Parkinson’s Waits for nightfall.

Most are fortunate to go to bed at night, snuggle under the covers and gently drift off to sleep. I used to take a good night’s sleep for granted, but not anymore! We’re lucky if we get 2 or 3 consecutive hours of sleep. You wouldn’t believe what goes on in our bedroom at night! No, I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about the painful dystonia which haunts my nights. Through trial and error, I’ve found the best position for me, is to be flat on my back with my arms straight down by my sides, or laid across my chest, resembling an Egyptian mummy. I don’t have many options since I can’t lay on my stomach due to the PEG tube that connects me to the Duodopa pump. This tube disturbingly dangles freely out of a small hole approximately 8cm above my navel. For some reason I can’t breathe if sleeping on my right side, nor can I sleep on my left side as this puts painful pressure on the long piece of tube in my small intestines. Are you getting the picture? I dread getting into bed at night for it’s not comfortable and certainly not restful.

I am detached from the pump at 10pm, so this is when the fun often starts. I say “fun”, but be rest assured, Parkinson night time antics are far from fun. My poor sleep deprived husband often ends up massaging the cramped muscles, which can be anywhere from curling toes, thighs, calves, to shoulders and neck, or if I’m really lucky, they can all cramp up at the same time!

My right arm often shoots up into the air for no apparent reason, as if possessed or got a mind of its own. It’s incredibly painful as my arm violently pulls my whole body and sometimes my shoulder is black and blue from the amount of deep muscle massage needed to get my arm down.

My breathing becomes labored and I can’t swallow, which is very unpleasant not to mention, a little scary. If my torso goes into spasm, it feels like a Boa Constrictor has wrapped its body around my chest and unable to massage the muscles surrounding the heart and lungs, the only thing I can do is to get out of bed, stand up and do some of my exercises. I go up on my toes, walking on the spot, stretching and moving my body, generally trying to distract and confuse the hell out of Parkinson’s. This agony can go on for half an hour, two hours or more.

When the muscles finally calm down and Parkinson’s has had its fill of torturing me for the night, I slump back into bed exhausted. Dawn is approaching and a new day is here, and so i get to battle Parkinson's again with all its unpredictable tricks.