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.  

Hello, how is everyone on this Monday morning, well it is Monday morning here. This week in our series on countries we have the good old U S A.

The USA is a large country with 50 states, it is mostly situated in North America with the capital being Washington D.C. It lies between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans and borders Canada to the north and Mexico to the south.

Its largest state is Alaska but it’s also the least populated state, it was purchased from Russia in 1867 for 7.2 million dollars. The smallest state is Rhode Island.  

The first state was Delaware which dates back to 1787, with Hawaii being the last state dating from 1959.

Before 1776 the country was known as the United Colonies. It gained independence from the United Kingdom on 4 July 1776.

The flag has 13 stripes on it representing the first 13 colonies and 50 stars for the 50 states, it has been around since 1777, when on the 14 June it was adopted by the Continental Congress as the countries official flag. Before that each colony had its own flag.

The national anthem is Star Spangled Banner since 1931, although it was recognised by the navy in 1888. It was originally called The Defence of Fort McHenry.   

MOTHER’S DAY

Good morning and what a nice morning, why is it nice, no damn idea but that is what I wrote. The temp at 5.30am is 14 degrees and cool.

Tasha came down a wished me a happy Mother’s Day, Kathy & Summer came over to wish me happy Mother’s Day they brought me flowers.

Tim bought pizza for lunch.

Jessica and Sam brought down my Mother’s Day gift, bath/shower scrub from Sam which was made at school and long sleeve winter nighties from Jess.

Monday again, damn the weekend went fast, it is 15 degrees as I start this at 5.30am. Kathy asked if she could ring me once a week on Saturday’s instead of 3 times a week as we generally have little news to share with each other, I said that would be fine.

Light rain at 1pm, temp of 20 degrees.

While I was in the kitchen getting lunch my glasses broke, so I am using the pair I keep in the kitchen till Tim goes down the road and buys me another pair. I only wear the ones we can buy from Hot Bargain a discount store.

Another good night only 12 degrees when I got up. My BGL was 5.6 this morning.

Had a good morning hands working so so not as good as I would like but not as bad as they can get.

Had to ring Jess to wake Sam she wasn’t answering her phone, felt a little odd Kathy not ringing but I will soon get use to the new plan.

Got to a top of 21 degrees.

Had another good night after the initial tossing and turning. The temp is 14 degrees this morning, my BGL was 5.5.

Sue came over to do a load of washing as she had so much to do, and I have a large machine. While she was, she drove me to the opp shop to give them the old Coles bags. She also drove me the bakery and down to the plaza to make an appointment to have my eyed checked.

I got in trouble off Tasha & Tim because I sent Jess a message reminding her to ask Tasha about getting Sam tomorrow arvo. The wanted to see if she would remember on her own.

Had a good night, up washed, and dressed I have my appointment in Sydney with the neurologist at 12.30pm.

It is 11 degrees at 5.30am and my BGL was 4.9.

We left around 9.15am for the drive to Sydney, stopped for lunch before the appointment as we had plenty of time.

The appointment went well she was pleased to see me walking with just the cane and the first thing she said was “you have lost weight” yes, I have.

In fact, the pants I wore to the appointment were too big and would fall down if there hadn’t been a drawstring to tighten them up.

We got home around 3.30pm, Jess had to get Sam out of school early as there was no one here to meet the transport.

I have had my meds increased by one extra tablet a day, and we have a telehealth appointment in 6 weeks to let her know how I am doing.

Had a shocking night, I kept waking every couple of hours, to either pee or just because my body thought it would be fun to interrupt my sleep.

It is 12 degrees at 5.30am, reached a top of 22 degrees today so it’s warm.

I told Tim I would walk up and meet Sam this is how I will start getting into walking more.  Which my neurologist would like me to do.

I have felt ok most of the day but by 2.30pm I started to feel drained. I also have managed to write this as my hands are still.

Had a decent sleep, woke a few times to pee but settled straight back down again so that’s all good. It is 13 degrees and windy and the wind is cold.

By midday it is still only 16 degrees, and I am so cold I went and put a long sleeve singlet on.

Tasha comment that I looked a lot more relaxed and settled today and I agree I feel more settled. I have had more control over my hands.

Started raining at around 1.30pm and kept raining for hours.

A new post can be found here: https://jamfn.blogspot.com/2024/05/my-sister-sue.html

Hello everyone, I had a rough night, but I have managed to get up as usual check emails and read some blogs. Now it is time for another post about Parkinson’s.

Swelling of your ankles, isn’t something I have associated with Parkinson’s, but it seems it can be. This is due the fact that those with PD often sit for long periods of time and are often unable to move their legs normally.

Without regular movement that make our calf and thigh muscles there is little circulation in the legs thus causing swelling of the ankles.  

This is usually worse in the warmer weather and can even be made worse due to some treatments.

It can also become so bad there is difficulty in wearing normal shoes, there is also the risk of skin complications or phlebitis.

Treatment should be aimed at improving blood circulation.

Also those with PD need to remember that some of their symptoms may not be cause by PD but something else, swollen ankles can be due to fluid retention, joint pain may due to arthritis and urinary symptoms can be caused by and UTI or prostate problems.

Good morning, all, here we are at Thursday again and that means a little more about Borderline Personality Disorder or BPD for short. This week we are having a look at impulse control.

Everyone has impulsive moments when we do things without thinking through the consequences but those with BPD it is a right struggle.

These people often have issues with drinking and/or drug use, my sister is a recovering drug addict, and she still struggles with drinking too much.

They may also struggle with binge eating or purging, promiscuity and compulsive sex, don’t know if Sue has this problem but I suspect she might. Lastly there is compulsive shopping or gambling. I don’t think Sue gambles, but she may have a problem with compulsive shopping, she does own 25 handbags.

These impulsive actions are a way of soothing intense emotions or trying to escape a bad experience.

Such impulsive actions can explain why those with BPD often have other mental health issues and can also connect with poor financial and physical health.

Now it doesn’t take a genius to realise that such impulsive behaviour can create more problems. Or to know that trying to escape emotions doesn’t change or fix anything and will not stop the pain that can follow. It can also cause more consequences which can lead to the BPD suffer to react by lashing out at others, or engaging in even more impulsive behaviour or as is often the case with Sue they become extremely depressed.

There have been studies that suggest those with BPD may have abnormalities in the part of the brain responsible for emotional and impulsive control. It is also believed that decreased activity in the prefrontal cortex, which is common among those with BPD, contributes to certain aspects of impulsivity.

It can be quite a challenge for those with BPD to control their impulsive behaviour but with treatment and strategies they can pretty much keep it under control and lead a somewhat healthy life.

Time to take a step back in time to 1942, as I continue my series about Australia Under Fire in 1942.

Many Aussies came under fire in 1942 while at sea, cruisers, destroyers, and corvettes of the RAN played vital roles. Such as supply and rescue and relief roles as well participated in battles in the Mediterrian and the waters to the north of Australia, far too many to mention them all here.

                  THE HMAS PERTH

Allied ships delayed the Japanese landing on Java on 27 February, then on the 1 March in the battle of Sunda Strait the cruiser HMAS Perth was sunk. Costing the lives of 352 men and another 320 taken prisoner.

In November the newly commissioned corvette Armidale came under fire off Timor while trying to recuse refuges, it was sunk taking the life of 87 men.

                       A WW11 CORVETTE 

For those like me who don’t know what a corvette was or is, it’s described as easily built escort vessel with a shallow draft and three masts with full rigging which made them fast and allowed them to enter shallow coastal waters.

There was room for up to 130 men but usually had a grew of around 120. It was much in demand as a courier and scouting ship but was also suitable for small-scale naval actions.

Australia’s largest fighting force during World War 11 was the Army, Australian forces were known as the Australian Imperial Force (AIF).

In 1939 the first division of the re-formed AIF was the 6^th division with a strength of 14,500 men. The 6^th and 7^th divisions served initially in the Middle East and North Africa, then later in Papua New Guinea.

Each infantry division was divided into three infantry brigades which was then further divided into three infantry battalions. A battalion was 800 men.

Next week we will look at the bombing of Darwin.