So, this Thursday I went to the neurologist for my quarterly Botox injections. Here is to hoping that I maintain the strength in my neck to hold up my head and get rid of some of this back pain. It’s asking a lot, but it sure does help. I try to sneak in a little Parkinson’s time even though the doctor is only booked for a few minutes for the shots. I love my doctor she is so great. Well on the Parkinson’s front, things are not looking so great. My measurements are finally stable, I have braces for my ever curling feet and hyper- extending knees and all the assistive doodads you can think of, but Parkinson’s still moves forward.
My “on” the times are more plentiful and very good, but my “off” times are pretty bad. I guess things can always get worse, but it sure doesn’t feel that way at the time. I was talking to my doctor about this and there are two suggestions. One is the pump and the other is DBS, again.
The pump uses a carbidopa/levodopa gel that is directly delivered through the pump to your stomach. This delivery system provides the chemicals necessary to produce dopamine throughout the day and control the ups and downs of the oral delivery. The problem is that it requires surgical implantation for the gastric piece and the cartridges with the medicine are huge. I really think being hooked up to that contraption would be cumbersome and tiring. No on the pump. So that leaves us with DBS on the table again. Should I do it? Is it time?
I always knew that I would consider the surgery again, but I was hoping for the advancement of the solution to include balance issues. There has not been that particular advancement, but it has been four years. As my son pointed out, ”Mom, think of how far the Apple phone has come in that time. It is like going from an iPhone 5 to an iPhone 11.” The kid has a point.
Well, we will see how it goes.
I haven’t decided yet. What do you think?
Did you decide on the DBS again or just thinking about it? ❤️