When I first went to PT w/ Parkinson trained therapists. I was bent over my walker and had short shuffling steps, falling all the time plus other things. It took many many months & with reminders that I was leaning over & to be conscious of my tendency to bend over & making myself stand straight & stretching & exercises, making myself stand up straight & changing my posture with exercises to strengthen my core I could stand up straight again. I have to stay conscious because the tendency to stoop over w/ Parkinson’s is a battle. Stand up with shoulders back & stomach held in. Don’t give up! With the right therapists & not telling you that you will not ever be able to stop slumping over. It takes encouragement & hard work on our part. But you can do what you don’t think you can. I couldn’t get out of a chair without pushing myself up using the arms of the chair. When I left I could sit 12” off the floor & stand up without using my arms to push myself. I could stand up 6 times in a row. I’m not exaggerating it was 12” off the ground & it was hard but I did it 6 times in a row. Don’t give up.

Dopamine does affect your appetite. It increases the binge eating and just being hungry all the time. I put on 30 lb in the last couple of years.

"Yes honey I know I'm getting fat, but it's the dopamine fault"

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Look at this each morning

The walking for me definitely is nothing like what it was. It’s been about 7 years now it didn’t drop off all at once but it has deprecated substantially.
Can’t get to acceptance on that.
I can’t walk around for a couple of hours at a fair like I used to.
Sometimes I can barely get out of the grocery store then I am done for the day.

Clem, since you brought up vacuum cleaners I have a funny story to tell. I worked for singer sewing machine company. In the 1980s. As a technician for the singer repair center, everything broke, we used to say that singer sewing machines sucked and their vacuums didn't. I don't think singer makes vacuum cleaners anymore. Electrolux is better anyway.

I apologize to anybody who loves singer sewing machines. There was a period of time the gears were plastic and anything that could break did. Nowadays they don't use plastic gears.

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