Subtle changes

I have gradually become aware that I am going through some subtle changes with my Parkinson’s. In another recent post I talked about how some of my workmates have gently told me that they are noticing some cognitive changes. Apparently, they have noticed that I can sometimes be forgetful or am repetitive in my speech. Another told me that they don’t think I necessarily have memory issues, rather they felt that it was because I get information overload and have trouble processing a lot of information.

So, I am changing. Slowly, but surely little things are cropping up. I have always liked a chicken salad sandwich from my local bakery as a treat for work sometimes. I noticed when I bought one this week that the bread was harder for me to swallow and had to be washed down with liberal doses of water. I also ate an apple and found that, that too was not easy to swallow. So, toast and any harder bread seems to be becoming problematic.

On top of this I have noticed that I get a really dry mouth. If I don’t drink or find some other way to combat it, if it gets really bad I start retching and sometimes have actually been sick. So, for me, it is important that I tell my kids and my husband these things in case my issues get worse. My mouth is so dry that I am constantly sipping water. I have said to people that it feels like someone got a towel and dried my tongue and mouth so they are completely dried out. Also, I have found some sort of lozenge that is especially for dry mouth. They seem to work OK, but at 50 cents a pop I can’t afford to be buying too many.

I also find my voice gets huskier as the day goes on. I will have to be careful when I ring to talk to people, they might get the wrong idea if they think I am putting on a sexy voice for them…

I find too, that my voice gets sort of ‘breathy’ and I feel breathless and uncomfortable and struggle to complete a sentence at times..

Hopefully, these changes in my presentation are temporary and I am able to keep on top of them and they don’t go too far, too fast and cause me real problems.