We definitely have more conversations about my husband’s bowels and digestion than I ever expected thanks to his Parkinson’s Diagnosis. This sounds somewhat gross but it has become a constant worry at our house. The disease itself slows down his intestinal tract and causes constipation, then the medications we use to treat that condition cause diarrhea. It’s a vicious cycle.

After going through a particularly difficult couple of months, we visited his Primary Care Doctor. She suggested a bland diet, which we tried for a few days. He didn’t like it and it didn’t really seem to make a difference. I decided it might be helpful to keep a food diary. Perhaps we could figure out what he was eating that was triggering his system. I created a tabular meal plan format and started writing down everything he ate including snacks. At the bottom of each day I add comments about output. Tracking what goes in versus what comes out has been interesting.

I’d love to say that we’ve figured it all out but know that it’s an ongoing battle. What I am learning is that recording what I feed my husband makes me think more about food choices resulting in a healthier diet. I don’t keep track of volume, I just concern myself with value. I’m not trying to be the food police, just a positive influencer presenting better alternatives that will make both of our lives easier. I’ll know we’ve made it when we have to find another topic to discuss besides “what does your poop look like today?”