Believe it or not, when I decided to hit RSVP, EHarmony, Oasis and yes I confess Adult Match Maker I initially put that I had Parkinson's on my profile. I'm not going to hide anything I thought. Didn't take me long to say f%$# that - what they don't know won't hurt them. THAT'S when the young men started contacting me. If you weren't a cougar before you dipped your toe into the online dating world, you certainly emerge as one. I did, however give some of them a 'talking to' saying "Listen , young man, don't waste my time and go and find someone your own age to play with? Seriously what would you say 'apres sex' to a 25 year old?
This rambling does bring me to an issue that I'm sure is not often discussed in Parkinson's forums and that is the effect of Parkinson's and other neurological diseases on sexual function.
It is quite common knowledge that one of the Parkinson's drugs, a dopamine agonist or a drug that stimulates the dopamine receptors to produce what little dopamine there is left in a Parky brain ( as opposed to other types of drugs that simply replace the dopamine), can turn you into a sex addict. Honestly , when you have gone through menopause, that doesn't seem such a bad thing!! (Not to belittle the terrible affect this drug can have on people's lives)
Needless to say I think this drug has helped keep my post menopausal sex drive alive. Too much information - I'm sorry but this is what this blog is about - the social and never talked about affects of Parkinson's. With more and more people being diagnosed at a much younger age these issues need to be brought to the surface. There is much discussion on the use of drugs, the research , how hard it is for the carers (if you are lucky enough to have one!), deep brain stimulation etc but not about how to work with Parkinson's, how to date with Parkinson's, starting a new relationship with the weight of further degeneration looming.
All this is heavy shit man and is always at the back of your mind and things like exercise, living life to the full, is still at the front but there are those moments when the dark side comes through and we must talk about these things.
This rambling does bring me to an issue that I'm sure is not often discussed in Parkinson's forums and that is the effect of Parkinson's and other neurological diseases on sexual function.
It is quite common knowledge that one of the Parkinson's drugs, a dopamine agonist or a drug that stimulates the dopamine receptors to produce what little dopamine there is left in a Parky brain ( as opposed to other types of drugs that simply replace the dopamine), can turn you into a sex addict. Honestly , when you have gone through menopause, that doesn't seem such a bad thing!! (Not to belittle the terrible affect this drug can have on people's lives)
Needless to say I think this drug has helped keep my post menopausal sex drive alive. Too much information - I'm sorry but this is what this blog is about - the social and never talked about affects of Parkinson's. With more and more people being diagnosed at a much younger age these issues need to be brought to the surface. There is much discussion on the use of drugs, the research , how hard it is for the carers (if you are lucky enough to have one!), deep brain stimulation etc but not about how to work with Parkinson's, how to date with Parkinson's, starting a new relationship with the weight of further degeneration looming.
All this is heavy shit man and is always at the back of your mind and things like exercise, living life to the full, is still at the front but there are those moments when the dark side comes through and we must talk about these things.
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