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Post by Kimby on May 23, 2021 17:11:20 GMT
I wonder if essential tremor is what forced Trump to hold his glass with both hands like a child just learning to direct fluids into his mouth...
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Post by bjd on May 23, 2021 18:08:36 GMT
Back in the late 1960s, my grandmother developed shaking hands. Her doctor diagnosed Parkinson's but in fact, the tremors never got worse, she never developed any other typical Parkinson's symptoms. She was given L-Dopa but probably it didn't make a difference since it doesn't prevent the disease from evolving. Then one day my mother took her to a different doctor -- a Hungarian woman who had worked in Europe for years before going to Canada.
She said she had seen other cases like that -- it was neurological damage caused in people who had had Spanish flu after WW1. This was my grandmother's case. She had been ill in 1920 or so, but it took many years for the effects to develop.
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Post by onlyMark on May 23, 2021 18:56:31 GMT
I suffer from essential tremor. Left hand more than the right. Sometimes none at all, sometimes when stressful I couldn't, say, hold a fork properly without the food falling off.
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Post by mickthecactus on May 23, 2021 19:06:09 GMT
Sometimes I have a shaky brain. Couldn’t remember what asparagus was called this evening.....
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Post by questa on May 23, 2021 22:56:03 GMT
We all get shaky hands as we become less juvenile (I'm waging war on "age" ) There are many neural disorders that first show as tremor...it is thanks to Michael J Fox who has put Parkies on the map so that GPs will look for it early. It is good that your loved one was caught early so that the progression can be slowed down. How to talk to him...just as you would anyone else. There will be bad jokes from his co-workers as they support him to the hilt and keeping up with family in UK will be a help. Getting tired and slower in movement are the main problems at the start-up. Early onset does not have the complications of getting old mixed up with the basic disease.
The UK end of the family will have to adjust more so than your relative. He will have a band of 'siblings' to rubbish him when needed and care for him on bad days. Feel free to give him my phone number if he wants to contact me. I feel like I know him anyway...
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Post by tod2 on May 24, 2021 8:07:53 GMT
It has been very interesting reading all about the symptoms and causes of trembling hands. My mom had this in her 50's and only noticeable when bringing a cup of tea up to her mouth. I did ask her once when the cup was rattling on the saucer why she was shaking - her answer was it was a condition called Tremor. And that was that until she turned 90. She started sliding her feet when walking - our doctor said to me "Your mother has started Parkinsons". She never got worse than slow walking until her death at 93. So when my right hand shakes a bit - I don't let it worry me.
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Post by whatagain on May 24, 2021 11:38:39 GMT
Looks like your hands were trembling on your telephone. (*runs away quickly*)The hands or the brains... Have pity on me, i type on my smartphone.
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Post by questa on May 24, 2021 13:04:40 GMT
One way to tell the difference is with Parkies the hands will shake when they are not doing anything, but give them a task...carrying a cup of tea or threading a needle, the tremor will pause awhile. Essential tremor has the hands still at rest but lifting a cup brings on the shakes, therefore the observance of Trump using both hands to drink would make him more like Essential Tremor which could be any of many causes.
Tod, thanks for bringing out an often found statistic. Most patients do not actually die from Parkinsons. Through the course of the disease infections, specially lungs and urinary tract are the causes of some deaths. As the muscles in the trachea lose tone there is a risk of choking. As with many people there is the complication of fractures and needing surgery. Statistics say the life span is reduced but better management now has nearly closed the gap.
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Post by tod2 on May 24, 2021 16:24:45 GMT
Questa = My mom is no longer here to answer a question: Her youngest sister ( a very qualified Chief Nurse if you can call her that- Matron?) Died of a disease where you cannot swallow and fed herself through a tube in the stomach region. What is that?
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Post by questa on May 25, 2021 0:49:06 GMT
Tod, sorry about your mother. There are many conditions where gastric feeding is used. It is not a disease but a method of delivering nourishment to someone who can't swallow. I think of cancers, damaged throat from smoke/chemicals/burns/lacerations etc, neurological disorders like multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, parkinsons etc. Psych disorders like anorexia and bulimia. Some may be short term to build up nourishment and some need it permanently. In Asian countries a common way to try to commit suicide is swallowing dangerous household chemicals. Not only is it painful and not often successful, but it damages the mouth and throat so that tube feeding is necessary for life. There are lots more but this is off the top of my head...
'Matron' is now called the 'Director of Nursing' in most places. It lacks the 'shiver down the spine' effect when she calls you to her office, doncha think?
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Post by cheerypeabrain on May 25, 2021 17:48:57 GMT
Thanks for your advice and comments everybody, especially Questa. Very comforting x He's married to my niece and has siblings and his Dad in Australia 'nearby'.
My niece and nephew-in-law have just had a house built..a lovely sprawling bungalow (in a fairly rural place outside Melbourne) and have just moved in...they're planning to have the landscaping done by a Chelsea Show gold medalist (the chap who won with a billabong!)...we wondered why they were so subdued recently, we had been getting updates throughout the house build but I guess thd move coincided with his diagnosis.
I'll carry on as normal then....thanks for your kind offer Questa. I think that he is getting lots of support both at home and at work...xxx
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Post by questa on May 26, 2021 0:02:43 GMT
Hi Cheery I wondered how the house was going...it was just a block of land in a possible bushfire path when I last heard. Wish them good luck from me (don't forget to tell the landscaper that the house would appreciate fire-retardant plantings)
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Post by Kimby on May 26, 2021 0:24:12 GMT
(Anything that is fire-resistant is probably very tasty for deer.)
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Post by questa on Jun 1, 2021 2:30:54 GMT
Just as well we do not have deer here ... except a few farmed for venison. The cutesy bunnies do enough damage and now the 'meece' are taking over.
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Post by questa on Jan 7, 2023 21:00:32 GMT
I don't believe I have gone 18 months without a bulletin about "The track". There are probably snippets hidden in other posts...I'll do a check. My main news is I have taken up classical ballet...again. I learnt for 10 years as a child and loved it and was inspired to start again by my also-80-year-old keen dancing friend. The class has about 15-20 people with mostly women (2 men) over 40. Two of us are over 80 so we have slightly modified elements of the movements.
I have taken on a new lease of life and am amazed at how much I have remembered from childhood. All the movements and commands are said in French and I found so many coming back into memory.
At regular intervals my medical team give me an assessment of my cognitive state. It is a world wide tool for measuring any creeping dementia and is scored out of 30. Usually I get to 27/28 which is 'average', in December I scored 30 and I give credit to the class and teacher (herself a professional dancer) for my renewed enthusiasm. And to Hell with the Parkinson's!
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Post by mickthecactus on Jan 7, 2023 21:13:29 GMT
Fantastic to hear! Good on yer questa!
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Post by kerouac2 on Jan 7, 2023 21:32:30 GMT
Your resistance has been brilliant, Questa. Keep it up!
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Post by mossie on Jan 8, 2023 8:04:41 GMT
In Winstons immortal words "Keep buggering on"
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Post by lugg on Feb 12, 2023 21:09:13 GMT
Fantastic news Questa
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Feb 12, 2023 22:13:27 GMT
Brilliant Questa, ballet ay? Respect.
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Post by questa on Mar 18, 2023 2:27:49 GMT
Hello again...let me shower you all with positivity The Ballet lessons are going well and I have gained back some lost height from practising the ballerina style walking. I am going back to my Indonesian Language lessons to keep me busy as well. I have re-designed my front and back gardens and work on them, weather permitting. I still get pain in my back and legs on a daily basis but eases with simple analgesics. I have taken up doing a 2km speed walk each evening...One of the support workers here does "beep test" running and is teaching me the method.(Google it). It feels good to be totally exhausted after being "cotton-wool" treated. My GP has found a heart murmur in the region of the atrial valve...we are waiting for an echo cardio test result. I'm not getting worried about it yet. I am on meds every two and a half hours X 6 which are keeping me my usual self mentally and verbally. I twist and writhe at times - a complication called Chorea or St Vitus Dance. It is an old malady and Terpsichore was the ancient goddess of Dance. My involuntary 'dance' only happens when I am relaxed so I can manage it when needed. This condition has layer upon layer of changes every day. It is about 17 years since my diagnosis and still each day is different.
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Post by fumobici on Mar 18, 2023 3:58:00 GMT
2km speed walk? You'll have to wait at the end for me! Thanks for the update and keep your sense of humor (which you obviously have).
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Post by kerouac2 on Mar 18, 2023 4:10:00 GMT
That was my reaction too -- I am the opposite of a speed walker. You must be in better shape than I am, Questa!
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Post by bjd on Mar 18, 2023 8:48:28 GMT
Good to hear that you are doing more than before, Questa, and indeed, that you are keeping your sense of observation and humour about it.
When I clicked on this page, my screen showed me earlier posts about shaking hands. I just remembered my mother had this and learned that it was lack of potassium. She started eating a banana every morning and it improved dramatically -- her hands no longer shook when she was drinking tea, for example. Stupidly, it wasn't her doctor who helped but a nutritionist friend of my sister's when it came up in a conversation.
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Post by mickthecactus on Mar 18, 2023 8:59:58 GMT
Big respect questa. Keep it up.
By coincidence there was an article on BBC news this morning about Parkinsons and they had 2 guys on who have it, a comedy writer and a retired BBC correspondent. The writer said that one of the problems is that it can take away your movement, change your voice and affect your smile. He said he was ok when he had his tablets but when they wear off he can come to a complete stop and be unable to move.
The other guy said exercise is vital to keep it at bay.
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Post by Kimby on Mar 18, 2023 13:58:14 GMT
“Motion is lotion” so they say.
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Post by onlyMark on Mar 18, 2023 14:42:58 GMT
.......said the actress to the Bishop.
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Post by whatagain on Mar 18, 2023 20:00:56 GMT
Love your style Questa.
If i may add a joke of questionable taste, i woud say : is it better to have Parkinson or Halzheimer ? Better to spill all tour whisky or forget to drink it ?
(We have experience with Alzheimer, bine wit Parkinson...).
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Post by lugg on Mar 18, 2023 20:48:32 GMT
Your positivity is really inspirational Questa .
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Post by questa on Mar 19, 2023 0:27:11 GMT
dear whatagain, with parkinsons you have so many pills you don't NEED to have whiskey. When those multi-syllabically and unpronounceably named chemicals hit the right spot at the right time I find myself bopping along to Doors, Dire Straits et al.
Thank you all for your encouragement...it is what keeps me a-bopping
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