Larry

New Jersey

Diagnosed December 2003

Symptoms since 1997

With son, Caleb
(Larry designed graphics on Talon machine)

Larry's wife, Jennifer, is a gourmet cook and she made their wedding cake.

A Little Bit of My History
1997 -

the fall of this year was when i first noticed a "twitching" in my left hand.

1998 -

from january to april i saw three neurologists and none of them suspected parkinson's. one of them concluded that it was essential tremor.

1998 to 2002 -

looking at this chunk of time, i have to give myself some credit for putting up with the progression of symptoms for that long. i basically dealt with my tremor and the increasing loss of dexterity in my left hand. since i play music, i had to figure out songs differently than the rest of the band. for awhile there, the band that i was in was playing 3 to 4 nights a week!

my left leg was starting to drag around year 2000 and sometimes the whole left side of my body was "purple" in color.

by the fall of 2002, my tremor and rigidity were really becoming noticeable and if i was in public, i sometimes broke out in a shaking fit of panic.

2003 -

in january i knew that something had to be done about the shaking attacks so i went to my family doctor who said that it was anxiety related. he then prescribed paxil and ativan. obviously these two didn't work for me so i sought help from a neurologist in nearby philadelphia. this doctor suspected that it was either parkinson's or wilson's disease and since i had no insurance at the time, i'd have to wait for all of the expensive lab work to be done. in the meantime, i was prescribed sinemet to see how i reacted to it.

viola! that did the trick but could it still be wilson's disease? yes, was told so in the fall of 2003 when i could get the tests completed, i did the urine and blood analysis thing and the results came back negative.

in december 2003 it was finally concluded that i had parkinson's disease.

my great aunt was also diagnosed in 2003 and her brother, my late great uncle had pd for at least 2 years before he passed away in the beginning of this year.

my neurologist thinks that i've developed pd at my age because of the family history. whatever the reason, i know that it's here to stay and i'm going to do the best that i can for myself and my family to continue enjoying the things that have always made me happy in life.

with all of this personal stuff said, i want to thank paula and doreen for all of their kind words and for sharing their experiences with me. i also thank them for steering me to this wonderful site which brings me to my thanking judith for her warm welcome. i look forward to "meeting" everyone and sharing stories . . . with a net community like this, you just can't go wrong!

Above (right) is the home made "pill case" i carry around, it's been my lifesaver. i thought i would share it with everyone because my wife said that using what i did for the case was kinda smart (she compliments me every now and again!).

it's a compact flash case, used to carry the media for electronic devices that utilize this type of portable memory such as some digital cameras.

the best part is that it fits snugly and discreetly into the under rated coin pocket of most pants!

P.S. I am also a graphic artist. For a sampling of my graphic art, click on the illustration below:

 

Profile

nicknames -

lar or lazza (bron might know that one)

handles -

lsjr or lsjr3

age -

34

profile -

artist/bassist/guitarist/nudist - shaken, not stirred, served straight up with 3 olives.

resides -

south jersey

married since 1999 (together since 1992) with one son.