Can muscle wasting be a characteristic of pd,,,I have all the symptom of pd plus progressing muscle weakness ...


Ty
Debbie

I have the same experience in my right upper arm. Don't know if it's PD related.

I first noticed it not long after I was diagnosed twelve years ago. It was confined to my right lower leg and seemed to stabilize until a couple of years ago. Now it has evened out over both legs and has made inroads into both shoulders.

I guess that I can stop worrying about a giant prostatic tumor sucking the nutrients away. Thanks Ladies. I am currently wondering if it might be my thyroid. Any thoughts?
-Rick

I used to be a pretty sturdy fellow , worked moderately hard during life, max 240 pounds and quite physically able. T'was this summer, when my daughter told me that I appeared to be getting thin, that I had to really look at myself in a mirror to see that my now 165 pounds translates into muscle wasting and fat loss, directly attributable to PD. At least I think it is,and although I force myself to "overload" what muscular capabilities I have left in order to try to stop or slow my muscular atrophy, it is undeniably a part and parcel of some manifestations of symptoms as we progress. None of us are spared the loss of muscular power, as we naturally come to the conclusion of a life with PD. It may take 20 or more years to become evident for us young onsets, or can come on very quickly, in certain "Parkinsonism" diagnoses. Gotta keep movin! Cd

Thanks for your reply. Are there different pd diagnosis?

Deb

There can be certain conditions that initially mimic "Parkinsonism", but can't be called Parkinson's disease. A label of PD is usually given only when a DAT scan shows extensive loss of dopamine producing neurons, and as we all have brain stem damage in different areas and structures, each case of PD is slightly different, and some cases can't be labelled as PD proper, because they lack certain symptoms which are indicative of loss of Dopamine transport. " there is still a "grey area" (pun intended) in which the symptoms can be properly termed as PD.

So I should ask my neuro for a dat scan?

Ty
Debbir

A DATscan is not definitive for a diagnosis of PD. Nothing is really, anymore. It used to be the presence of Lewy Bodies (mangled dead cells and a misfolded protein or two), but that is now dubious as recent research indicates they may actually be protective.

I was recently rejected by the NIH for any PD research trials, so I had a DATscan which contradicted their clinical "undiagnosis". It can only conclude that you have cell loss that can be PD or another "neurodegenerative disease". That cost me $8,000 which I do not have. IMO, they don't know what we have.

The scans are used to differentiate between a diagnosis of Essential Tremor or other Parkinsonism like diseases such as Multiple System Atrophy (MSA), to my knowledge.

this is an interesting topic to me at least. You mention two things actually: muscle WASTING and muscle WEAKNESS. In my entirely subjective and anecdotal view the two are quite different, Wasting may be entirely a consequence of less activity. In the early years of my Dx I lost muscle tone and added fat weight, my lifestyle just slowed down. Muscle weakness IMO is definitely a PD symptom as in reduced motor skill and specific movement,

So for example I lift weight and exercise and have added muscle weight and lost fat weight. By most measures at my age of 60 I would be considered fit and strong. But I can struggle with opening a jar lid or tearing open a package as if i have lost strength.

So IMO perhaps you may do well to distinguish between the two and be more specific with the characteristics you are experiencing. Best advice i have ever received is to "stay active"

just my two cents

This is a really crucial point. I recall a neuro telling me that we only perceive a weakness, but we do not atrophy. It is more that the proper signaling required between brain and body is not functioning like it should so the muscles are not fully engaged. Besides, if our muscles were truly wasting, could we truly get dystonia?

I also wonder if some sort of physical therapy or strength training regime exists that may help counter this perceived weakness?

Laurap