Senior Living Advice: Understanding signs of Parkinson’s Disease
By BETH DOW, Home Helpers Home Care
April is Parkinson’s Awareness Month.
Close to a million people in the U.S. are presently living with Parkinson’s disease, with the numbers expected to rise to 1.2 million by 2030. The cause is mostly unknown, with only about 10% to 15% being attributed to genetics. There is no cure.
While Parkinson’s disease (PD) affects both men and women, men are 1.5 times more likely to have PD than women. The chances of being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease increases as we age, only 4% of those with PD were diagnosed under the age of 50.
Because the early signs and symptoms of PD can be attributed to many illnesses and even to natural aging, it is often hard to decide when you should report your symptoms to your doctor. While no one symptom is reason to worry, if you have 2 or 3 of the early signs of PD, you should think about contacting your doctor.
The early signs of Parkinson’s disease could include a tremor of the thumb, hand or chin that occurs while at rest. Changes in handwriting where the letters have gotten smaller, and the words have gotten more crowded on the page may occur.
People in the early stages of PD may experience a loss of smell, have trouble sleeping and report constipation. Feeling like your body, arms or legs are stiff; if you or others have noticed that your arms don’t “swing” like they used to when you walk; and feeling like you are “stuck” to the floor are all early symptoms that should earn your attention.
Additional early signs may be a soft or hoarse voice, dizziness or fainting, no longer standing up straight but instead stooping or hunching over and what is called facial masking. If people tell you that you always seem to have a serious, angry or depressed look on your face, this is facial masking.
While there are no specific tests to diagnose Parkinson’s disease, your doctor will look at your medical history, review your signs and symptoms and do a neurological and physical examination. Your doctor may also order tests such as blood tests, MRI, ultrasound of the brain and PET scans to rule out other conditions that could be causing your systems. Your doctor may also prescribe a Parkinson’s disease medication, that once you take it and show significant benefit, will often confirm a diagnosis of PD.
No two people will experience the exact same symptoms with Parkinson’s. Due to the diversity of the disease, people with PD can range from a few mild signs to multiple, more severe symptoms.
Exercise is a vital component to those with PD. It will help to maintain balance and mobility.
Studies have shown that exercising 2.5 hours a week can slow down the progression of PD. Tai Chi and Yoga have also shown to have a positive effect.
If you have concerns that you or a loved one may be experiencing signs or symptoms of PD, please make a phone call to your doctor today. For more information about PD, the Parkinson’s Foundation (parkinson.org) is a wealth of information.
Beth Dow is a Dementia and Alzheimer’s Educator, CAEd and Geriatric Care Manager. She is also the owner of Home Helpers of GA & AL in Newnan. Readers can contact her by email at [email protected].
My husband has Parkinson’s disease, adding PD-5 to his nighttime Parkinson’s meds has completely changed his sleep issues. He slept all day and up all night, we had to hire care nurses. Now using this PD-5 medicine for the last four months and a normal routine he sleeps almost completely through the night and may get up once to use the restroom. It’s improved so much we were able to let go of the night nurses. This medicine also helps a ton with memory. we got the treatment from www. limitlesshealth center. c om I am absolutely confident that this program offers a viable solution. I hope someone find this helpful, We feel very fortunate to have learned about pd-5.