Trials, trails, medicine tails

April 12, 2013

Friday


Trials, trails, medicine tales---


Good Morning to you all!

 und

Guten Tag zu meine Deutsche freundin!!! Wilkommen! (Sorry it's been a few years since high school)

Started the day today with an article in the latest AARP magazine on Michael J. Fox.

*OK, Must stop for a breath.*

(pant, pant) 

(Now, I must say that say he is getting so good looking!)

The mag has a really nice close up of *MJF* on the cover and of course since he is the

Patron Saint 

of Parky's everywhere I can't help but pick it up and read the article first thing this morning. 

Very interesting article. And he validates a lot of my own experiences. Life can be very good even with this dis-ease. He speaks of friends and acquaintences that have died from cancer and he is still hanging in there. 

And he is really pushing for more people especially Parky's to get involved with clinical trials of new treatments--mostly medications.

I have to say I have been in several trials--no no no not in court--several PD trials.

One I have been involved with for five years and it will be another two still until the end of that one. It involves a certain medication and whether taking this particular medication helps slow the progress of PD or not. I take it twice a day. 

Then every six months when I have a neuro check up I also get a study check up. That includes blood work, a history and physical, and the thing that scares me most a timed cognition test. And getting freaked out about it doesn't really help me do my best. I also start to shake even more so when I am anxious. And my whole body tenses up. It really doesn't feel very good at all. 

Fortunately I haven't been institutionalized YET, so I guessI am doing OK.

And as far as the medication--of course I don't know if I am taking the med or a placebo.

Then I was involved in a genetic study to see if I had a genetic predisposition for acquiring PD. It often has a genetic component, but it turns out I do not have that particular gene trait. 

SO for me I could have damaged my substantia nigra somehow in a variety of ways...

There is the possibility of damage due to drug useage--alright just settle down! It was the sixties! (Ok the early 80's)...

I also had a head injury about twenty years ago where I smacked the back of my head really good against a glass door. 

Then I spent a summer refinishing my kitchen cabinets. I inhaled a lot of fumes from the stain I used. I also had to sand about three layers and 30 years of paint off of them first, so who knows if that was a contributing factor? 

Now the latest study I was involved in, you, all my dear readers, will enjoy SO MUCH !!!!

(If you enjoy the scatological) 

*Again a warning here if you have delicate constitutions*

The latest theory in the PD world is that this wonderful dis-ease may begin the "gut" . 

So this study involves examining (my) "output" both liquid and solid after the lab rat (that would be me) injests a large amount of very sweet liquid. 

That was the best part...

the next part was to collect both the 'liquid' and the 'solid' portions and bring them both to the lab. (That reminds me--I have a cooler I need to dispose of...)

Must stop right here and say the I REALLY would NOT want to work in the G.I. lab.

But God BLESS those folks who do.

I don't know the outcome of that test for me yet. 

Big WOO HOO for my neurologist who also was a participant in this study as part of the  control group. She's got what it takes! 

And big kisses to Michael J. Fox! Getting cuter by the minute! MWAH to you MFJ! 

And if you have a chance to participate in any study for any dis-ease, I urge you to do so. Even if you are just a part of the control group. It really matters and YOU make a difference.

Until tomorrow

auf Weidersehen bis morgan fruh (Umlout uber ganzen u's),


Peace and Love