Sorry , whats your name again?

I was if I'm honest somewhat surprised. Here was a man, a married man, telling me that he had suffered from PD symptoms for 8 years before he finally went to the Doctor for a diagnosis.

I could not understand it. How was it that a married man, with a wife, had not been frog marched down to his surgery, by said wife, some considerable time earlier? It would seem that some married men were allowed to make their own decisions. 

Having lived with PD for the last three and a half years, I find it incredible that he had been able to manage with all the symptoms?

Nearly as shocking as finding out that his wife let him. 

However, it has to be admitted that men being men, the wife letting this is not necessarily a good thing. Men tend to be world-class procrastinators. and things will get put off to the eternal tomorrow, rather than addressed and sorted today. 

This is where the wife should step in.

However, procrastinating for 8 years does show a real ability in delaying the inevitable. It's just a pity for him, that it has no real benefit. In fact, the opposite is probably true.

In comparison, thanks to my wife, I was diagnosed within 6 months of the first symptoms, had started with my medication, had seen a neuro physiotherapist and was exercising in a gym. The man I was speaking to had increasingly struggled for years with basic motor control, which medication would have helped, and had for a considerable time found life more of a struggle than it needed to be. And like nearly all procrastinators, he admitted regretting not going to his GP earlier.

So having a bossy caring wife has its advantages and benefits. But I'll keep that to myself, I don't want her doing a 'told you so'!. There is only so much 'smug' I can handle.

Anyway, we had a nice chat and then moved on to talk to others in the room. I just started speaking to the next person, when I was interrupted by someone wanting to know the name of the man I had just spoken to.

I couldn't remember, only two minutes after saying goodbye I was already unable to say what his name was. But this was no surprise to me. For certain things my memory is atrocious. And remembering names is something I have always struggled with.

Along with just about any bit of information required to sit an exam.

After some consideration, maybe, that wasn't due to poor memory, but laziness. I've always struggled with revision. Too easily distracted.

Or bored.

A particular weakness of mine is when the person's name could be either a first or last name. Like 'Clarke'. I practically break out into a sweat when faced with remembering such a name. It's not like Smith which is clearly a last name. It's a name where I run the risk of being rude twice. Firstly by not being able to remember the name and secondly, by calling the person by his or her second name, thinking it was their first.

I've offended a few people doing that!

Anyway, I've recently had my annual PD MOT. The purpose of this is to see how I am functioning, physically and mentally and also review my medication. In short, measure my decline. So stiffness of joints and muscles, reaction times, bowel and bladder function (an obsession of PD medical professionals) and memory were checked. As the end of the three years of my 'special' driver's licence validity had arrived and I had re-applied, I felt nervous.

Specifically, I was worried about my memory and how it would perform. If the MOT went poorly I may have ended up losing my licence. A boon for other drivers perhaps, but a nuisance for me, with the added issue that I would be dependent on the wife for getting me about.

There isn't enough beer available at the Oktoberfest, which would enable me to sit in the passenger seat beside the wife and not feel sick with stress. 

Besides which, begging for a lift to be taken where I need to go, is a bit humiliating at my age.

Anyway, the results of my memory test were interesting, full marks, 100%. Now I'm not going to challenge this, but I have one word to say; unbelievable! But something of a relief. How I got a 100% however is a mystery to me, I've been worrying that I was developing dementia since I was about 20 and here I am over 30 years later getting full marks on a memory test!

Just shows that 30 years of worrying was a complete waste of my time and emotional energy.  

However, not everything is rosy in the dementia garden. Along with all the other bundles of joy that PD brings with it is Parkinson's dementia and there are two main types that affect PD sufferers:

Parkinson's dementia, and

Dementia with Lewy bodies

Both are very similar to each other, they share the same types of symptoms and in both of these conditions, there are Lewy bodies within the cells. Lewy bodies are abnormal protein deposits, within the brain cells. However, the order in which movement and dementia symptoms appear is different. If you have motor symptoms at least one year before dementia symptoms occur, the diagnosis is probably going to be Parkinson's dementia. If dementia symptoms occur before or at the same time as motor symptoms, specialists will usually give a diagnosis of dementia with Lewy bodies. (Source: Parkinson's UK).

But not always.

Now here's a fun fact, it is estimated that between 50 to 80 per cent of PD sufferers will eventually develop some form of Parkinson's dementia.

How bloody depressing is that?

Along with all the other unpleasant symptoms; incontinence, constipation, pain, fatigue, sleeplessness, and hallucinations, we now have dementia. And, surprise, surprise, there is no treatment or cure. 

Sometimes it gets hard to maintain an air of optimism. Because frankly what is there to be optimistic about? It doesn't matter how bad you think life is today, tomorrow it is probably going to get a lot worse.

But what's the point of self-pity? It's undignified, pointless and completely without benefit. Now, especially now, is the time to grab all the good you can and go out and do whatever floats your boat.

In my case, that'll be a pint or two.

Maybe three.