Well Friday has arrived and that means time for a little more about Parkinson’s Disease, still looking at medication and treatment.

The aim of drug treatment is to keep the patient active, independent and free of handicap. Easier said than done.

Just raising the amount of medication, one takes is not necessarily the answer or in the patient’s best interest. Due of course to the side effects, no point in having the symptoms disappear if one is left in a zombie like condition.

As mentioned before levodopa can be a big help with symptoms often restoring the level of dopamine closer to normal which can help with the symptoms.

However, with Parkinson’s some brain cells containing a substance called acetyl choline react to the lack of dopamine by increasing activity. This of course makes the symptoms worse not better. Treatment with anti-cholinergic drugs can help with that.

These two drug groups kind of come at the problem from two ends, hopefully tending to tilt more towards what would be considered normal.

As the disease progresses it is common to find oneself on a number of medications by having to take as many as five different medications to help one manage some kind of normalcy.

Naturally many would be concerned about taking large numbers of tablets worrying how they are reacting with each other, or if they are accumulating in the body. Neither of these fears are realistic as the drugs do not inter-react generally speaking there are always the chance of it happening, but it is extremely rare and when this happens it is well-recognised and quickly picked up.   

Nearly all the drugs used are broken down destroyed in the body within 24 hours, so no risk of a build up in the body. There may be changes in the way the body’s nervous system responses to the medication over time, in general we become more sensitive to them which causes the change in response.

It is time to talk a bit more about BPD and this week we are looking at affective instability, if like me your first thoughts on reading those words is what the hell is that then I will tell you.

It refers to the erratic mood swings people with BPD experience. It is due to this symptom that the suffer can be incredibly happy one moment and incredibly angry the next, these shifts can happen as quick as within minutes. It is considered the core pathology in BPD.

People with BPD often feel consumed by their emotions, when sad they act out their sadness and when angry they do the same thing. There is little to no room for reflecting or trying to control their emotions, they just react.

Most of us can identify and recognise our emotions and try to improve how we are feeling, those with BPD do not have the ability to regulate their emotions and so can’t do this. They are a victim of their circumstances; their emotions wash over them like a tsunami crashing to the shore.

Naturally this can be exhausting for both the suffer and their loved ones. Those with BPD often feel out of control which they are, and their loved ones are clueless as to why they have suddenly become angry.

Also remember that often it is the loved ones who get the worst of this affective instability, as the person with BPD may feel more comfortable around them a subconsciously allow their greatest emotional outbursts for those, they know will not leave them.

If you have a loved one with this disorder, please remember that it is one of the most painful mental illnesses someone can have.

Good morning all here is part two about the bombing of Darwin on 19 February 1942.

                 A Coastwatcher using radio 

Coastwatchers, often civilians and largely unknown and unsung proved to be a vital part of our war effort.

Forty-three minutes before the attack John Gibble, a Coastwatcher on Melville Island, radioed that a large number of aircraft was flying towards Darwin. A few minutes later Father John McGarth of the Catholic mission station on Bathurst Island, radioed Lou Curnock of the Darwin Australian Amalgamated Wireless station reporting the same thing. Curnock immediately transmitted this to the RAAF.

These warnings were not acted on.

                   A Kittyhawk P40

The RAAF Operations Centre was not alarmed, despite the direction the planes were travelling they thought it was American P40 Kittyhawks which due to bad weather had to return from a sortie for Timor. In fact, 9 out of the 10 Kittyhawks were approaching the airfield as the Japanese Zeros flew in and the Kittyhawks were shot down immediately, with four US pilots being killed.

The airbase was therefore unable to mount and counterattack, it was left to the anti-aircraft batteries to defend the town, although they kept up a continuous barrage from their gun emplacements only on Zero was shot down.

                     A Japanese Zero 

The main target for the first attack was Darwin’s harbour, as there were upwards of 45 ships in port, including the US destroyer Peary which sunk within minutes of the attack starting, taking 80 lives with it. Also sunk was the US transport Meigs with only 2 lives lost.  

The Australian ship Neptuna which had been a passage vessel was hit and it was loaded with explosives, so it blew with a terrifying blast, taking 46 lives with it. There were also 5 merchant ships sunk.

Here I am at another Tuesday also known as creature day here at Jo’s Ramblings this week we are looking at the Yeti Crab.

Scientific name is Kiwa Hirsuta, it is about 15cm’s long it was discovered in 2005 in the South Pacific Ocean. It is known for the quality of silky blond setae which cover its body. Its discoverers named it the Yeti Crab or Yeti Lobster.

They are rarely seen and tend to flock to the thermal vents on the floor of the icy Southern Pacific Ocean to keep warm. Thousands of them crawl over each other to get close to the boiling water without scalding themselves.  

Maybe because there is no sunlight where these tiny creatures live, they grow their own food by this I mean the tiny hairs on their bodies grow bacteria which they eat.

It doesn’t seem to have many predators, although some think that deep-sea octopuses and fish might find them edible.

Hello everyone, well it’s Monday and so I will be sharing a few things about another country this week it is Mexico.

Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It covers 1,972,550 km², making it the world’s 13th-largest country by area; with a population of almost 130 million, it is the 10th-most-populous country and the most populous Spanish-speaking country.

It won its independence from Spain in 1821 and September 16 has been the national Independence Day ever since. Before it was called Mexico it was known as New Spain.

Mexico’s flag is green, white and red with at its centre a coat of arms featuring an eagle, a cactus and a serpent. The eagle is a Crested Carcara or Mexican Eagle.

The foundations for this iconic design date back to the monumental year of 1821, when Mexico emerged as a sovereign nation. Yet, over history, it has seen many changes until the final and current design was officially adopted on 16 September 1968.

Like many anthems around the world, draws upon battle themes and inspiration. Composed in 1854 by Jaime Nuno and written by Francisco Gonzalez Bocanegra, it asks for eternal unity and patriotism from the Mexican people in times of war.

Mexico’s national anthem is “Himmo Nacional Mexican” which means cry of war, this has been the anthem since 1943. It’s national animal is the Majestic Golden Eagle and its national flower is the Dahlia.

The Mexican Constitution is based on .seven basic principles: a declaration of human rights; national sovereignty; division of powers; the representative system; a federal structure; constitutional remedy and the supremacy of the state over the Church. It is seen as an instrument to be used to bring about social change.

Had a really good night, slept through the night waking with the alarm at 5am. The temp at 5.30am is 10 degrees but I don’t feel that cold yet. By 8.30am it was 13 degrees.

By midday it was 16 degrees, and I am so damn cold, I am not use, to being cold.

Tim isn’t feeling well today, has a tight cramp like pain in his gut and doesn’t want to eat, but he often doesn’t want to eat.

It reached a top of 20 degrees, but it didn’t feel like it.

What a cold start to the day it is, I had to find a heater to have on while I had my morning wash, it was that cold.  I also turned the heater on in the lounge room till I came out when the chilled had been taken off the room.  It is only 7 degrees at 5.30am.

By 7am I had checked my emails, read a heap of blogs, did my own blog post and now I sit wondering what to do next.

I had a scary incident I was eating a bit of a bread roll, and it got stuck in my throat, I couldn’t even swallow water and I was coughing and trying to dislodge it and it wouldn’t move. It went on for ages like 10-15 minutes and Tim started to get worried, so he rang 000, but while he was on the phone it finally moved and I was able to have a drink of water, so told the operator I was fine and no need for the ambos. I was really scared myself and even said to Tim that I didn’t want to die today.

By midday the temp was 17 degrees.

So, I just went into find clothes for tomorrow, I am out of any type of winter clothes, I only own two long sleeve singlets and one pair of warmish long pants all of which are in the dirty wash basket.

Not as cold this morning thankfully, 12 degrees at 5.30am, we have had rain overnight hope we have no more till after Sam leaves for school.

It hasn’t rained but I walked up with Sam instead of taking the scooter just in case.

I haven’t felt as cold today, but Tim has.

I told Tim that I would go with him tomorrow out to his Dr’s appointment, well he can see the Dr while I go look for some warmer clothes.

Jess called in sick to work, so she must not be feeling good as she doesn’t just do that.

Had a shocking night and so did Tim, I got only around 3-4 hours of proper sleep. I still got up with the alarm at 5am and it was bloody cold, had the heater going in the bathroom while I had a wash and one going in the lounge-room also while I was having my wash. It is 6 degrees at 5.30am.

Jessica is feeling pretty unwell with a high temp at 39 degrees, she will be staying in bed all day again.

By 8am the temp had risen till 10 degrees. It did warm up got to 21 degrees.

I went shopping on my own and bought 2 new pairs of long pants including a pair of trackie dacs and some more undies and another long sleeve singlet. Felt good to wonder around on my own.

Had a good night’s sleep, Tim has his work training with Port Stephens Coach Company today, so he was up at 5am with me as he must be there by 6.30am. It is 10 degrees at 5.30am.

Tim rang at 11.30am to let me know he won’t be home till after 5pm, he said it is all going well. At 11.30am it was 16 degrees. By 1pm it was 21 degrees.

Tim got home at 5.30pm, he has to go back tomorrow, so he will be up early again.  He said it went well; I hope it is a job he will like doing.

Had another good night it is only 6 degrees at 5.30am, seems odd to have Tim up with me at 5am also felt odd him not being home at all yesterday.

By 8.20am I had read around two dozen blogs, checked emails, posted a blog of my own, vacuumed out, ironed a couple of items, and went up with Sam to meet her transport and sent a good morning message to Sue. Oh, and it is now 11 degrees.

Sandy called in to show me her new puppy they have named Angel a chihuahua. Asked when she was here if she knew anyone who would like a toaster oven, she took it.

Got to a top temp of 21 degrees.

Tim was exhausted when he got home this arvo, but he gets to sleep in tomorrow and Sunday and on Monday he goes and does it all again.

Not as cold this morning with a temp of 12 degrees at 5.30am, I slept well.

Even though it isn’t as cold this morning I needed the heater on for a bit as I was getting a headache, the type I gets in cold weather.

It got up to 20 degrees, Tim went out to put fuel in the car and I asked him to get me a cheeseburger and fries on his way home which he did, however, I wasn’t able to eat all of it in fact I ate very little of it which annoyed me as I hate wasting food.

Jessica has covid again, Tim is still not feeling good and now is thinking he has cancer, because he feels something is seriously wrong with him.

Only more about Parkinson’s. I open my Parkinson’s and we are at a part about treatment, so let’s see what we can learn.

Treating PD with drugs has only been around for a roughly one hundred and something years, and the most effective drugs didn’t come about till after the second world war. It was the drugs introduced only 40 odd years ago that have made an enormous impact on the lives of those with PD.

Even though it was 1817 when James Parkinson identified the disease, it wasn’t till the late 1880’s that neurologists in Paris discovered that drugs derived from the Belladona group of plants gave some relief from rigidity and tremor. These simple drugs were the main treatment till the 1940’s, when chemically synthesized and concentrated agents replaced them, as they worked in the same way.

This group, known as anticholinergics, meant that for the first time a drug for the treatment of PD was widely available. These drugs can still be found in use today but much less with the discovery of drugs called the dopaminergic which replaces the most important chemical deficiency in the brain.

It was in the 1960’s that scientists in Vienna identified a link between PD and a deficiency in dopamine which led to the use of levodopa. Levodopa is the natural chemical precursor of dopamine. So, it became the first dopamine-active drug shown to be effective in treating PD.

Natural with these drugs come side effects and said side effects can really affect some people, while others don’t get any side effects. How some people deal how some people are affected can change over time as many will be receiving treatment for years or decades.

It is for these reasons that medication needs to be monitored by a doctor preferrable a neurologist or movement disorder specialist.

Because treatment is ongoing and taking one simple tablet may not help many are on combination of drugs and the dosage and frequency of the medication will need to be changed at different times over the years.

More to come next week.

Hi all it is Thursday, so it is time for a little more info about BPD this week we are looking at self-harm and suicide. Not something I like to think about but a real problem for those with BPD.

It seems that the rate of self-harm, suicide and BPD is bloody high, in fact research has shown as many as 10% of people with BPD die by suicide.

Sometimes, these suicide attempts inadvertently help people with BPD avoid abandonment. For instance, after a bad breakup, they may dangerously cut themselves. Then, they may call their ex-partner and tell them what happened, there ex may then offer comfort and support this temporarily relieves the fear of abandonment.

It is common for those with BPD to swing between wanting to feel alive and wanting to feel nothing at all. This is because regulating their emotions is so damn hard and even the slightest negative feeling can feel overwhelming. This is why the desire at times to end it all can be a constant battle.

Sadly, even when a suffer isn’t having suicidal thoughts the act of self-harm can go terrible wrong leading to an irreversible mistake.

This symptom can and does make treatment difficult and it is not unusual for a suffer to be a frequent flyer in hospital emergency rooms. What they don’t want and what they may learn how to avoid is being admitted to psychiatric ward or hospital. This symptom is devasting for those of us who love someone with BPD and we need to have a tough skin so when the suffer does self-harm their blaming language doesn’t hurt us too much.

Those with BPD as well as others who feel overwhelmed with life the act of inflicting pain on themselves seems logical and effective to relieve their pain if only for a little bit. We also should remember that self-harming can result in the release of endorphins which will act as a natural pain relief, thus when they self-harm they have a moment of not feeling the pain they have caused. This of course doesn’t last and no good is achieved by self-harming.

Of course, in reality self-harm only add to and deepens their problems and for those around them the need to deal with the immediate threat of self-harm can distract from the main problem.

Someone whose life is controlled by their condition and having BPD would often feel it is controlling their life will find relationships difficult and will often be wracked by feelings that they are not good enough or worthy enough, they are usually beating themselves up over and over again for what they think are their failures. This is another reason they self-harm.

Wednesday again and time to learn a little more about Australians under fire in 1942 and today’s post is about the bombing of Darwin.

This occurred on Thursday 19 February 1942 at 9.58am, at the time of the attack Darwin was a small coastal town in the Northern Territory with a civilian population of about 2,000.

After the attack on Pearl Harbour there had been a rapid advance of the Japanese, so efforts had been made to secure Darwin. Darwin was the base of the 7^th Military District of Australia.

Larrakeyah Barracks contained the men of the 23^rd Australia Infantry Brigade, there was also two Australian Infantry ani-aircraft batteries. The RAN base there was a floating dock.

The RAAF was at a base built in 1940 about 8 kilometres south of Darwin.

Ironically, a radar station at Dripstone Caves which wasn’t far from Darwin wasn’t yet operational. However, after it became operational it was a great help in preventing further attacks on Darwin.

There was also a small number of American service personnel stationed in the area since the attack on Pearl Harbour. Which over time expanded to other parts of the country.

By late December 1941 most white and Asian women and children had been evacuated, however, little if any thought was given to the large Aboriginal population. They were expected to fend for themselves, what a disgraceful thing to do.

There was around 63 white women who stayed, and they were for the most part employed in essential services, such as nursing and telegraphy.

Some civilians and organisations had dug slit trenches and there had been several trial air raid alarms but overall, the defences were inadequate, as a result a tragedy of errors occurred.

By late February Port Darwin had become an important staging point for ship convoys and aircraft on their way to fighting in the north-west. The port was very crowded on the 19^th as a convoy of ships carrying Australian and American troops and supplies escorted by the USS Houston had returned to port after an attack by the Japanese. Their objective had been embattled Timor. The congestion of the port contributed to the large amount of casualties.

Well, we are on Tuesday and what freaky creature do I today, it is the Panda Ant.

Don’t be fooled by its cute appearance it’s actually a wasp whose sting packs a punch.

It is found in Chile and its bold colour is to warn off predators. Both male and female look similar they can be mistaken as different species. This is because the males are twice the size of females and then some. The males also have wings and are nocturnal unlike the females.

The female lay their eggs in the nests of ground-living insects and when they hatch, they eat the larvae of the original insect.