dyskinesia

Dyskinesia.

It can be one of those words that scare you before you have it, that can frustrate you when you do have it, and confuse people all around you.

You hear the stories, you see the movements, and you read the warnings, and suddenly the medication that might help you move better today starts feeling like something to fear tomorrow.

I get it.

Dyskinesia can be scary.

Your body moves without permission.

People stare, and you feel embarrassed.

First, dyskinesia is not the same as a tremor.

Women in particular were sort of saying to me that they were getting dyskinesia.

So basically what happens is obviously when you separate your meals from your levodopa, you absorb more of your levodopa.

Dyskinesia is a result of having too much levodopa in the system.

So if you separate your meals from your tablet, you're going to absorb more levodopa.

So if you have dyskinesia, it's going to make your dyskinesia worse.

And here's something that isn't talked about very often.

Dyskinesia can affect breathing too.

If you're experiencing dyskinesia, which are those kind of wiggly movements in your arms, your legs, your head, or your trunk, your breathing may become irregular and you may become short of breath at the same time because those involuntary movements may be affecting the muscles involved in breathing, including the diaphragm.

This is sometimes called respiratory dyskinesia or respiratory chorea.