And my neck is sore, but not painful, from the exercise. But at least I'm walking around about like usual - maybe a little shakier, but not much.

She told me I have 3 more visits before I have to see the Orthopedist again, so I need to make that appointment. I should have done it today, but I'm in one of those procrastinating moods today, and I just didn't feel like doing it. These moods don't make any sense, but I get into them every once in awhile. Things that happen like this morning seem to bring this apathy on, like everything is just too much trouble. It's stupid, I know, but it's just the way I get at times. I'll snap out of it, just as the shakes finally stopped. Just takes a little time.

Tomorrow is Date Day, and it will be a better day. I'm sure of it!

Parkinson's Patch Approved in USA

Neupro, a dopamine agonist delivered in patch form, has been available in Canada and Europe for some time, but now it has been approved in the USA. The Requip I am on is a dopamine agonist, so I should be a good candidate for the patch.

I was disappointed on doing some research to find that nausea is still one of the more common side effects. I was hoping that my tummy would not be involved, since it's not a medicine that is swallowed. There's also a fairly high incidence of irritation at the patch site, and users are not supposed to put the patch in the same place more often than 14 days apart. Most of the other side effects are true of just about all the Parkinson's medicines, from dizziness to low blood pressure on standing. As a dopamine agonist, there is a certain level of risk of obsessive behavior and also of suddenly falling asleep. Driving can be risky. Thank goodness we're both retired, because my not driving has really not been a real problem for us.

So, although I had planned on bugging the Neurologist to change me to the patch as soon as it was approved, now that I know a little more about it, I probably won't be in such a hurry to push for it.

If anyone reads this who has been on Neupro, or is now on it, please leave a comment about your results and/or side effects.

Starting Requip Again - Stopped Physical Therapy

Yesterday was my last time for Physical Therapy on my knee for now. I called my insurance company, and they only allow 15 PT visits a year, unless THEY approve the extra ones, and I've used 7 of them already. So, I figured I'd better leave myself with some, in case I have other problems before the end of the year.

I asked her about using the mini trampoline we have, and also a little stepper and an exercise ball. Her concerns had to do with balance, but other than that, she thought they would be fine. She said the stepper was a particularly good one for a PWP, because of the repetitive alternating motion. Of course she cautioned me to go slow about adding minutes to it, and to rest every other day or every two days. She's very emphatic about reminding me that the Parkinson's means I have to rest my muscles more than other people would need to. But she emphasized that I need to be on a regular exercise program the rest of my life.

I did start on the Requip again yesterday. Even though I've been doing all this exercise and my legs are definitely stronger, I'm still walking very slowly. It's called Bradykinesia, and it's always been my main Parkinson's symptom. Requip has some pretty uncomfortable side effects, as most of the PD meds do, it seems, so I really tried to do without it. But I just don't think the Zelepar is enough on its own. Dr. S. told me to use my own judgment on starting it back, so I've decided it's time.

I did get nauseated before lunch yesterday and I had a headache last night. Plus, this morning, I got light headed while I was taking pictures for our eBay listings. I stood still too long, I guess. Anyway, I had to stop and sit down, as I broke out in a cold sweat and could feel myself getting woozy. The worst side effect for Requip, though, is compulsive behavior - if that starts up again I won't be able to use it, for sure.

The PT worked me pretty hard yesterday, knowing it was my last visit, and I was very uncomfortable last night. I ended up taking 2 Lortab to stop the pain in my legs. At least that meant I got a good night's sleep! They don't seem to be as sore today, so that's good.

I'm having the MRI today at a different place, called a Stand Up MRI. That will be a new experience. It makes me wonder if that was chosen to get a different view of my knee, as there is a regular tunnel MRI place in the same building with my doctor.

I just realized that I forgot to call the Orthopedist's office yesterday to make the follow up appointment. I'm really having a hard time remembering to do everything that needs to be done nowadays. Hubby tries to help me keep it all straight, and I make lists like crazy. I've even started using the task reminders on my Outlook program to try to help. Of course I have to remember to put the reminders in the program LOL!

I got an email from the other PT patient who has Neuropathy last night, and of all things, we live in the same town!!! I'll be doing some research on her particular type of Neuropathy and adding links to it, if I can find anything specific for her. I wonder if she lives anywhere near the EPA toxic site, the way we do????? She's in far worse shape than I am, and the doctors don't know what's causing her problems, either. And she's young. I've added her to my prayers, and I hope she and I can continue to correspond.

It was a day of changes yesterday, but hopefully they will be good changes. Only time will tell.

Tummy Improvement OR Walking Faster?

I've been on the new Zelepar medicine for several days now, and my digestive system is behaving just fine. I don't seem to be getting quite as much help with my gait as I did with the Requip or Sinemet, however, but I'm still on the samples. When I go back to the Neurologist next Friday, it may be that he will order a prescription for a higher dose or more doses, which might make the difference. Anyway, even if the dose stays where it is now, it seems like a reasonable trade off between stomach problems and balance and walking problems. I'd love to walk better, but I can live with it the way it is now, if I have to. It's nice not to spend part of every day miserable, with a hot pad on my tummy!

I said at first the Zelepar didn't taste bitter, however, I'd better amend that evaluation. Yes, it is bitter, but not enough to bother me, anyway. (The trick is to be sure you place it under, not on, the tongue.) It dissolves under my tongue so quickly that it's just a few seconds, and I can swallow it. You're not allowed to drink or eat anything for at least 5 minutes before or after taking it, but my saliva quickly washes the taste away.

We're still staying with my Daddy, which means I spend most of my days and every night in a hot house. We tried to find a compromise temperature for the thermostat, but at 101, he gets too cold, while we're still sweltering. I have noticed that I'm having more trouble with the heat this week, since I've been on the Zelepar, than I was before I started taking it. I'm getting what feels exactly like hot flashes several times a day, and I've been past that stage for some time now. I have read that Parkinson's can mess with the body's regulation of internal temperature, so I guess that's what's happening to me right now. Or is it because of the Zelepar? I really don't know.

I was on Requip before starting the Zelepar. Requip is a dopamine agonist, but Zelepar is an MAO-inhibitor, so they don't attack the PD symptoms the same way. There's big news in the Birmingham News today that a doctor at UAB is close to getting FDA approval for a patch version of a dopamine agonist. That will be good news for me, as the Requip did a better job of improving my balance and walking than it looks like the MAO-inhibitors are going to. I'm all for any PD med that I don't have to swallow!! So this is something else for me to be hopeful about.

It's great to see that there is good news on the horizon for the large number of people who really suffer with this disease. My own symptoms and discomfort level are so mild compared to people who have had Parkinson's for years. I pray that all this new research may bring them relief in the near future, instead of years from now.

Tapering Off Requip

When I went to my Neurologist last Tuesday, we decided I would stop taking the Requip, since it was probably the cause of all my stomach problems, other than the PD itself. Also, it was the likely culprit for my hair loss. So, Dr. S. told me to taper off the Requip before I changed over to the samples of Zelepar he gave me. That meant last week I only had two pills a day, instead of the usual three. Starting Tuesday of this week, I've only been taking one a day.

Dopamine is the brain chemical that controls muscle movement, and that's the one that people with Parkinson's no longer make enough of. Requip tricks the brain into accepting the chemical in it as a substitute for the dopamine, so it's called a dopamine agonist. Now that I'm down to one pill a day, I can really tell it! My balance is terrible, and my walking is stilted and jerky.

As long as DH can take over the care giving tasks I'm not up to, I'll continue to do as much as I can to help Daddy. We've only got to make it until next Wednesday, and then I can start taking the new medicine. Zelepar, a special form of the medicine called Selegiline, is a different type of Parkinson's medicine entirely. It is an MAO-inhibitor. I've read what that means a dozen times now, but I still don't understand it well enough to put it in my own words LOL.

The reason Dr. S. is trying this particular prescription is that it dissolves on the tongue and does not go through my digestive system. It goes straight into the blood stream. With the improvement in stomach comfort that I'm seeing from the Miralax and glycerin suppository combination, I'm hoping this new medicine will be the perfect one for me for the time being.

I do know that at some point I will have to go back to taking Sinemet, which was the first medicine I took. It nauseated me, too, but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it, because there is a patch form of it in drug trials now.

So for the next few days I'll be weaving and lurching around here like I'm drunk, but I can put up with it, knowing there's something new to try just days away. I am ever thankful to God that there are so many researchers working to find new ways of fighting the symptoms of this disease, working on ways to slow its progress down, and ultimately to cure it.

Requip and OCD - a Serious Side Effect

One of the side effects of dopamine agonists, the kind of Parkinson's medicine I'm on (Requip), is that they cause excessive gambling. Some people have lost their whole nest eggs before their families realized what was happening.

Well, I don't gamble, as a matter of religious beliefs, so I don't have to worry about that particular problem, but the underlying symptom is something I'm beginning to show signs of. Gambling in and of itself is not the real issue, but compulsive behavior, or OCD. It shows up in some Requip users as compulsive shopping, instead of gambling.

With me, I'm having a harder and harder time pulling myself away from the computer. Those of you who have come to know me online know just how much time I spend here, and would probably agree it's too much, and you don't know the half of it.

Now that I've admitted it out loud, so to speak, I'm going to have to discipline myself and put some limits on my computer time. I'm not sure exactly how to do that yet and still take care of our online business, my blogs, and the BLOG VILLAGE TopList, plus keep up with a few key sites I'm involved in, but I'm going to have to try. I know I check my email way too often, and check the forums too frequently, so that's some place to start.

Have any of you dealt with OCD? Is this something I can do on my own, or do I need to let my doctor know I'm showing compulsive behaviour? I'd be interested in hearing what you have to say about this.