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Transcript

3 Parkinson’s Symptoms That Embarrass Me Most (And How I Handle Them) · Living with Parkinson’s | Bryce Perry

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  Last time in episode 46, I shared my three most
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  embarrassing Parkinson's symptoms.
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  Things like masked face, forgetting words, that sentence,
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  and not being able to multitask. And wow, the comments went
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  crazy. Many of you said yes, Bryce,
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  that's me too. But an overwhelming number of
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  you had three other symptoms that you said were most
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  embarrassing to you. So today we're flipping it.
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  The first video was mine and this one is yours.
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  These are the three most embarrassing Parkinson's
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  symptoms according to you, the Doing Life Today community.
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  And stick around till the end because the Bryce ISM in this
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  one might be the most real one I've ever shared.
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  Welcome to Living with Parkinson's, The Good, the Bad,
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  and the Reality. Real talk, real life, real
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  community with Bryce Perry. Let's begin.
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  Well, welcome back everyone. If you're new here, my name is
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  Bryce and I've been living with Parkinson's now for over 15
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  years. And on this channel, we talk
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  about the good, the bad, and the reality of life with
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  Parkinson's. So if you're looking for
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  honesty, hope, and maybe even a laugh or two along the way,
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  you're in the right place and hit subscribe and come along for
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  the for the journey. But today, I want to dive right
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  in to the three things that you said.
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  You said we're bothering with the most embarrassing symptoms
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  to you. And the number 11, the number
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  one, one was drooling. Now, this one came up over and
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  over again in the comments. And it's not the kind of thing
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  you want to bring up at a dinner party, right?
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  I call it like the Niagara Falls surprise.
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  One minute you're fine, and the next minute, well, let's just
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  say you're grateful if you're not wearing a dark shirt.
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  I remember being at a family gathering one time, and I was
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  sitting there with my coffee and suddenly realizing that I had a
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  Little River making its way down my chin.
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  And of course, that's exactly what someone always asked for.
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  A picture, right? Smile, Bryce.
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  Sure, Let me just wipe off the evidence first.
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  So how do you deal with it? Well, for me, keeping tissues
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  close by is a must. Some people swear by chewing gum
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  or hard candy to keep swallowing more.
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  Regular speech therapy can help too, because it actually trains
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  those swallowing muscles. And I do have a bracism on this
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  as well. And I did the speech therapy and
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  it really helped me immensely, immensely.
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  But here's your bracism. With Parkinson's, sometimes
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  dignity is as simple as remembering to keep napkins in
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  the glove box. So don't forget that.
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  Don't be embarrassed. Make just make sure you have the
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  right precautions around to wipe it up.
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  OK? The second symptom that was the
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  most embarrassing to you was this dyskinesia.
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  Now this one I didn't include in my first list, but you sure did.
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  Dyskinesia is that involuntary movement, often from long term
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  levodopa use, where your body feels like it's dancing without
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  permission. I once joked that I was
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  auditioning for river dance at a wedding and let's just say
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  nobody was clapping along. The hard part is you feel it so
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  much bigger than it sometimes looks.
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  You know, people ask if I'm nervous or if I've had too much
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  coffee. Nope, just Parkinson's showing
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  off again. So what do I do?
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  What helps? For me, working with my doctor
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  on Med timing made the big difference.
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  Sometimes a small adjustment is all it takes.
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  And find comfortable seating If if I know that I might be
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  moving, I'd rather be in a chair with arms than perched on a bar
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  stool that I'm about to wobble off.
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  So think ahead, Always think ahead.
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  OK, quick pause here. If you related to either of
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  these first two symptoms, hit the like button so more people
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  can find this video and realize that they're not alone.
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  And what about you? Do you deal with these things?
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  Do you deal with truly, do you deal with these things?
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  In the comments, I want to know what do you deal with it and how
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  do you deal with it? You know, many people watch
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  these videos, a lot of people watch this podcast and a lot of
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  people read all the comments. So by you showing up and giving
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  your tips on what you do, you're going to help somebody else.
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  You really are. OK, now I'm going to move into
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  like the third one, the third one, the biggest ones of what
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  embarrasses you. All right.
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  And that third one was bathroom urgency and or accidents.
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  Now this one, yes, this one is a tough one.
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  A lot of you said this was that. A lot of you said that this was
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  the one that embarrassed you the most.
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  And I get it. You know, you can joke about
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  drooling and you can laugh off a wiggle here and there, but
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  nobody wants to talk about not making it to the bathroom in
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  time. All right?
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  And I'll be honest, it happened to me once in a grocery store.
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  I thought that I had time, and I didn't.
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  And I walk. And the walk of shame from the
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  aisle 7 to the exit. Well, yeah, I will never forget
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  that. That was the day that I learned
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  that planning ahead meant more than just making a shopping
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  list. So if you've had issues in this
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  area, know that you're not alone and know that you know others
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  have been there. I've been there, and it's
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  terrible. It's awful.
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  It is embarrassing, and I totally get it.
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  But here are some tips. OK, Number one, always know
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  where the bathrooms are when you go to somewhere new.
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  OK, I always check if I go to a restaurant, to a restaurant, the
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  first thing I check is where are the restrooms?
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  If I'm in a shopping center, where are the restrooms?
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  I'm in the grocery store, where are the restrooms?
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  Always think ahead because if you have to make that mad dash,
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  you don't want to think twice. OK, here's tip #2 carry a change
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  of clothes with you in the car just in case.
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  Just in case. I know it's embarrassing, I know
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  you feel like you shouldn't have to, but just do it.
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  It'll save you in the long run. And my third tip is this, don't
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  be afraid to talk to your doctor because there are actual
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  strategies and medications that can help manage urgency.
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  And you're going really, yes, there really is.
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  Talk to your doctor, explain your issues and your problems.
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  Explain how it's happening. Explain when it happens and what
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  your days like. Track it, like I always say, and
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  bring it up with your doctor and don't settle for anything less
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  than something. Just try something, OK?
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  Now, if you've made it this far, you know what that means.
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  You've unlocked the Brysisms for this one, OK?
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  And here it is with Parkinson's. Embarrassment will show up
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  whether you invite it or not. The trick is learning how to
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  keep showing up anyway. In other words, you have
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  Parkinson's, you're going to be embarrassed.
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  The trick is how you deal with it.
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  So those are the three most embarrassing Parkinson symptoms,
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  according to you in the community.
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  Drooling, dyskinesia, and bathroom urgency.
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  Now, which one of these have you dealt with?
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  Or is there another one that you think belongs on the list?
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  Drop it in the comments. I read every single one and who
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  knows, maybe there's three more that we'll have to deal with and
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  go through. Many can there be, right?
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  How many can there? Give us a break and if you want
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  to go deeper, right? And these type of things are
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  they're hard to talk about in comments in public, but in the
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  inner circle, they're diving deep.
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  There's there's another one that I didn't mention that they're
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  diving deep into right now and they're diving deep hard.
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  So join it. Come on in.
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  Click the link in the description below and come to
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  the private community where we talk about these things 24/7 7
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  with no judgement. OK, now listen, thank you for
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  watching. Don't forget to subscribe if you
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  haven't already and share this with somebody that you know
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  might need it today. And until next time, keep
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  showing up, keep being real, and keep doing life today.
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  Parkinson's may be part of your life, but it doesn't get to
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  define it. Thanks for listening to Living
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  with Parkinson's, the good, the Bad, and the Reality.
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  If this episode moved you, helped you, or reminded you
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  you're not alone, share it with someone who needs to hear it.
• 8:17
  Want to go deeper? The Inner Circle is waiting.
• 8:20
  Monthly Zoom calls, 24/7 community, and a Direct Line to
• 8:24
  Bryce. You'll find the link in the show
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  notes.