After the gloominess of my last two posts, perhaps brought on by the autumnal weather, I was in the mood to write something positive.
Despite the ups and downs of everyday life, I was starting to feel like I was winning. Take control of Parkinson's, don't let Parkinson's control you, so I have heard people say on some of the online forums.
So it is annoying that I have started to develop symptoms over the last 2-3 weeks that are consistent with heart failure.
First the good news: heart failure is not the same as a heart attack. A heart attack is when you have pain in your chest, your heart can stop working and you can die.
Heart failure is when your heart has weakened and has to work harder to do its job. Some of the symptoms which I have felt coming on gradually over recent weeks are a tightness in the chest, shortness of breath (especially when exercising), fatigue and palpitations. I had my first significant palpitation when I was sitting in a meeting: a very rapid pulsation on the top right of my chest that lasted a minute or two. I could feel it with my hand. PFS at the time, though I am learning to take these things in my stride now.
I did some research and discovered cardiac failure is a rare side effect of my dopamine agonist, pramipexole. Medical opinion is not conclusive on the subject but there seems to be growing evidence of a link, and it seems that the symptoms subside when the medication is stopped.
I went to see a GP at my local surgery this week and, although she referred me for a blood test and an ECG, I think she was of the same view that this was most likely due to my Parkinson's medication. The simple reason is that nine months ago I had comprehensive set of cardiac tests that showed essentially nothing, and the only thing that has changed in the last 6 weeks is that I upped my dose of pramipexole by 50%.
By coincidence I am due to see The Professor tomorrow so I will discuss all of this with him along with my genetic testing results. I guess there are two possible outcomes:
(a) I stop the medication and move onto something else;
(b) I keep going, keep a close eye on things, and hope that the symptoms subside.
As I write I can feel a tightness on the top left of my chest and a slight gurgling of something inside. Relatively minor, and I remain upbeat.
But enough to remind me that, right now, my Parkinson's is definitely controlling me.
