He retired about a year ago and only works part time at a job that he really enjoys. He's not experiencing any added stress or pressure, in fact, less than he's ever had. He has zero patience and frequently interrupts, waves his hands as a sign for me to finish (talking or showing him something). I'm at a loss of what to do. He says he's not aware that he's tapping his hands/fingers constantly. He never did this before. Am I worried about nothing?
I remember when my Dad retired at 65, it wasn't a choice, it was the law back then. Otherwise, my Dad would have kept working up into his 80's as he loved the work that much. My Mom's world was housework, thus unlike a work project that gets completed, housework gets done then next week one starts it all again. Same old, same old. There was just so much gossip about family and neighbors Dad would listen to, he would just doze off.
Thus my parents did volunteer work into their 90's, so that kept them busy, gave them something of similar interest to talk about. Mom handed over some of her household chores for Dad to do, such as vacuuming [guys like noisy things]. They would walk 2 miles each day, on rainy days they would walk the mall which was nearby. It helped make Mom feel like she was having some retirement, too.
Also see the first post from Lealonnie1 about the Mayo Clinic link on PD, and please read it to educate yourself further on this disease. I wish you peace in your hearts on this journey together.
Confused as to why you didn't mention that your husband has Parkinsons... did you think it was not important to mention?
If readers do not have all pertinent information, we cannot provide a helpful response. Am I confused here?
I'm trying to get him to make a doctor appointment without showing him how concerned I am. I did mention the constant tapping to him and he doesn't seem to be aware that he's doing this.
I bet this is more common than we think it is. I know that I missed early signs of dementia in my mother.
Thanks for sharing this. It’s refreshing to see such honesty and humility.
thanks....
Another habit he has developed along with his disease is whistling. There really is no tune, just a blowing whistle. I have asked him about why he does this and he said, "It helps me." I have no idea how this works, but if it helps him, so be it.
My father who lived to be 94 did have Parkinson's, but there was no movement that I would describe as "tapping." His was more of a shaking or trembling, and it was obviously beyond his control to deliberately stop it.
If it was high stress, fast paced then I can see someone getting impatient with the much slower pace of retirement. Thus the waving of hands to speed things up or the tapping of fingers. (quite often people that do things out of habit do not realize they are doing it. Tapping fingers, biting nails, tapping their feet and so on. My Husband, when I first met him he would sort of "bounce" his leg he never realized he was doing it and I would mention it, he would stop and in moments he was doing it again...and that was YEARS before the dementia)
Have you noticed other things over the past year or two?
Getting lost?
Getting confused doing tasks around the house?
Dressing in appropriately?
Searching for words, using the wrong word?
When was the last time he had a physical? The Medicare Annual Wellness check typically also includes a mini mental exam as part of the exam.
If he has not had the Annual Exam you can schedule it and if you have access to a Portal with his doctors office you can send a note and express your concerns. They will read it before his appointment.
If you are not seeing tremors of any kind, I would say more a reaction to boredom and retirement than anything else, and I think you may be worrying about nothing. It is not easy to have them around when they first retire, either, hee hee. But they are REALLY at loose ends. My mate loves to foster and train dogs, and he occupies his time nicely with that.
My mother had tremors. Meds can help with tremors and other movements. Sometimes, dosages need to be adjusted. Speak with the neurologist about the symptoms that he is experiencing.
I don’t know if his impatience is associated with Parkinson’s disease or not.
My mom did start taking Ativan along with her Parkinson’s medication (Sinemet.) I found that she was calmer with the addition of Ativan.
Here is a link to an article about PD from the Mayo Clinic:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/parkinsons-disease/symptoms-causes/syc-20376055
Best of luck