Vocabulary

A few years back, I had a myocardial infarction, or a heart attack. Since then, I have learned how to advocate for myself and others, by learning what questions to ask doctors. I have found that unless you ask the right questions, doctors may not tell you much at all.

A year ago, Dennis' regular neurologist lightly hinted at the fact that he may have something more than simple Parkinson's, but never gave it a name. We started calling it Parkinson's plus, for lack of a better term, never knowing that this was a real diagnostic term.

As we were preparing to move Dennis from the hospital to the nursing facility this June, we were handed a pack of papers in a sealed manilla envelope. We were told to hand it over to the charge nurse when we arrived. Ya, sure. We were going to do a complete read through before we did any such thing. This is how we learned about Dennis' diagnosis of Shy-Drager.

I am not here to lay blame. I don't pretend to know why doctors tell or do not tell a patient certain information. I am sure that they are looking out for the best interest of the patient. I know that diseases/syndromes of this type are difficult to diagnose and can be easily mis-diagnosed. Perhaps malpractice suits have a part in this matter. Perhaps, it is merely, they do not know.

I am here, today, to share a two new terms and words that I have learned these past few weeks. As long as my vocabulary is getting bigger, yours might as well, too.

Syncope: a spontaneous loss of conscienceness caused by a lack of blood flowing to the brain. We lay people call it blacking out, passing out or fainting.

Dysauntonomias: conditions where the "automatic" (autonomic) nervous system is harmful to your health. I have found that there are many syndromes under this group, Parkinson's and Multiple System Atrophy are but two. In some people, one or more autonomic systems break down, such as a pulse rate. POTS is an example of this type of dysauntonomia. In rare situations, multiple systems shut down, which is what Dennis is experiencing.

Ah, I suppose we have learned enough for today. Prepare for a test later, though. Oh, a spelling test and a vocabulary test are both in order, I believe!

Until Tomorrow,

Ann and Dennis
Living with Parkinson's, Parkinson's Plus, Shy-Drager and/or Multiple System Atrophy
(and now, we know, Dysauntonomia)