"I'm Still Here"
(Video link here, if it doesn't load)
The fun never stops, but I have no reason to complain. Parkinson's, so far, is just annoying. I noticed it early on when my gait changed - usually the first symptom that people bother seeing a doctor about. But other things happened before - and since.
I wrote before about Seborrhoeic Dermititis. It is not painful, just annoying. The "oil-producing regions" of your skin produce more oil, because the dopamine shortage means your brain's autonomous functions are no longer controlling the body properly. So you get this Frank Zappa Beard-like oily spots on your face, which then turn into dry skin which flakes off. You may get it on your scalp as well.
Oil-producing regions! My skin can now join OPEC. Great. Now Trump will invade my skin.
It goes on. Hair follicles get clogged with this oil and yeast can form - or a streptococcal bacterial infection. It itches like poison ivy. Annoying as fuck. But at the same time, not enough to complain about. Washing with Hibiclens surgical soap, twice a day, with super-hot water, seems to keep it in check. I was never one for hot, hot showers or scrub brushes, but now, twice a day, I have to abrade my dermis with a scrub brush in scalding water. Amazon sells quart bottles of the surgical soap in bulk.
The nose runs. The articles I read online say this is not a real problem, other than "social embarrassment." I have tissues in my pocket like an old lady, constantly dabbing at my nose as it waters. Parkinson's just wants to slowly annoy you to death.
Again, these seem like trivial matters, particularly compared to the later symptoms, such as dementia. Then again, once you are in dementia, do you really notice it, or just annoy everyone else?
But speaking of social embarrassment, what is really fascinating is how other people interact with you. It feels like they project a kind of hostility sometimes, as if you are the enemy - or is this just paranoia? Others, meaning well, treat you like you are already dead, or a retarded teenager. "I'm still here" is the rallying cry. Sure, my short-term memory is shot and I have no business climbing ladders anymore (but I still do). Things are getting harder to do, and I am trying to simplify my life as much as possible.
Dramatic constipation was another side-effect, this time of the medication. It seems to have tapered off, after a few months, as my body adjusted to this new normal. Sadly, none of the doctors I talked to mentioned that Carbidopa can cause this. I had to find out myself by searching online.
Doctors cheerfully tell me I could live with this for 20 years or more. That's the good news?
On another note, I notice that medicine today has changed since I was a youth. Back then, a checkup involved the doctor grabbing your nuts and saying, "look to the left and cough!" to check you for hernia. Then, they would stick their finger up your ass to check for prostate problems. Well, the "hands-on" approach is long gone, replaced by blood tests.
I recounted before how I went to a "doc-in-a-box" for a checkup and he printed out the results of the blood test and read them to me, noting which numbers were high or low. I read along with him, and it was almost comical.
I think doctors are obsessed with these numbers and getting you into a "perfect score" so to speak. So, if your cholesterol is a little high, they put you on a statin to lower it. The problem for me is that statins cause shooting leg pains at night which stop only when I stop taking the statin. My cholesterol numbers are only a few points over the suggested "good" range, so I don't see the point. It is like getting a speeding ticket for going 57 in a 55 zone.
Just my gut interpretation, but I think people vary (hence the range of numbers) and being a little over the line isn't a serious issue, particularly when someone might have more serious issues - like Parkinson's, for example. I have finally completed all these tests at the Mayo clinic - CAT scans, MRIs, stress test, etc. The good news is, all my organs are in excellent shape, except one. And sadly, brain transplants aren't a thing just yet. I would make a good organ donor, though.
My heart has been tested twice now and found to be in good shape for a man my age. Despite my best efforts, my body has held up well. The liver news was surprising - I could have been drinking a whole lot more! As one wag noted, "you've found the perfect balance between fatty liver disease and cirrosis!" Or something like that.
The cost of all this is staggering. Mayo charges $14,000 just for a colonoscopy. Other tests run into the thousands. Easily, we've run up a bill of fifty to a hundred grand so far - of which I was on the hook for less than a thousand dollars. The billing is a mystery - massive amounts are shown as being written-off, while insurance and medicare covers other parts. It makes no sense.
But as I noted before, if you can live to 65, they will rebuild you, piece by piece, so you can live another 20-30 years. And they will find something wrong with you. Can't make money fixing a car, unless it is broken.
Speaking of which, we are taking "Aunt Helga" our 2015 Mercedes Sprinter 3500 extended wheelbase to the Mercedes dealer in Jacksonville at the end of the month. They sent me a coupon for the "Service A" which includes an oil change and "injector cleaning" for "only" $399 (A $550 value!). I have been warned by other Sprinter owners of the "$900 oil change" so we'll see how it goes. The van was serviced by Mercedes every year since new, so I thought at least initially, to take it in. It takes 11 quarts of prescription motor oil (Mercedes brand, or Mobil-1) and they recommend changes every 10,000 to 20,000 miles.
Oh, brave new world.
Anyway, after dropping off the van, I have one more appointment at Mayo - with a Psychiatrist. I suspect he'll want to put me on anti-depressants. Gotta stay within the numbers!
