Recognizing Parkinson’s Disease

If someone you know has tremors (shaking), stiffness, and difficulty maintaining balance would you suspect that they might have Parkinson’s disease? These are the key signs of Parkinson’s disease that a person may have. Other signs of Parkinson’s would be shuffling gait, muffled speech, a still facial expression that doesn’t change with emotion, small and cramped handwriting and depression.

Parkinson’s is a brain disorder that affects both men and women. Typically it affects individuals over age 65 but there are a few that have been diagnosed with the disease and are younger than 50 years of age.

A doctor can diagnose an individual with Parkinson’s disease based solely on the symptoms that they have, and a thorough physical examination. The doctor may run blood tests or X-rays to rule out other medical conditions before arriving at the diagnosis.

Many of the symptoms the individuals present with at the doctor’s office are those symptoms caused by a lack of dopamine.

Once diagnosed, providing symptom relief treats those with Parkinson’s. There is no cure for Parkinson’s disease so the most the doctor can do at present time is to make the patient’s symptoms to be as minimal as possible. New medicines are always coming on the market that promise to slow the progression of the disease but these medications have to be studied and approved.

There is no one standard treatment for Parkinson’s as everyone with the disease may have a different set of symptoms. Treatment options usually include medications, rest, exercise, physical therapy, speech therapy, and lifestyle modifications such as improving diet.

You might be able to recognize a person who has Parkinson’s disease by the physical symptoms that worsen over time or by the fact that they are always going to doctor appointments like other chronically ill people do. Typically there are more psychological issues than motor problems when the disease is in the early stage. Someone with Parkinson’s disease may go through a period of time when they are in denial, than they feel anger and finally acceptance of the disease that has claimed their body.

The unfortunate truth about the person with Parkinson’s is that they will never return to good health. They will never go back to being the vital, strong individual they were before the diagnosis.

When you are someone with a chronic and progressive disease there are many things that concern you including how your disease will interfere with work, school or your economic well being. Will you still be able to function as a spouse, partner, and parent? Will Parkinson’s change your ability to have privacy, autonomy or independence? All of these things are ways in which others recognize you as a person. Your doctor can lead you to community resources that will help you to sort all of this out.

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