Had my first neurology appointment Monday. I went off off all my supplements and fava bean products for 2 days to make sure I had visable symptoms. By the time I got to the doctors office, I could hardly do what he asked me to do for the testing...I was slow , off balance, tapping slow, dragging my turned in right foot..etc. He took notes, said he didn't think I had PD that my tremor was wrong for it. That, maybe I would have PD in a year or so. Wanted to make an appointment for 3 months. I told him I couldn't afford it, that I knew I had PD. Mentioned the fava beans & he just looked distracted for a second and went on to something else. He said I might have essential tremor. So, I went to check out. His diagnosis on paper was gait disfunction & tremor. They charged me $240 for about 20 minutes. My friend told me that the doctor she went to said the same thing to her "might be essential tremor,", and then diagnosed it as PD when she came for the second visit. Is this protocol with Neurologists??? How was your first visit???

I was told to walk down the hall and back, which I did with dragging left foot and non-swinging arm, and the neuro (he was a movement disorders specialist and head of a Parkinson's clinic) said "you have Parkinson's. Let me start on on some meds." That was the extent of the exam. Maybe 15 minutes total by the time he had given me a bunch of literature and Requip starter kit...(my internist had once told me essential tremor)

Thanks, we did the hall thing too & trying to walk on heels/ trying to walk on toes/ and one foot in front of the other...I did terrible at all of them that day. Perhaps I needed to see a movement specialist instead of a neurologist?

My understanding is that a movement disorders specialist is a specialization within neurology. My internist suggested this person - otherwise, I don't know how to locate one. Maybe check with your state or area Parkinson's association or look online for such?

I was fortunate enough to have a movement specialist for a diagnosis. She spent over 3 hours with me to get a diagnosis......telling me at the end of the exam that it was so hard to make the "right call". She said I have at least 10 good years ahead of me. This is my 10th year now....to the month. I have another doctor now, a neurologist who is excellent. He sees me every 3 months, now moved to 6 on my last visit, makes prompt return calls and lets me control my condition as much as I want to be involved. My main symptom is a tremor in the right hand, controlled fairly well by sinemet, mirapex and amantadine. I have been very lucky so far with slow progression and an excellent doctor.
Good luck!

I had problems with my right hand fine motor skills but was still playing soccer. went to an orthopedist whom i played soccer with, he suggested i see a movement disorder specialist but didn't mention pd.

the neurologist had me walk, finger tap, open close hands and looked at the soles of my shoes to see if i dragged my feet. told me i had pd, scheduled a mri to rule out anything else and gave me a pamphlet. took about 10min.

went for a 2nd opinion at pd center, neurologist did same tests, told me she could tell i had pd from my face.

had frozen shoulder episodes and lack of arm swing years prior to diagnosis. i would fall down for no reason when pivoting on my right leg while playing soccer, my right side had symptoms first.

i quit playing soccer 3 years ago, really didn't start needing regular meds dosage until a year ago and doing fine on sinemet. i'm assuming vigorous exercise helped slow down the progression and when i stopped symptoms really got worse, or maybe i stopped soccer because i started to get really bad muscle cramps during games and the risk of muscle tears became too great, plus teammates kind of hinted i needed to quit - middle aged jocks are very competitive.

I went to a general neurologist in private practice first. She told me I was to young (53) to have Parkinson's and if I had had it as long as I said (two years) it would be bilateral and it was not. She diagnosed me with benign essential tremor. I could not have been more delighted. I spent a year taking Klonapin and sleeping. It calmed the tremor some (which was not a resting tremor) but did nothing for the lack of arm swing or slowness.

After a year with no real improvement I saw another neurologist who said I didn't blink enough and it might be PD but my other symptoms did not really fit. She sent me to an MDS who made the diagnosis after about ten minutes. I had known myself (from reading about it on the internet) but did not want to hear it out loud. After i was diagnosed he spent nearly an hour with me talking about the disease, what to expect, what to hope for and what not to be afraid of.

Before the year up he left for a job out of my state and there has been no MDS here since 2001. I went with him and still see him though i have had several others in the mean time trying to make it more convenient.

He is now at a large teaching hospital and i have always felt i got the very best care. It has been almost nine years since my final diagnosis and i am doing well, still in denial, still waiting for someone to say "ooops, did we make a mistake!!" I know it probably won't happen but I would rather be wrong than surrender.

Diagnosis can be a long journey. No need to hurry, if it's PD you will know for sure soon enough.

Good luck,
Pam

Well, it took me days to recover completely from going off favas for 2 days, but I am back to normal again..it is incredible, the effect that you get from being off dopamine & stressed out in a new situation (like going to a doctor). As much as I would like a definite diagnosis. I don't know if I ever want to go back, unless I have trouble at some point controlling my symptoms. Just read website information from neuroassist.com/Parkinson's-Disease-proper-tratment-and-management.htm and they seem to have some important suggestions that may be valuable to all of us. I plan to check out their protocol. I have started taking CQ 10/ Bee Propolis/ Turmeric along with my usual BComplex 100/ A&D Vites/ Hawthorn Berry/ Brain Essentials/ Lecithin Powder from Swansons Catalogue.
I am feeling good and without symptoms on my fava leaf/flower tincture . I can tell when my dopamine level is getting low & my right leg gets kindof heavy and I am not icking up my knee (the foot drag comes next) I take a drop of tincture and in 15 min I don not notice it any more and am good for several hours more. Wish I had a scientist beside me to test the tincture and document (better than I can... the results I am getting) perhaps The Lord will send someone our way who is interested enough in a cure for PD (or at least freedom from symptoms..which is good enough for me.)...to work with me

When you apply for disability in Nc the state foots the bill for a neuro exam - if you havent had one - which was my case. The more exams you have prior to this the longer the paper trail and wait you will have...and it could work against you.

Where do you get the Fava tincture?

I went to one visit with neurologist. 30 min. total. He had me walk across the room. draw a circle and put numbers in like a clock. write a sentence. From this he diagnosed me as PD. He said no medication until I couldn't function because of the side effects. He wanted to see me in 6 months again. I decided if he couldn't do anything, why should I see him. We have moved to another state since then. Still haven't seen anyone. Maybe I'm waiting for a miracle. Anybody have one they don't need?