Today has been a particularly grey and cold winter’s day. I have stayed at home today – as my husband has taken my car to work – and it has snowed lightly off and on today. Not a day I would typically want to venture out in the cold and rain.
So, what to do on a cold and wintery day? Make a pot of soup! There is nothing more hearty and welcoming than to come home to a hot bowl of soup. A soup made not just with chicken, vegetables and the like, but also with that magical ingredient and that is of course love! The magical ingredient that I put into every food I make.
What have I been mulling about? I have been thinking about what the basis of this blog is and it has always been honesty. That I haven’t shrunk away from talking about things that are not going as well as I would hope and that I would always be honest when things have not been so good. I remember, I started a post a while back now with the words…”warning this is not going to be a happy post…”
Whatever I have been thinking or feeling, I have shared that with those who read my blog and more recently with those listening to my podcast.
The latest thing that I am becoming confronted with more and more is my memory. My memory has become quite shocking. I have messed up some appointments and even with a planner for two weeks in front of me, I seem to have written some times and days incorrectly and that has caused some issues. I try to have systems in place, but even having alarms set on my phone, doesn’t always work. If I am busy, I sometimes hit the “dismiss” button and then get an hour past the time I should have taken my medications and nearly forgotten them altogether. For some reason – perhaps because I am often busiest in the middle of the day – I have missed my lunchtime medications the most of all of them. As a consequence, I have quite a collection of emergency medications in my purse for lunchtime, if I have forgotten to bring some with me.
The thing with being honest about this issue, is that my husband reads this blog. So, whatever I put down in my blog, for my followers to read, he also reads. It gives him more insight than perhaps I might otherwise share with him – basically dobbing myself in – as I continue to honestly share what is happening in my Parkinson’s life. It is sometimes not easy to express myself and to know how to quantify how affected the latest symptom is. How much I am concerned about the symptom and how I manage it all. It is not easy to admit to things that point to my Parkinson’s taking more of a hold of me. That is the last thing that I want to think and certainly not what I would wish to do. However, it is a fact that my memory is getting worse.
There are also times when my legs feel really heavy. This has not happened for a while and my husband commented that when I went on the iron tablets, the heavy legs seemed to stop. Now that I have stopped the iron tablets the heaviness in my legs seems to be back. When my doctor started me on iron tablets, he said that they should help give me back some of my energy and it happened within a few days of starting to take iron. I think as quickly as the iron began to work in my system, that the return to the issues I was having with pain and lethargy are returning with the same quick result. I feel much more fatigued and having achy legs and sciatica it’s a bit hard as I never seem to have a life without pain.
So, I am seeing my GP on Monday to talk about my sciatic pains in my legs and also to discuss my iron issues. Could my iron deficiency account for the pains, or could could it stem from my back issues and the operation that I had on my back? I hope nothing further will happen to give me any more pain or discomfort and also – crossing all fingers and toes – heaven forbid another operation. I worked out the other day I have had 10 or maybe 11 operations in my life. I think that is enough for anyone. In fact I might have missed at least one out, so perhaps 12 operations! Wow, that’s a lot!
Like most people our age, I don’t just have one health condition I have several. Although it could be considered the primary health condition, Parkinson’s is usually the most well behaved of the bunch. I also have Arthritis, which is in my fingers, toes, feet, knees and spine. I have it everywhere and so there are pockets of pain throughout my body. I have another couple of conditions that impact on my health and well-being, but I won’t go into that right now. The thing that having multiple ailments does, is that it is difficult to know whether a new ache, pain or any other symptom could be caused by Parkinson’s as it could also be caused by other conditions I have. It’s a bit like being a detective, looking for clues to try to find out what is happening and why.
So, for me honesty will always be the best policy both in my blog and my podcast. If you want to pop over and check out the podcast click below and have a look. There are quite a few different topics and also some silly poems that I write every now and then for some light relief.
Have a wee look and listen to my podcast on Spotify and Youtube and wherever good podcasts are found. I am particularly proud of and fond of the interviews in “Parkies Patter – a chat about all things Parkinson’s” in which I interview others with Parkinson’s and those that support them. I am proud and humbled that they allowed me to interview them and it was an honour to do so.
Check out on Spotify, Youtube and others…’
“My Journey with Parkinson’s” on Spotify for creators and Youtube, Apple and more
“Parkies Patter – a chat about all things Parkinson’s” available as above, I’m sure you will enjoy them. They are all inspiring.
Hope you check in again and continue to enjoy my content.
My journey with Parkinsons 