PatientsLikeMe : teokimhoe's Parkinson's Profile

teokimhoe

Male, 69 years
kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur

teokimhoe: Sex: M; Data Quality: 1 star; PD: 4 yrs; Hoehn-Yahr 1; Mouth/throat: none; Arms: none; Chest: none; Legs: none; See profile

Member since: 12/07
Last updated: 01/04/09

Diagnosis Summary
Onset: Problems Walking
First symptom: 01/05
Diagnosis: 02/05

About Me
The reasons why I started my blog? I started my blog because I wanted to tell the world how I fight my Parkinson’s disease and hopefully send a message to the readers that there are people suffering from Parkinson disease (“PD”) who need public awareness of the existence of PD and the effects physically, emotionally and mentally. With this blog, I hope to help PD patients to understand the disease and let them know that they are not alone.PD sufferers have movement disorders which could be misdiagnosed or misunderstood as effects of ageing. This misdiagnosis or misunderstanding can be unfortunate for PD patients as PD is a progressive disease whereby early treatment would slowdown the progression of the disease.There are also patients who are reluctant to accept they have PD when they are diagnosed by doctors as they consider themselves suffering from the effect of ageingAs far as I am aware, 2% of the world’s population above the age of 60 years are PD sufferers . There are also a small percentage of younger persons who also develop the disease.There are 3 out of 1000 people age 50 and above suffering from this disorder. This number is likely to increase as the population ages.Besides, PD does not have any social, ethnic, economic or geographic boundaries either.I hope that my blog would share my experience on how I cope with PD and to counter /slowdown the degenerative effects of the disease.There are effective medication for the symptoms and patients who seek earlier treatment can continue to lead independent and fruitful lives.Exercise is also essential to the PD sufferer because of the need to maintain good muscle tone, strength and posture. Exercise has important benefits for everyone regardless of age or physical condition. When your condition threatens to immobilize you, exercise keeps you moving to retain your mobility & function, use it or lose it Eating a well-balanced, nutritious diet can help prevent weight and muscles loss, minimize practical difficulties associated with eating or swallowing, reduce the risks of hospital admission due to falls and reduce drug-related side effects as dehydration and constipation. At the same time I want to express my gratitude and appreciation to Dr. NK Chew my Neurologist for encouraging me to start the blog and the National Parkinson Foundation (NPF) in USA for answering my questions and helping me whenever I do not understand the disease. Also, I want to thank my wife and family for their kind support and understanding.I feel proud that I am able to serve the community with this blog. My message is to help PD patients to be aware of the disease and to encourage the setting-up of support groups to educate PD patients and their immediate families.,the cause of the disease, signs and symptoms , aid to caregivers, and a well balance nutriti0nal diet to achieve the best quality of life.