The following is written by Amy Pavia, an RN and close friend of ours.  Amy's father was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease two years ago.

Denial is easy to come by with a Parkinson’s diagnosis.  It’s not like the punch in the face that a stroke or a cancer diagnosis might deliver, where you’re forced to deal with it and make critical life and death decisions right away.  It’s more like the threat of a slowly approaching storm on a clear, sunny day.

Source: ninds.nih.gov

Parkinson's disease (PD) belongs to a group of conditions called motor system disorders, which are the result of the loss of dopamine-producing brain cells.  The four primary symptoms of PD are tremor, or trembling in hands, arms, legs, jaw, and face; rigidity, or stiffness of the limbs and trunk; bradykinesia, or slowness of movement; and postural instability, or impaired balance and coordination. 

Source: webmd.com

The four main symptoms of Parkinson’s are:

• Tremor, which means shaking or trembling.  Tremor may affect your hands, arms, legs, or head.
• Stiff muscles
• Slow movement
• Problems with balance or walking

Source: michaeljfox.org

What else could it be?  Early in the disease process it may be difficult to know whether symptoms indicate Parkinson's disease or a syndrome that mimics it.  Some conditions that could potentially be mistaken for Parkinson's include:

Source: parkinsons-disease.emedtv.com

There are five Parkinson's disease stages.  This helps healthcare providers decide what treatment to recommend and to help families better understand how the condition progresses.  These categories include stages I through V, and can also be described as early, moderate, and advanced Parkinson's disease.  The effects and severity of symptoms increases with each of these five stages.

Source: mayoclinic.org

People who are only mildly affected by Parkinson's disease may need no treatment at first.  As symptoms progress, various treatment approaches are available.

This site is it for Parkinson's disease clinical trials - you can search trials by location, trial type, symptom or keyword at pdtrials.org.

 

Source: parkinsons.org

Hope is a powerful thing.  Without hope for a better future, the will to live is lost and recovery, no matter what the affliction, is impossible.

Imagine then, being told by your doctor that you have a progressive and degenerative disease that robs you of the ability to control your own body.  A disease for which there is no cure.

This is the reality for those diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.

“I found a useful link on exercise and PD you may be interested in: Parkinson's Disease Clinic & Research Center.”  Amy Pavia, RN, Rowayton, CT