Most of the older stagers on this site will be aware that I have Parkinson's Disease. It's been close to 11 years since diagnosis, and yesterday came the annual or so control check.
The last year hasn't been so good in some ways. Ericsson closed down its Modem business at the end of last year, a move that cost all of us our jobs. At my age and in my condition, that meant retirement, against my will but tempered with the understanding that I had had a far longer run in work than had been anticipated at the time of diagnosis. Although retirement has brought its rewards, especially having more time with my family, it also had a noticeable negative impact on the symptoms of the disease. Hence I walked, rather woodenly, into yesterday's appointment with the neurologist.
Things started off as normal, discussing symptoms, medication and the like, and then she hit me with the unexpected "have you read or researched anything about surgical options for your condition?". "Do you mean deep brain stimulation?" I replied, hoping the answer wouldn't be "yes". "Yes", she replied. Although I knew something about it, I wasn't overly conversant with it. What I did know, however, is that the surgery involves drilling holes in your cranium and inserting an electrode through one of those holes deep into your brain. There's no pain, but you do get to hear everything, and the thought of my lying there and the surgeon shoving a probe into the middle of my head and then running a load of experiments waiting to see my responses, churns my stomach more than I can explain. I'm squeamish at the best of times, and the discussion went on with me in an increased state of agitation.
The potential benefits can be considerable. I've met some people who've gone through this, and the improvement in their condition has been, at the very least, noticeable. I've enough margin in my medication at the moment that this option lies perhaps 2-4 years ahead of me, and, even at this stage and in the absence of any other new developments in the treatment of Parkinson's, I'm pretty sure that this is an option that I will take. In the intervening period, I need to climb over these rather grim mental images of what the surgery will be like.
The last year hasn't been so good in some ways. Ericsson closed down its Modem business at the end of last year, a move that cost all of us our jobs. At my age and in my condition, that meant retirement, against my will but tempered with the understanding that I had had a far longer run in work than had been anticipated at the time of diagnosis. Although retirement has brought its rewards, especially having more time with my family, it also had a noticeable negative impact on the symptoms of the disease. Hence I walked, rather woodenly, into yesterday's appointment with the neurologist.
Things started off as normal, discussing symptoms, medication and the like, and then she hit me with the unexpected "have you read or researched anything about surgical options for your condition?". "Do you mean deep brain stimulation?" I replied, hoping the answer wouldn't be "yes". "Yes", she replied. Although I knew something about it, I wasn't overly conversant with it. What I did know, however, is that the surgery involves drilling holes in your cranium and inserting an electrode through one of those holes deep into your brain. There's no pain, but you do get to hear everything, and the thought of my lying there and the surgeon shoving a probe into the middle of my head and then running a load of experiments waiting to see my responses, churns my stomach more than I can explain. I'm squeamish at the best of times, and the discussion went on with me in an increased state of agitation.
The potential benefits can be considerable. I've met some people who've gone through this, and the improvement in their condition has been, at the very least, noticeable. I've enough margin in my medication at the moment that this option lies perhaps 2-4 years ahead of me, and, even at this stage and in the absence of any other new developments in the treatment of Parkinson's, I'm pretty sure that this is an option that I will take. In the intervening period, I need to climb over these rather grim mental images of what the surgery will be like.
Comment