Parkinson's Disease Support Group
Parkinson's disease is a movement disorder often characterized by muscle rigidity, tremor, a slowing of physical movement, and in extreme cases, a loss of physical movement. The primary symptoms of Parkinsons are due to excessive muscle contraction, normally caused by the insufficient formation and action of dopamine, which is produced in the dopaminergic neurons of the...
I am having some symptoms that I am afraid are Parkinsons... I've been reading posts here for a bit... I've been avoiding talking about it to anyone... but things seem to be getting worse... Its scary...
I have the hands mostly shaking getting more and more... Sometimes I can't type very well although I have been quite a good typist... my body feels like its all shaky although not moving...
Hands and fingers getting rigid and lock into weird twisted ways... quite painful... I thought it was muscle spasms like I get in my lower limbs... that's been happening for awhile now...
I lost my sense of smell in I think 2003 for about a year... i went to a ENT specialists and he ran a bunch of tests but had no answers... said it wasn't as unusual as people thought... often caused by a sinus infection etc... might or might not return... but never mentioned it might have anything to do with Parkinsons... so it may not although I read in someone's post that was a symptom... loss of the sense of smell... my sense of smell has never been quite the same since then... perfume almost makes me gag... I used to love perfume...
My father and my paternal grandmother both had Parkinsons. My dad died from complications cause by the Parkinsons at 61.
I'd appreciate your thoughts.
I have the hands mostly shaking getting more and more... Sometimes I can't type very well although I have been quite a good typist... my body feels like its all shaky although not moving...
Hands and fingers getting rigid and lock into weird twisted ways... quite painful... I thought it was muscle spasms like I get in my lower limbs... that's been happening for awhile now...
I lost my sense of smell in I think 2003 for about a year... i went to a ENT specialists and he ran a bunch of tests but had no answers... said it wasn't as unusual as people thought... often caused by a sinus infection etc... might or might not return... but never mentioned it might have anything to do with Parkinsons... so it may not although I read in someone's post that was a symptom... loss of the sense of smell... my sense of smell has never been quite the same since then... perfume almost makes me gag... I used to love perfume...
My father and my paternal grandmother both had Parkinsons. My dad died from complications cause by the Parkinsons at 61.
I'd appreciate your thoughts.
My tremours mostly effect hands,arms,jaw & legs... some tremours ain't so visible but no less tiring & exhausting. On occaisions, they do combine into full body tremours, that happens when resting mostly.
The hand cramps I get every now & then, tightness in leg & back & rigidity. All what you describe have classic PD characteristics. Smell can be effected, but I experienced that 10 yrs back, but that passed, but like you dislike purfume... ciggarette smoke of any kind makes me feel real bad for days... even the slightest whiff...
I'm sorry to hear of your family losses... that PD played a part.
I sincerely hope when you seek expert advice and have the appropriate treatment/tests that you don't have PD afterall, but there are conditons that are very simular to PD.
Life doesn't always follow the genetic route....
I sincerely wish you well...... Dirky ?;O))x
I hope you don't have PD but if you see a Motion Disorder Specialist, he would know for sure. I husband was first diagnosed by his heart specialist during a stress test. The doctor must have suspected something but we had no idea until he bluntly said that he though he had Parkinson's. It hit us like a brick wall!
My husband had been feeling really tired and couldn't finish the stress test because of a bad ankle, but we never suspected anything else was wrong.
We didn't take the heart specialist's diagnosis so got an appointment with a MDS and that is when we knew for sure.
Hopefully your symptoms are something else and I wish you good luck.
Firstly if I were you I would go and see a movement disorder specialist, and see what they have to say. Secondly darling, I know this is hard to accept, please try to not worry. If you do have Parkinsons disease (PD) you will find that their are wonderful medications available.
I know the diagnoses is very scarey, trust me with that opinion.
Remember if you are diagnosed with PD, this is not a death sentence.
I see some family members have been touched before with PD.
This does not mean that what happened to them will happen to you, medication has advanced so rapidly.
Go and get an opinion from a specialist , please
I can relate to most of what you have written. This is my first note on this forum and I am hoping it's an active one. I remember years before being diagnosed (diagnosed in 2010) wondering why my hands (particularly left) would draw up in a cramping spasm. I too, have little to no sense of smell. My mother had diagnosed Parkinsons and the last year or so of Dad's life he appeared to as well. He even had the micrographic writing.
I went to a teaching hospital in Oregon to their movement disorders branch of neurology and received my diiagnosis there. My personal physician didn't think I had PD because I didn't show some of the signs expected during an office exam. I had a strong hunch, though as so much about me was similar to what I had seen with my mom.
I hope you can get a definitive answer so that you can look for support that will be specific to what you are experiencing. I know I need that and that is why I signed up here.