Introducing me, Aidan

About me Introductions and personal stories
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My name is Aidan and I'm 57 and I was diagnosed with PD in November 2016. I live in the Royal Docks in East London, England.
I first noticed the symptoms of PD around a year ago although I didn't recognise what they were. I noticed that sometimes my voice was hoarse and soft and sometimes it was normal. I couldn't choose which voice I used. I also noticed that I was salivating too much. I put these changes down to stress, as it coincided with a very stressful period in my life.
In July 2016 I started noticing that my left hand was very stiff in the morning when I woke up. I thought I had arthritis. I saw a rheumatologist in October. He took an x-ray and ruled out arthritis. He referred me to a neurologist who gave me a physical examination, MRI, DAT-scan and electric conduction tests on my nerves. He diagnosed PD and prescribed rotigotine patches. I'm currently on 4 mg / 24 hours.
I am trying out mannitol and coconut oil. I've not noticed any improvement in my symptoms but no worsening either.
I've volunteered for several different research studies and so far have been accepted by one, at the John Radcliffe in Oxford. Details of the study are here http://www.ndcn.ox.ac.uk/research/neurometrology-lab.
My employer will give me two days of paid leave every year for participating in research.
I'd be interested in joining or even setting up an exercise class in the Docklands area where I live if there were enough other people interested.
On the whole I feel blessed to have been diagnosed early and I know my life could be much worse than it is. I'm apprehensive about the future but I will fight this as hard as I can.

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Welcome aidan1959, You'll find plenty of tips on here. You sound like you've hit the ground running. There is a diet and fitness thread where theres talk of coconut oil. They're is a lot of newbies too. I was diagnosed in may last year. There is a honeymoon period where you want to do everything you can. There are good and bad days but as long as you have support and keep positive, you'll get through it.
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Hi Aidan ,

Good to meet you,  lots of support on here, have a browse for what suits your needs at the time.  diet and fitness thread good as Divine R cites,  you may have to invent a cocktail though!  take care deep breaths and dive straight in. I am 55 yrs old , had Parky pal 8yrs now its a journey we are all on.  We all have two  things in common, PD and the need for support now and then, what I mean to say is, you are very welcome.  

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Thank you for the welcome.

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Hi Aidan, 

Welcome to the forum! I work at Parkinson's UK and you'll see me and my colleagues around these parts from time to time, we're primarily here to moderate and to help with any questions you might have. But we do like a chat every now and then too :-) 

Have you been put in touch with a specialist or Parkinson's nurse yet? 

Let me know if you need any help or advice in finding support in your local area.

Kat