A cup of coffee

I used to love the wonderful smell of freshly brewed coffee, until Parkinson’s wickedly stole away my sense of smell. However I still enjoy the intense flavour of good coffee when made properly in an old fashioned percolator, that musically bubbles and hisses when almost ready; topped with hot frothy milk, now that’s how I like to start the day! I have found that coffee, (probably as it’s a stimulant) much to my regret, does not mix well with Parkinson’s, so I now restrict my intake of coffee to just one cup a day. If you could only see my breakfast regime that I meticulously stick to, I am sure you would laugh (or maybe you would understand perfectly for you have your own timetable and system!). I have at long last found the winning combination of when to take my morning pills, leaving enough time before eating, thereby maximising the effectiveness of the Dopamine (Parkinson’s medication). All this is trial and error and every person is individual, so what works for one, may not work for another. All I can advise is to play around a little with the gap between taking medications and eating (in particular protein) and if you find there are specific foods or drinks that make you feel not so good afterwards, you may need to restrict intake or even remove those food items altogether. An hour has now passed since I took my Dopamine, so I shall leave you here and have my breakfast with a cup of coffee.