Sometimes I forget that I have Parkinson’s
Everything was going well this morning. And then it wasn’t.
Everything was going well this morning. I got up early, walked the dog, finished reading an assignment for a class this afternoon and took a boxing for PD class. I finished the morning with a doctor’s appointment and headed home for lunch. It was then that I realized that I had forgotten to take my 11 AM meds. Uh oh.
I was feeling so good from boxing that I did not even think about my meds. By the time I remembered, it was already 12:30. I took my pills with lunch and rushed out to my class, a short drive from my home.
I never got there. It felt like a switch was flipped. I was fine and then I wasn’t. I turned around and went back home. I sat down on the sofa for a minute and woke up an hour later. Groggy from an afternoon nap that was not refreshing at all. That overwhelming fatigue that comes out of nowhere is very common with Parkinson’s. Especially when you have been as busy for the last month as Mr. Twitchy and I have been. Traveling to Phoenix for the World Parkinson Congress. Volunteering 4 days at the US Women’s Golf Open in Los Angeles, followed by a trip to Chicago for our granddaughter’s Bat Mitzvah. The younger me would have been energized by all of this activity. The older, PD version of me doesn’t fare as well.
My doctors have a very bad habit of reminding me that I have Parkinsons and I am not 40 (or even 60) anymore. So of course I should not expect my energy level to be the same as it was. I don’t believe them.
I may just go take another nap.
How do you manage with Parkinson’s fatigue? We want to know! Please write your tips in the Comments.
Up next on Sunday Mornings with Twitchy Woman
Author Jim O’Connell will join me on Sunday, June 28 at 10 AM PT, 1 PM ET to talk about his new book Incurable Gifts: My Weepy, Wobbly, Wonderful Life With Parkinson’s. O’Connell was an editor at Bloomberg News when he was diagnosed with PD 20 years ago. Be prepared to go on a roller-coaster ride with Jim who can go from laugh-out-loud funny to devastating at the same time.
Today, I am trying out Substack for my blog. I hope to have everything up and running from my website in a few weeks, so please bear with me if you can’t find something you are looking for. Send me an email with any questions you might have.
Have a great week!
I have Parkinson’s too, and I know exactly what you mean. It’s strange how the disease can be both relentlessly present and briefly absent from your mind—until it barges back in, usually with impeccable timing. The work I do here on Substack has become a lifeline for me, along with my dog of course. They both keep my brain busy and allow me to forget for a little bit.
I forget to take my meds on time with great frequency. That's because when I am sedentary, and focusing with energy on writing, analyzing, engaging with people on the computer, reading, etc., I don't really move. I have fallen off the exercise train. I get sleepy and fog-headed from the meds as well (about an hour later). But when I am active, or absolutely MUST have the energy, I muster what is needed. Just like Karla, I will then crash from all of the extra exertion. I struggle to find the right "balance" of exertion. I know what I need - a routine and more exercise. Am I doing what I know I need to do? No. That symptom is called "apathy." It is a relief to be able to blame it on the PD. Otherwise, I would consider myself undisciplined, lazy, and unproductive. I've always risen above the symptoms with excellent medical management, and most importantly, the simple NEED to get stuff done. As my husband's cardiac health is undergoing intense scrutiny at the moment, that need is even greater.