This week I spent on the MSC ship Magnifica on a short cruise to Northern Europe. The weather has been good with temperatures in the day hovering about 22c. Nice temperatures for most. For me it’s been horrendous.

One of my symptoms of Parkinson’s is my autonomic nervous system is affected and I feel hot and sweat uncontrollably. Hot flushes and periods of extreme discomfort are common these days. This week for some reason have been particularly bad.

I look around up on deck and nearly everyone is wearing coats, jumpers etc and there I am in teeshirt and I’m still hot! It’s not a pleasant symptom of Parkinson’s. One of the many non-motor symptoms that go to making this condition interfere with “normal” life. It’s one symptom that is not well known generally but is known in the medical world.

Hot flushes, sweating and feeling very uncomfortable lead to anxiety when amongst crowds of people. This can lead to it becoming worse. Being mindful and seeking a cooler environment is a coping mechanism. Air-con, outside and cold showers are my best friends for this symptom. I try to control it rather than it control me.

Well here’s to cure one day of Parkinson’s. Until then I’ll sweat it out!

It’s been an interesting couple of weeks dealing with the NHS. I strongly support the idea of a health system for the people. The NHS tries to fulfil his roll but is underfunded ripped off by suppliers, doctors, and surgeons. GP’s on 100k plus are now nearly all going part time. The result, surgeries are finding ways to prevent people getting appointments, instead of what should be happening. They should be finding better ways to serve “the people “.

We pay these doctors great salaries and because NHS management have put such pressure on surgeries to self fund. This they do through clinics and other services but these are at the expense of the appointments systems.

There needs to be a complete re-think of the whole system and not by those who run it. There have been recommendations by some very good business owners but these have been ignored. Funding needs to be increased. A few pounds per month from each of us would still be cheaper than private medical insurance.

The NHS is one of the UK’s finest creations and admired around the world. Let’s at least make it possible to get a doctors appointment and cut out all the obstructions to do so.