My Dad had Parkinson's. He never talked about it but I could tell how upset my Mom was. He did OK with L-Dopa, and other than the hand tremors, he didn't outwardly seem that different.

I'm the kind of person -- if you tell me to leave the room and come back in 15 minutes, I might be back in 4 minutes or I might return in an hour. Time has never been my strong suit.

If my body is changing, then my path is changing. I trust that I will be here for however long I'm supposed to.

It IS depressing when you feel like your body is letting you down and you're no longer able to do the things you enjoy because of various aches and pains and problems. I saw that somebody suggested Yoga and I wanted to add that you might want to check out Pilates,too. I'm not a big fan of Yoga classes but do enjoy Pilates. Both classes are offered at the gym I go to.
I guess we all reach a point where we accept what we can do with the limitations our bodies have, but that doesn't mean we have to give in easily! My husband is a quadraplegic. Don't picture some poor guy stuck home in a wheelchair.....he's out today participating in a bass tournament. He's the only disabled guy in this particular bass club and he gives the other members a run for their money! He has a great attitude and has really taught me that if you want to do something badly enough, you'll find a way. It's not always easy and sometimes he has to accept that there are just certain things he is going to be unable to do. But he stays positive about it all, and I think that's really the important thing.
Accepting our limitations is not an easy thing to do but sometimes I think it leads to a new path......something else we enjoy, or that let's us create or whatever it is we enjoy doing, that we might not have found otherwise.

Meredith, I would suggest this book:

http://www.hayhouse.com/details.php?id=267

It's sold 30 million copies so there must be something to it.

Dianne, I can't get that page to load.

CrossStitchQueen, my gym offers Pilates but at really weird hours, like 8am. At the core, I've always been a fighter, but some days I wonder when the fighting becomes counter-productive.

To the Divine Ms M - I wish I had some wisdom to pass on here but I simply don't. I too have discovered "body" limitations and at first it was hard to accept that I couldn't do A or B. Why not, was what I kept asking out loud! Then acceptance followed. Now when my mind tells my body to do A, or B, it starts but is quickly followed by, "Oh yeah, I can't do that anymore." Here's the funny part...................the acceptance has actually led me to be able to do them on occasion. Don't ask me how, it just has. Could it have something to do with the "resistance" factor? Dunno. Just know that it has.

Anyway, my 1 cent worth...

Meredith, its: You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay. Great book.

loved the deffinicion of acceptance and resignasion by anno.

i crash the car ended up with twisted spine, pelvise a frozen/ stuck sholder and nerve damage down right side and a rotated right hip.

walking ten paces was agonising mostly housbound with a child. i got physio and acupuncture to relax muscles and ease pain but couldn't fix it. I got the advice to keep active. Pain and activity seem incompatible, with restricted mobility. yet my lack of mobility created a muscle weekening, can't do cycle.

Agonising at times and with the use of variouse pain killers (don't like but had to use in abundance, now reduced)Steriodial injections into joints sholder joint and back, a little bit of movment a bit furtheir than before graduly incresed from 10 steaps to a fair bit now, i am back out and about.

If i do over do it theirs consiquencies the next day or few days in my case things like dancing make it worth it so i chose the activity knowing what the consiquencies will be, it helps me feel empowered and not sorry for myself couse i made the coice hence accept consiquincies.

It's a fine line somedays between respecting the pain signals from your body and knowing when you can get away with stuff and when you really have to stop, instantly. Pain arthritise, physical rest slepp etc. all play the part and studieing your own body help tell you when to do what or to choise your concisquncies.

side note but by far the worst thing was the sence of powerlessness, helplessness over my body, circumstancies and life situasion made me nutsand very very depresed. I always wanted to do and hated that an external force outside my will had to be considered ie my own bodie but that was my reality. I learned moderasion, considerasion for myself and when just to throw the consiquencies to the wind couse i need to dance or walk in park or whatever. Slowly i learned acceptances i do thnk it's a learning process of attitude and physical limitasions. Since then their no going back i am happier with my lot and more able than i thought possible than those first very dark mounths. Their still bad days when i can't do as much but their still better than the inicial days/mounths. Each day in life is diffrent and so is life and it's circumstancies take it one day at a time and see that day in it's entirity.

the crash left me with fibromyalgia....or the prolonged stress of the situasion, they can't tell which coused what. So relax and don't worrie if and when you can ...

just my experience hope it helps, whishing you all the best in working it out.....
oh visiliasion also help and cheered me up. (hypnotheripy my professional qualificasion)

celtic_flame

Meredith, I just read about your pain. I'm so sorry. I thought it had gone away. I have always imagined you dancing wildly along the western horizon. I refuse to give up that image.

I have posted this before, but three major car accidents, 31 broken bones and almost every joint crushed inflicted a lot of pain. For years I kept it at bay with just a smile. I refused to acknowledge it. I walked every day and ran often. I even danced on stage. But before my most recent orthopedic surgery, the pain took over. I found myself planning ahead for it, not doing things that I knew would hurt and far too often the pain took the smile that had been my only defense. I could no longer ignore it.

You asked about acupuncture. It has been a miracle for me. I almost feel like my old self again. If you have not yet tried it, check it out. Most insurance doesn't pay for it, and it is expensive, but if you're in enough pain, it doesn't matter.

I hope you're dancing again soon.

smile

Meredithbead, I have good days, bad days, and days in between and manage to work around it most of the time. Really bad days I can't go to work and end up at the docs for a pain injection. Is that how it goes for you?

Smilinize love the picture, it suits you!

Meredith did you get the envelope I sent? Also my sons hand was like a claw hand after he broke it in a fight and "they", dam doctors, said he would never be able to open it again. Plus in order to aleviate the terrible pain they could cut the nerves. Of course the hand would be useless but there would be no pain, DUH!
He wouldn't give up and went to an acupuncturist and I went along. It was like a miracle and after only several treatments, the hand was again back to normal with 'no pain' and has been so ever since. Its worth a try!