Movers and Shakers explained
Who are we?
THE ASSOCIATION of Movers and Shakers is a registered charity based in Almoradi working across the Costa Blanca area. We offer a local contact point and mutual support in a friendly atmosphere, where families, carers and friends can share thoughts and experiences. We rely entirely on donations and money raised through fundraising events to support the work that we do.
Over the next few months, we are sharing information about each of the diseases and the people we support who are affected by: ataxia, Huntington’s disease, motor neurone disease, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease.
This week we are looking at Parkinson’s Disease
What is Parkinson’s disease?
Parkinson's Disease is caused by a loss of nerve cells in part of the brain called the substantia nigra. This leads to a reduction in a chemical called dopamine in the brain. Dopamine plays a vital role in regulating the movement of the body. A reduction in dopamine is responsible for many of the symptoms of Parkinson's disease. Exactly what causes the loss of nerve cells is unclear. Most experts think that a combination of genetic and environmental factors is responsible.
Although there's currently no cure for Parkinson's disease, treatments are available to help reduce the main symptoms and maintain quality of life for as long as possible. As the condition progresses, the symptoms of Parkinson's disease can get worse and it can become increasingly difficult to carry out everyday activities without help.
Parkinson's disease does not directly cause people to die, but the condition can place great strain on the body, and can make some people more vulnerable to serious and life-threatening infections.
Parkinson’s - a personal perspective
“I’m sorry to inform you Andrew that you have got Parkinson’s disease,” those were the words of my Spanish consultant back in 2014. I’d visited my GP over something else and a student doctor on placement noticed the tremors in my left arm; her preliminary tests caused her to refer me on to the consultant.
I knew a bit about Parkinson’s having worked in healthcare in the 70s. Discovering I had Parkinson’s didn’t frighten me but it worried me. I live alone and not in my country of origin. I then did what I guess a lot of people do when they find out something about their health, yes… I Googled it to find out what I may have to consider for the future.
This article is about my experiences, thoughts and feelings towards an illness which won’t kill me but will progressively make my life more difficult.
The previous year to my diagnosis I had to have a series of iron injections which had baffled me. My nutritional intake I thought was quite good. I subsequently found out that there is research which suggests that iron deficiency is an early indicator of Parkinson’s, before any of the outward signs and symptoms show themselves.
Parkinson’s affects different people in different ways and at different speeds, though there are some universal characteristics. I think that I had it long before the diagnosis. Reflecting on how it had manifested itself over time, I had gone from being a confident person (as a younger man I taught aerobics, and step aerobics. You must have a degree of confidence to do that wearing Lycra in front of a lot of people), to someone who became inward looking and backed away from experiences.
Parkinson’s attacks the small muscles first and some of these are in the face, so you end up looking like Deputy Dawg. As facial muscle tone deteriorates, many people think your frowning. Depending on what’s happening around me, sometimes I am! Your hands are also affected, your handwriting deteriorates. My brother reckons I must have had Parkinson’s since I was 10, as my handwriting was so bad. My excuse was I was training to be a doctor.
I try to use humour to get me through coping with this illness but there are times when I reflect upon what was, and I become tearful and there is no one to confide in.
When people first find out that you have Parkinson’s you can almost see them take a step back looking for the shaking. I’ve been lucky, shaking came later with me and only recently do I occasionally get the shakes. I swear when it happens I could take on the three musketeers in a sword battle and win!
Now I get caught in a loop with this Parkinson’s. I worked out a while ago that my symptoms become more pronounced when I’m tired. Parkinson’s affects your sleep pattern, I am regularly up at 04.00 having gone to bed at midnight. I have tried anything you can suggest to get at least six hours sleep. No
thing works, so now you understand why I am and look tired. It does mean you can get more done in the apartment, not drilling and hammering though, that would upset the neighbours but quiet stuff.
When Parkinson’s affects your hands, your fine motor control goes first (fine motor control being able to screw in small screws, thread a needle, doing up shirt buttons), although I have to say I can still take a computer apart and reassemble it and it has many tiny screws. But sometimes when I’m brandishing a drill I feel like the mad dentist, it’s wavering around in my hand as if it’s got a mind of its own.
Eating and talking are other pastimes which are affected. I can’t always pronounce the word I’m looking for which is even worse when you are trying to pronounce something in Spanish. And eating, well…. don’t go for the spaghetti or tagliatelle. If you get the shakes you are likely to whip your face and flick sauce over those close by, so really you don’t need a serviette or even a bib, one of those police suits would be more appropriate!
So, what else do you have to cope with? Well libido, or in the case of Parkinson’s, loss of it. Being single, fast approaching 70 it’s no great issue. One cannot even light the blue touch paper; it’s either too soggy or too flaccid. But it isn’t going to go whoosh! Parkinson’s can hit at any age, so I would imagine for younger men (and probably women
too) this would be a bigger problem area. I’m sure there’s a pill to help, then another pill to counter the side effects of that pill.
Parkinson’s attracts many different medicines and sometimes you wonder if you need all these drugs. Sadly, you do. When I’ve missed certain times, I can feel the Parkinson’s creeping into the gaps.
Another area that can be affected is your bowels. Doctors can talk for ages about constipation. Fortunately, I’m not suffering in that area yet. Plenty of roughage and dry cider may be the trick to prevent constipation, although if that was the case it should be on prescription.
So, what does the future hold? Parkinson’s is a chronic degenerative disease. Over time it will limit my mobility, prevent me from driving, cause me to have more pronounced shaking and generally reduce the quality of my life, I will have to rely on friends and family more and organisations like Movers and Shakers. I hope that people will have a little more patience when they see this doddering little old man.
The Association of Movers and Shakers is a local charity in the Costa Blanca area. Members meet every Friday at O’Brien’s Bar, El Raso, Guardamar del Segura.
The association’s president, Marion Smith, can be contacted by telephoning 711 008 250, or by email to ma rion.smith@amscb.org.es