My mom has had a few of these as well (especially when under extreme stress) but she's not sure just why either. She's wondering if maybe it's when it's close to when she has to take her next Sinemet... She's not sure.
I'm so sorry you are struggling with this!
BT

Thanks Buried Treasure! I am not on any medications yet. It is frustrating to feel this way!!!!

I am not a list maker and I use to think I was an pretty flexible person. My husband and I like to just do things on a whim. But lately I feel a need for more structure and lately deviating from what is planned out in my mind, throws me into an emotional upheaval. Maybe I am trying to control my life more, because I feel my life is so out of control with this disease?

Stress and anxiety seem to be my worse triggers of symptoms as well. When i feel rushed, late for an appointment, meeting a deadline things like that causing tremors are all pretty normal with this condition i think. Anytime our emotions are involved (good or bad) my tremor triggers. Try not to be scared or upset when this occurs, just recognize its happening, try to calm down with some slow deep breathing and cope as best as you can. I also found that I need to allow more time to do things than I used to so I don.t stress myself out.
All the best to you!

CM
About 1 year before I was diagnosed with PD I started getting strange panic attacks or anxiety. It was to the point that I didnt want to leave my home and thought I was coming down with agoraphobia. I am 62 so that was when I was about 60-61. In my 20s I had anxiety attacks bu not this bad. I commute to work and walk 1 mile to/from train station and I could not walk a block w/o turning around to see if someone was walking behind me. What a lousy way to live!!!! Well my neuro told me that some of us with pd have to take meds for anxiety and depression. I did not want to take meds so she sent me to a therapist specializing in cognitive therapy which I loved. I went to the therapist once in October, started taking Azilect in Nov. and then because of scheduling didnt go to therapist again until January. By January the anxiety and ceased. I have no trouble walking to/from train station nor am I afraid to leave my house. The therapy was fun having someone to talk to and to bounce things off of but I only met with the therapist 3 times. It was the Azilect that made the difference. We each have our own journey and you will find what works for you. One thing for sure though is this disease affects us mentally as well as physically. Good luck!!

CM,
Yep,bYEp, and YEP!!!!! :>) Ya got it CM. PD that is!!! Unfortunately, the anxiety, I like to refer to it as angst, is all part and parcel of living with PD.

Many times throughout the years before my "official" DX I would grow anxious usually over miniscule things and lash out at whoever was nearby at the time. I now realize I had some pretty umderstanding coworkers and friends who realized that what they were seeing wasn't the true me!
Then, eventually, thru a devastating accident one day, at work, a doctor finally figured out what was going on with me. It was the PD. Once I began the upward titration of Sinemet, until my daily maintenance dose was reached, did I know that the PD was the culprit behind my sometimes very emotionsl outbursts. I am happy to say that since my maint dose was reached, over seven years ago, I have not had one emotional outbreak to report! Sure, the meds are not for everyone, but you should have a long talk with your neuro, with your hubby in attendance, about this most sensitive issue. Look, if PD meds can be kept to their minimum doseage for as long as possible, the benefits afforded to you will far outweigh the detriments. Bear in mind that this is your decision, and yours alone. It's somewhat of a scarey process, but believe me, Sinemet is the best to "start out on", and the one Movement Disorder Specialiists are most familiar with. Sinemt is recognized as the "Gold Standard" med in the treatment of PD symptoms.

A word of advice, from someone who knows, ME, STAY AWAY FROM EITHER OF THE AGONISTS REQUIP OR MIRAPEX!!!!! They are very dangerous when it comes to the side effects. For more info on them just "Google" Requip Side Effects or Mirapex Side Effects

Just take your life one day at a time. Sometimes, you'll have to take it one hour at a time. Or even one minute at a time. But isn't that what life in general is all about anyway? What I'm trying to tell you is that PD is not life threatening, of and by itself. But, it is life altering and, believe it or not, will make you a much stronger person overall as you learn the intracasies associated with the PD and how you learn to recognize the new sumptoms as they enter your life.
I can see it all now in my crystal ball ...... Superwoman AKA CMUnderstanding solves the riddle of PD ..... Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Now, go on, get outta here and make dinner for your family. Go on ..... scat!

Jim

Dang it - you all apparently concur with my doctors that I have PD. lol I refuse to give up hope that someday I will wake up and this will just have been a bad nightmare.

Seriously, thanks for your responses. It does help a little to know that I am not going completely bonkers. OK! (deep breath), I need to find a way to deal with this now and you all have given me some good suggestions on how to do that.

One sad thing to me is that this latest meltdown seemed to make the PD real to my husband and now he is treating me like a sick person. He is tiptoeing around me and trying to make sure nothing stresses me. This is NOT what I want. (except his keeping the house picked up - that part can stay. ha ha) So now how do I get him over this reaction? I want a husband, friend, lover, not a caretaker!

Aaaaah .... sweet CM, ya got 'im where ya want 'im !!!! an' ya wanna know how ta keeps 'im there do ya >) !!!!!!!

Only funnin' with ya CM ..... Just like you have to become "educated" in the ways PD will affect you, it is, and will become, the exact same learning vurve for him as well. More so for him, because he will more than likely pick up on the subtle changes quicker than you do. He will become an intimate "hitchhiker" on your PD journey. Much like the Remora shadows the Great White throughout its travels. No one can tell you what tomorrow will bring you with your PD. Even with all of my years living with my PD, tomorrow will bring a surprise or two with it for me, I'm sure. Have I become "hardened" to PD? probably so, but the one thing I do each morning is to thank my God for one more day. At the end of each day I express my gratitude and thank Him for guiding me through another day and strengthening me by being able to help others, such as you and your husband, "get through this" as easy as possible.

FYI .... Just in case you doun't know, I am dying, but it's not PD related. According to my docs, who I am trying my best to prove wrong, I don't have too much time left due to stage 4, end stage, emphysema. So, for me, accept the help from an old man who's "been around the block a few times" with his PD.

Learn with your hudband the nuances of your PD. Not mine, Not someone elses, but yours. Learn together, grow togwthwe, share your wonderful lives together and put the PD where it belongs, secondary to the love thaat will grow more precious between you two!

Much Love to you both and many prayers as well!

Jim

Forgive my spelling errors. ThoughtI proof read before I clicked the send button! See ..... I'm havin' a not do good time of it!

One more thing CM ..... both of you get that "sick person" thought out of your heads! Do you have a runny nose? a hacking cough? A burning fever? if the answer is no, then you're not "sick"!

Thanks Silverfox. I AM listening to you - very carefully! I think you have a lot of wise advice and I am trying to learn all I can from you.

I am going to also keep praying that you will prove those doctors wrong! While I wish i were superwoman, sadly I am not and I hope to have your continued help through this very unwanted and scary journey.

And I agree - the "sick person" attitude has got to go!!!

I am sending hugs and prayers your way!

I'm gonna share domething with you CM. I could have been selfish and sent it to you in a private message, but I feel it is something to dhare with others as well.....

About 6 or 7 years ago (the time is not really important), I was out Christmas shopping, trying to find that last "perfect" gift for my wife. I was alone, though the store was filled with many others with the same purpose. The longer it took me, my anxiety began to get to me and I "froze" right there in the aisle! This caused my stress level to get the best of me and I, a grown man, began drying like a little one who lost his mommy. On the other side of the table, all I noticed was the head of a young woman heading my way. I didn't notice, through my tears, until she got to me, that she was in a wheelchair. She had no legs. Without saying a word she reached out and took me by the hand. No words were spoken. There was no need. She understood amd shared her strength with me through her touch. That "chance" meeting probably saved my life. Though I've searched and searched, no one can ever remember seeing her before then, or for that matter, ever again. Since then, I've dedicated myself to giving to others what that "angel" from God gave to me that evening. The strength and hope to go on, no matter what the odds, in spite of ones ills. Before that, I was just known as The Silverfoxx in my hometown. After that I became SILVERFOXX_FIGHTING_BACK. You may not feel like Superwoman today, tomorrow, or even next year. Maybe never. But to those around you ... you will. That I'm sure of!

FEELINGS OF PANIC AND OUT OF CONTROL,
I HEAR YOU SAY.
WELL GOING STRAIGHT TO THE POINT, GOING OFF THE AMOUNT OF INPUT YOU ARE RECIEVING, INFORMATION OVERLOAD NOTWITHSTANDING, I TOO WOULD HAVE THESE FEELINGS OF PANIC AND BEING OUT OF CONTROL. THIS COULD BRING ON A FULL BREAKDOWN OF STEWING IN MY OWN PANIC RIDDEN JUICES AS THE FIGHT OR FLIGHT REACTION KICKS IN WITH NOWHERE TO GO. TALK ABOUT STRESS, WELL HARDLY SUPRISING.

FEELINGS OF PANIC - NORMAL? NOTHING IS NORMAL WITH PARKINSON'S, AND NO TWO PEOPLE ARE THE SAME.
TELL YOURSELF THAT YOU ARE IN CONTROL,-"PARKINSON'S GOT ME? NO, I'VE GOT IT, I'M IN CONTROL".
THERE WILL BE A NEED TO ADJUST AND ADAPT ACCORDINGLY. I PLAN MY ACTIVITIES AROUND MY MEDICATION TIMES, AND MEALS TOO.
SO LET GO OF THE BUILT UP STRESS, IT SERVES NO USEFUL PURPOSE. GO WELL.

Thanks for sharing that story Silverfox. I got shivers from it. I believe in angels! I also feel like I am surrounded by them when I come to this site.

I shared this post and all your responses with my husband. He jokingly said (I think he was joking)(he better had been joking) anyways... he said "I don't think of you as sick - I just think your freakin nuts!"

So there you have it - no "sick person" attitude here. lol

As always Aliveo, you give it to me straight.

PD will not control me!!! I am going to say that over and over until I get it! Just keep reminding me.

Hi CM,

I have been diagnosed with PD since the last 4 years. I have experienced such panic attack episodes several times. I have learnt to reduce the impact of these attacks by a simple "breathing exercise"

You press your left nostril shut with your right hand index finger and slowly inhale through right nostril- count 1,2,3 up to 15 or so. then shut the right nostril using the same index finger of your right hand and exhale through the left nostril and count up to 15. after the exhalation, continue to inhale through your left nostril and count up to 15 and then switch the nostrils and continue the exhalation through the right nostril. This completes "one set", if you can do 10 such sets, you will notice that the panic attack has subsided or completely gone. Try and increase the count from 15 to say 45 or so. It may take you a month or so to reach the 45 count. I wish you luck and best wishes. The other benefit I derived from this exercise is that my blood pressure medication is reduced from 3 to 1.
Rajesh