Dating, sex, and love are names we assign to different types of relationships. Parkinson’s can have a strong impact on relationships. Everyone reacts differently. Some couples become closer and more caring, others remain the same and go on as if PD is just another thing in life, and some distance themselves and grow apart. The quality of the relationship is more important than the type. With that understanding in mind everything is exactly the same as it was before I had Parkinson’s. Nothing has changed and everything is completely different.
DATING
Tell them on the first date. Come right out with it. Let me tell you about myself. I like to read and dance, I’m often late, always hungry, and have Parkinson’s. I have the disease, I am not the disease. Don’t sit on your hands to hide your tremors. You will have to pick up the fork and eat sometime. If your date can’t handle that you like to read and dance then move on.
Soft sensual sex
Nipples harden on her breasts
Phoenix enters nest.
SEX
How PD affects sex can be all over the map. The disease can lower libido. The psychological and physical toll of the disease and the side effects of the meds can cause impotence and depression. Studies show that 70 to 80 percent of people with PD experience some form of sexual dysfunction. Conversely the meds can make you hyper sexual and sexually obsessed. I don’t think I’ve changed emotionally. The mechanics suffer a little, but the passion and pleasure remain the same, and I think I’ve become a little more caring. As I said above, everything is the same and everything is different. Something to know is that the brain increases oxytocin and dopamine production during sex.
LOVE
Love is the best medicine. It’s a chemical reaction in the brain that releases the feel good hormones oxytocin and dopamine. Yes dopamine, music to a PWP ear because Parkinson’s is thought to be caused by a loss of dopamine producing neurons. Dopamine and oxytocin work together like … well like a couple in love. Oxytocin promotes bonding and is referred to as the love hormone, the hug hormone, the cuddle chemical. It is produced during intimacy and makes the receptors in the brain more receptive to dopamine which stimulates desire and triggers intense pleasure. They function together as a one two punch. Oxytocin helps enable dopamine to be released during sex and to run wild during orgasm. I can almost see it. Parkinson’s pick up bars. Hi there, I have PD and would love to make sweet dopamine with you. Or how about, you stimulate my oxytocin. Let’s go somewhere and make great dopamine together.Ok, my mood is good, my dopamine must be flowing so let’s have a little fun. Oxytocin and dopamine go together like …
love and marriage, a horse and carriage, birds and bees, bees and honey, a hug and a kiss, kiss and tell, men and women, boys and girls, male and female, night and day, the sun and moon, yin and yang, two peas in a pod:
like Adam and Eve, Tristan and Isolde, Romeo and Juliet, Bogey and Becall, Fred and Ginger, Lucy and Ricky, Laurel and Hardy, Flat and Scruggs, Ralph and Norton, Abbott and Costello, Mork and Mindy, Mickey and Minnie, Ozzie and Harriet, Cheech and Chong, Barbie and Ken, Bonnie and Clyde, Thelma and Louise, Tarzan and Jane, Batman and Robin, the Lone Ranger and Tonto, Ben and Jerry, Bert and Ernie, Jack and Jill:
like peaches and cream, bread and butter, peanut butter and jelly, meat and potatoes, potatoes and gravy, biscuits and gravy, bacon and eggs, mac and cheese, meatballs and spaghetti, pork and beans, fish and chips, chips and dip, soup and salad, lox and bagels, sugar and spice, salt and pepper: like fun and games and on and on.
And you … always you my love.
