As you already know, there are 5 stages of PD. You also know that PD patients manifest their symptoms at different times during the disease. Not all people get all symptoms. Not all doctors work with their patients to find a treatment that will be the best for the patient but instead go to the standard answers.

I think that for your purposes the stage 1 would be sufficient.

I’m going to use a relative as an example; the person is male because more men then women develop this disease. Possibly estrogen protects some women in younger years, perhaps men have more exposure to environmental toxins which trigger PD. Perhaps there is a larger genetic connection. There are studies but only suggestions at answers.

You wake in the morning feeling stiff and have difficulty getting out of bed. You go to the bathroom – not unfamiliar because you have already been there a few times during the night. You need to take your meds but some say that you need to have something in your stomach before you take them so you head to the kitchen to get coffee and toast – whatever – you have to walk down the stairs. Your gait is already affected so your walk down the hall is slow and careful.

You stride is shorter so insead of putting on foot in front of the other, you walk with a slight shuffle, one foot barely or not clearing the other. Since you are on the second floor, you are careful to hold onto the handrailing.

You have your little breakfast as one hand shakes a bit. Carrying coffee to the table without spilling it can be problematic. But you make it through breakfast without choking, another problem as the throat muscles tighten.

Afterwards you take the first of a series of pills and supplements. Perhaps you take Azilect which can put a hold on more symptoms developing. It is a Parkinson’s agonist. If your doctor has jumped to the levidopa-carbidopa which are dopamine antagonist meds sometimes best used after stage 1, you will see some symptoms abate (although eventually the symptoms may return with a vengance. (Some people take isradimine which is a calcium channel blocker now in stage 2 testing for PD although its label use is as a cardiac med.)

Perhaps you exercise next by working out on a total gym or doing some breathing exercises or chair exercises. You can read about these here by going to the right index or simply scrolling down the posts: There are also photos in posts and the right column to give you an idea.

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After you exercise it is time for a shower. You have to be careful in the shower because you aren’t that steady. You really should have a shower seat and probably grab bars.

Then it is time to get dressed for work. You like to allow plenty of extra time because of the stiffness. Putting on your slacks of jeans can take much longer. You can’t step into them as your balance and stability aren’t what they were. You sit down to do this – one leg at a time. Shirts are even harder because your arms just don’t bend and stretch any more in the motions we take for granted. Since your fingers are stiff so buttons are a challenge. Perhaps western style snap shirts of polo shirts are easier to put on. Pulling polos down can be hard also. Bending is difficult so putting on socks and shoes is awkward and a long shoe horn, shakily guided to your heels is a help.

You’re dressed with time to spare. So you check your email and read online news wearing a special pair of glasses. You always wore glasses but now you have your trifocals as well as a special prisim pair to help you read.

Then you change glasses, take some antioxidant supplements, make sure that you have you next doses of meds to take at work and off you go.

Some PD patients can’t drive. Many can although they are very afraid that if they are in an accident they will lose their licenses just because they have PD and not because their disease actually had anything to do with the accident. So after struggling to get into your car, your drive to work is a bit tense and extra cautious.

At work you are aware that people are watching you – some may be laughing at the way you walk. You suck it in and just ignore the eyes and the snickers but it is depressing. That only adds to the depression you may already have with PD.

You haven’t told anyone at work that you have PD although you’d kind of like to. Because PD is a gray area in the identified handicaps which employers are supposed to honor, you don’t want to take the risk.

You recognize that you can’t do ladders any more, you just don’t seem to be able to do the heavy lifting that you could do a couple of years ago and that adds to the tension.

You use your prism glasses if you have to work at a computer – or your regular glasses if not. This is an added expense because you prescription can change so often now that you have PD. You really do need the income. The work is tense and you become tenser and

Log onto youtube and do a searh for parkinsons disease. There are many short clips there of people with PD, some worse than others, but, if you watch enough of them you will get the idea.