2. And then.......

      Even after the diagnosis by the DAT scan I was not really convinced, but I went along with it, as it would give me a 'Get Out of Jail Free 'Card should I ever need it. Those with milder Parkinson' will understand, but  for clarification and perhaps enlightenment I will explain.  PD is essentially a multitude of different symptoms, some severely incapacitating, some only mildly so and others that may be seen as advantageous if applied in context. The various lotions and potions you may be prescribed for PD also have the potential to add to the confusion for a non-PD-er.

         The key to this is to ensure that those near and dear, and even the rest of the scene you are in, are aware that you may exhibit any of these symptoms at random times. Now I am not remotely suggesting that Gillian Lacey-Solymar, screaming and writhing on her bed in agony in a revelation on M & S Podcast, was trying to gain some advantage over the long suffering Michael ( as a woman she has already achieved that long before PD), but used with stealth and aplomb, the phrase 'It's because of my Parkinson's can be used to devastating  effect. However you must take great pains to be seen to be  striving to overcome these symptoms in a manly( whatever) and self-effacing way. It is not easy to strike the balance. Perhaps Jeremy Paxman's enduring misery and discontent is just an act, but he has over egged the pudding to the extent that it seems to be his normal face to the world.  I will not go into great personal detail of my own vicissitudes, as I fear that SWMBO rumbled me partially early on, but I take great care to send her little articles from time to time whenever I find a symptom or side affect that I can perhaps use to my advantage in the long term.