10 Things People with Parkinson’s Love, Loathe, and Long for

Patients with Parkinson’s disease have pet peeves they loathe, treasures they love, and things they want. Following are some of them. Feel free to add to the lists in the comments section below.

10 things Parkinson’s patients loathe:

A doctor who obviously couldn’t care less.
Trying to do something with disobedient fingers.
“Da plane, da plane!” (The pain, the pain.)
Ignorant questions and comments someone makes about the shaking.
Noticing symptoms are increasing or worsening.
Feeling like a burden.
Being unable to do things they used to do, such as tying shoes or buttoning a coat.
People thinking they’re mad or sad because PD borrowed a smile and won’t give it back.
Falling.
Finding it hard or impossible to handwrite a letter or note.



10 things Parkinson’s patients love:

Other people with PD who understand firsthand.
Not shaking.
When meds are working well.
When doctors treat them as if they matter and don’t need to rush.
Dopamine!
Good days.
Supportive family and friends.
Slip-on shoes and slippers.
Massages.
Support groups.

10 things Parkinson’s patients long for:

To feel good.
To smell dinner or the flowers along the path.
People to believe that they aren’t faking about having a chronic disease.
Others to understand that even though you can’t see it, the disease is always quite visible to its carrier.
More dopamine. We gotta have more cowbell. Er, dopamine!
To not tremble, but instead, smell with their noses and taste with their tongues.
To make others aware of the struggles people with Parkinson’s face.
A soft bat to hit others over the head with when they make thoughtless comments.
To find a medication that doesn’t knock them out for half a day, but instead, knocks out PD.
A cure.