Hi All
Confirmed Diagnosis 28/03/12.As many of you have stated, noticed a few odd happenings, couldn't use my left arm properly in the shower, difficulty in wiping my left foot and couldn't pat the dog! However my Specialist has suggested no medication until Oct, unless symptoms get worse, so i guess i am in the Honeymoon period. My question is,i am a caravanner and motorcyclist, of which i can still use both at the moment. Is there anyone one out there with similar hobbies and if so how has Mr P affected you.
Best Regards
Bikers

Bikers
A warm welcome to the forum. I've never been a biker or a caravanner but my experience since being diagnosed 6ish years ago should give you cause for hope. Diagnosis is always a shock and the first few weeks and months afterwards are full of questions. I'm not sure if this forum existed when I was diagnosed - if it did I wasn't aware of it. You will find it full of gutsy people who are fighting Parkinson's every day. The combined resources of the website, the helpline and the gang here should be able to answer pretty much everything.
Your neuro's advice to wait before starting meds is pretty common and in my opinion probably right.
I hope you get as much support from this place as I did.

Elegant Fowl

Sorry Bikers but I have no experience of your hobbies but I wanted to say welcome!

On the otherhand I do have 5 years experience of PD and supposedly coming to the end of the honeymoon period. I fully intend asking for a divorce on the grounds of it having intimate relations with 138000 others in the UK.

Hi Bikers. Everyone is different but I was diagnosed at 57 now 62 and symptoms are virtually all controlled by medication so am having an active retirement. Hope you find Forum helpful.

i was never very good at parking but try and avoid tricky parking spots nowawdays. its something to do with building a picture of the space behind me from what i see in the mirrors. not sure how common that is. if it happens to you you might one day find you can't park the caravan. if was much worse before i took levadopa and was only taking dopamine agonists, but there were times in carparks i was a nervous wreck and did get the odd scrape and bump. other than that mental fatigue limitse me to driving 3 hours per day -you have to concentrate more with pd i find when evaluating traffic and making decisions. i start being a danger after3 hours.

Hi bikers,

Im pretty much in the same boat as urself, have tremor in right arm butnot takin meds yet. I am still workin lookin after children. My gp is happy enough with me drivin but not for long periods, I find I can get tired more easily now when drivin anyway. Other than that im still doin pretty much everythin I used too, welcome

. Andrea

Hi Bikers
I have had pd for just over three years. DVLA needed clearance from my neuro to say that I was safe to drive. I still tow the van on rallies etc but I must admit that I no longer do the marathon trips that I used to. My problems come in pitching the van, thats when my long suffering o/h comes into her own. She is gettting a dab hand at levelling the van. Keep towing until your on sense tells you its time to lay up the van. Enjoy youself and best of luck to you
Chunky

Hi Bikers

I`ve had pd for 12 yrs now I also had a bike a gixer600 loved it this was in 2007. I never let pd take over, I say if you can do it, then don't let anyone put you off. But be safe I had to give it up after a small but hit home sort of crash and my family came first. I am now waiting for DVLA to return my license so I can go for a new car.

Take care
Rick.

Hi All
Thanks for you words of advice and suggestions.Going off with the caravan on Sunday for 5 days, so i will let you know how i get on. Last Monday me and a friend used our Honda Goldwings to transport the "NOODLE" from Keighley Support Group to Bradford Support Group as part of the Regional Awareness Week.The riding was fine and the bikes decked out with Parkinson banners certainly made a spectacle, hopefully photographs will appear in the local papers.
Best Regards
Bikers

Hi Bikers
let us know if its in the papers - I lived in Keighley and Bingley until last year and would love to see the pictures. Are any photos being posted anywhere?
cheers
t