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 found the Lenores' post a great starting point for a discussion regarding how much information about cognitive symtoms of PD is too much.
Robin Williams, Depression, Suicide and Our Shared Parkinsons
Like millions of others, Ive been so sad about Robin Williams suicide, scouring news articles and brooding over possible explanations for his tipping point. (As a family therapist, retired due to my own Parkinsons, this kind of speculation is unsurprising.) But, the news as I awoke from an afternoon nap, that Robin Williams was in the early stages of Parkinsons Disease, blew me away.
What a devastating revelation, because my personal guess is that Williams wasn't told that depression is one of the less-known, but common, and easily treated Parkinson's symptoms, as I learned early into my own PD experience. (I was diagnosed 15 years ago). This is such a terrible, terrible tragedy, and a wake-up call to the public and to physicians to educate the public about the many non-motor, debilitating symptoms which can signal the arrival of young-onset-Parkinson's, especially in adults over 30. The symptoms -not infrequently-can include insomnia, depression, apathy, anxiety, the loss of a sense of smell, the voice softening, and the gradual appearance of slow cognitive changes, which can resemble Attention Deficit Disorder. These symptoms can feel quite unsettling to those used to highly effective functioning in their work and home lives, as multi-tasking skills can often begin to go downhill as Parkinsons takes root in the nervous system. Many people who are quite successful in their careers, (like Robin Willams, I suspect,) can feel mystified by a growing depression, or new anxieties, that may seem oddly disconnected from an otherwise relatively happy life. Many inaccurately fear the onset of Alzheimers, and keep silent about these changes.
I found this very insightful and worth sharing.
Four years into my own PD diagnosis, in 2003, I was lucky enough to hear a presentation about cognitive changes, including depression and apathy, as being part of a common Parkinsons package. I recognized this to be true in my case, began treatment with an anti-depressant, and two months later, I was back to my old self; parent of a special-needs pre-teen, a part-time family therapist, a resident-poet in the public schools, and a political activist. I also now had the energy and hopefulness to attend the new, free Parkinsons dance classes offered by Brooklyn Parkinsons Group at the Mark Morris Dance building. My Parkinsons still slowed me down, but, depression now lifted, I felt able to take on the world again, and do what I needed to do to live as fully as I could.
The truth is this: young, working, vital folks in their 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s can develop Parkinsons; it is not only a disease of the elderly! Furthermore, a shaky hand (tremor), is not present in everyone's PD, but many lesser known motor and cognitive symptoms are, including all of those mentioned above. Thus, the perplexing appearance of any of these aforementioned troubles, coupled with a slowed gait, the softening of someones voice, or the observation of a limp, or one arm not swinging when one walks, or one hand not typing accurately, anymore, or one arm no longer accurately throwing a ball, can serve as an alarm to see a Movement Disorder Neurologist in order to diagnose, and hopefully treat, possible Parkinson's Disease.
Tragically, most physicians, and the general public, incorrectly believe that Parkinsons is best represented by the stereotype of an old person shuffling along with a shaking hand or arm, and thus miss the diseases many other manifestations in people as young as those in their thirties. Far too many in my Parkinsons community report numerous lost years of Parkinsons treatment-including the recommendation to begin a consistent exercise regimen to slow down the disease progression-because physicians are not trained to recognize these other indicators. Often, Im told, physicians tell their younger patients who report an inexplicable growing sense of general anxiety, low-level depression, and fatigue, that their problem is psychological. This is simply unacceptable.
In my opinion, all physicians need to be trained to do a full physical examination of elderly and non-elderly, middle-aged and child-bearing-age patients with new reports of depression, including asking for a familys members report of any other recently observed new symptoms. This could reveal a possibly early onset of what many refer to as Young-Onset Parkinsons. As weve just learned from Robin Williams story, this could make a life or death difference.
Leonore Gordon, LCSW
Leonore1234@aol.com
Robin Williams, Depression, Suicide and Our Shared Parkinsons
Like millions of others, Ive been so sad about Robin Williams suicide, scouring news articles and brooding over possible explanations for his tipping point. (As a family therapist, retired due to my own Parkinsons, this kind of speculation is unsurprising.) But, the news as I awoke from an afternoon nap, that Robin Williams was in the early stages of Parkinsons Disease, blew me away.
What a devastating revelation, because my personal guess is that Williams wasn't told that depression is one of the less-known, but common, and easily treated Parkinson's symptoms, as I learned early into my own PD experience. (I was diagnosed 15 years ago). This is such a terrible, terrible tragedy, and a wake-up call to the public and to physicians to educate the public about the many non-motor, debilitating symptoms which can signal the arrival of young-onset-Parkinson's, especially in adults over 30. The symptoms -not infrequently-can include insomnia, depression, apathy, anxiety, the loss of a sense of smell, the voice softening, and the gradual appearance of slow cognitive changes, which can resemble Attention Deficit Disorder. These symptoms can feel quite unsettling to those used to highly effective functioning in their work and home lives, as multi-tasking skills can often begin to go downhill as Parkinsons takes root in the nervous system. Many people who are quite successful in their careers, (like Robin Willams, I suspect,) can feel mystified by a growing depression, or new anxieties, that may seem oddly disconnected from an otherwise relatively happy life. Many inaccurately fear the onset of Alzheimers, and keep silent about these changes.
I found this very insightful and worth sharing.
Four years into my own PD diagnosis, in 2003, I was lucky enough to hear a presentation about cognitive changes, including depression and apathy, as being part of a common Parkinsons package. I recognized this to be true in my case, began treatment with an anti-depressant, and two months later, I was back to my old self; parent of a special-needs pre-teen, a part-time family therapist, a resident-poet in the public schools, and a political activist. I also now had the energy and hopefulness to attend the new, free Parkinsons dance classes offered by Brooklyn Parkinsons Group at the Mark Morris Dance building. My Parkinsons still slowed me down, but, depression now lifted, I felt able to take on the world again, and do what I needed to do to live as fully as I could.
The truth is this: young, working, vital folks in their 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s can develop Parkinsons; it is not only a disease of the elderly! Furthermore, a shaky hand (tremor), is not present in everyone's PD, but many lesser known motor and cognitive symptoms are, including all of those mentioned above. Thus, the perplexing appearance of any of these aforementioned troubles, coupled with a slowed gait, the softening of someones voice, or the observation of a limp, or one arm not swinging when one walks, or one hand not typing accurately, anymore, or one arm no longer accurately throwing a ball, can serve as an alarm to see a Movement Disorder Neurologist in order to diagnose, and hopefully treat, possible Parkinson's Disease.
Tragically, most physicians, and the general public, incorrectly believe that Parkinsons is best represented by the stereotype of an old person shuffling along with a shaking hand or arm, and thus miss the diseases many other manifestations in people as young as those in their thirties. Far too many in my Parkinsons community report numerous lost years of Parkinsons treatment-including the recommendation to begin a consistent exercise regimen to slow down the disease progression-because physicians are not trained to recognize these other indicators. Often, Im told, physicians tell their younger patients who report an inexplicable growing sense of general anxiety, low-level depression, and fatigue, that their problem is psychological. This is simply unacceptable.
In my opinion, all physicians need to be trained to do a full physical examination of elderly and non-elderly, middle-aged and child-bearing-age patients with new reports of depression, including asking for a familys members report of any other recently observed new symptoms. This could reveal a possibly early onset of what many refer to as Young-Onset Parkinsons. As weve just learned from Robin Williams story, this could make a life or death difference.
Leonore Gordon, LCSW
Leonore1234@aol.com
You are so right about high functioning people having the hardest time adjusting to "new" normal things. We just have to do it to have a life.
We all would have reached out to Robin, had we known.