At some point in 2018, I lost my sense of smell.
I had mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, my wife is a terrific cook. Not being able to enjoy the aroma of her meals was a definite loss.
On the other hand, my job at the time involved a significant amount of air travel. Not being able to smell farts on airplanes was a blessing.
So… jump ball.
I assumed at the time that my loss of smell was a side effect of a nasal spray I’d been using, and did not think much about it.
In late 2020, I started having difficulty typing with my right hand. I never been a particularly good typist, but now the process became painfully slow.
Eventually, this morphed into a tremor in my right hand. My doctor diagnosed an essential tremor. I bought dictation software for my computer, taught myself to use a mouse with my left hand, and moved on.
By 2022, I started dealing with back pain and stiffness for the first time. I also noticed that my movements were slowing down – as I told my doctor, “I am moving like a slow old man.”
My doctor shrugged. I was 62 years old – what did I expect?
It was not until late 2022 that the light bulb came on – a result of a random piece of direct mail.
November is when we hear from every nonprofit organization we can think of. Food banks, homeless service organizations, animal welfare leagues… and organizations dedicated to fighting diseases.
Cancer, heart disease, dementia… name a disease, and there’s an organization dedicated to seeking a cure. It felt like I heard from all of them. I threw most of the solicitations out without reading them.
One pitch caught my eye – an ask from the Parkinson’s Foundation. On the front of the envelope it said “10 Early Signs of Parkinson’s Disease.”
At one point, my doctor had told me “It’s not Parkinson’s.” Now I was curious – how many of these 10 signs did I have?
- Tremor – yes.
- Small handwriting – yes.
- Loss of smell – yes.
- Trouble sleeping – no.
- Trouble moving or walking – Yep. Stiff back, and my wife noticed that my right arm didn’t swing when I walked.
- Constipation – no. Thanks for asking.
- Soft or low voice – yes.
- Masked face – no.
- Dizziness or fainting – no.
- Stooping or hunching over – maybe. My posture has never been great.
Add it up, and I definitely had five of the 10, and maybe six. I sent the Parkinson’s Foundation $50 as a thank you.
By this time, I had a new primary care doc, and she sent me to a neurologist. On May 25, 2023 I got my diagnosis – Parkinson’s Disease. It’s official.
I’ve since learned that Parkinson’s is a difficult disease to diagnose, and I’m not going to throw stones at my original doctor. If I hadn’t gotten that solicitation from the Parkinson’s Foundation, it’s possible I might still not know what I’ve got.
Almost a year since the diagnosis, my symptoms are mild and seem stable. I made some changes to my life, and intend to hold the disease off as long as possible. There’s a lot to learn.
Shakin' Street -- A Parkinson's Blog 
Leave a comment