Is this Parkinsons?
 

My Primary doctor suspects I have Parkinsons, I have a two month wait to see a neuro. I really am frustrated with not knowing an answer. I am looking for other information.

This is what is going on:

I have head tremor (comes and goes, lasts sometimes for days or weeks and not while I am moving around) looks like head bobbing.
Hand tremor, not as noticable as the head but interferes with doing things.

Problems with proprioception, I am very clumsy now when I type, hit the wrong keys all the time and also drop things a lot and bump into doorways.

I have drooling.

I am very stiff when I have been sitting any length of time have trouble getting up and moving.

I am in my late forties.

Do these symptoms sound like Parkinsons?

search this forum
 

[QUOTE=DC48;649576]My Primary doctor suspects I have Parkinsons, I have a two month wait to see a neuro. I really am frustrated with not knowing an answer. I am looking for other information.

This is what is going on:

I have head tremor (comes and goes, lasts sometimes for days or weeks and not while I am moving around) looks like head bobbing.
Hand tremor, not as noticable as the head but interferes with doing things.

Problems with proprioception, I am very clumsy now when I type, hit the wrong keys all the time and also drop things a lot and bump into doorways.

I have drooling.

I am very stiff when I have been sitting any length of time have trouble getting up and moving.

I am in my late forties.

Do these symptoms sound like Parkinsons?[/QUOTE

There are a lot of posts here about early symptoms and it would do you good to read through them, PD is incredibly varied and no two folk are alike.

having said that, I will say that head tremor is usually not associated with PD, in my reading...it is, however, associated with essential tremor. Ii would read up on that as well.

You should also know that worrying can make anything and everything worse, your body can even create symptoms that you think you have...just remember the dads who get morning sickness, ankle swelling, etc. when their wives are expecting. They obviously are not pregnant, but their body manifests physical symptoms as if they are! So do some research and try to put your mind at ease.

This forum is just the best at the wealth of information available here. Avail yourself of it and let us all know how things go, and good luck.

Yes, those COULD be PD, but......
How long have you been like this? If it came on slowly, that sounds more like it than if it came on quickly.

Depending on your GP's attitude, you might ask him to prescribe two or three sinemet tablets of the 10-100 dosage. Take one and wait a couple of hours. If no effect take the other two. If it is PD then you should see some temporary improvement.

This has been going on for over two years. I have been seen at the VA (I am a veteran) who checked me for seizures (ruled out) and now I am getting another opinion. (the VA opinion was lets wait and see) My new doctor has discovered a severe Vit D shortage and so I am taking suppliments for that. I have read that there is a connection with Vit D and neuro diseases.

Hello, DC and welcome to NeuroTalk.

Yes, Vit D is getting alot of attention right now. Whether it will work on PD is not well understood yet. But yes, it is very important, for many neuro issues, including depression.

Here is a link to a medical video:
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread92116.html

Grassrootshealth.net has the newest information on blood levels to attain (50-60ng/ml) and also to take D3 for your supplement.

What is happening in doctors' offices now, is that they WILL test you, but often do not interpret the results accurately. They often accept 30ng as normal, and that is no longer accepted by the research.
Also doctors tend to use D2 50,000 IU RX and that is not ideal either. D3 is what you want. The basic rule of thumb is 1000IU per 10ng/ml needed increase, taken daily. This is not iron clad but it is a good approximation for dosing. D3 is quite inexpensive and is preferable in a liquigel form, not dry tablets or caps.

see a specialist...
 

Thought I would point out that you might be well served to see a Movement Disorders Specialist (a self-declared specialty within Neurology that typically means that the doctor did a Movement Disorders fellowship). Folks who get to a MDS find that some of these nuances in diagnosis and treatment are improved (although even top specialists can be baffled -- particularly at early stages of disease). And, we know that overall treatment in the course of the disease is improved with MDS.

There are also some great PD specialists at some of the VA treatment centers called PADRECC's. You can get more information here:
http://www.parkinsons.va.gov/

Good luck--I know these experiences trying to get to answer can be unsettling and scary.

Debi

Is this Parkinson's
 

Debi Has given you the best advice. A movement disorder specialist will most likely perform a number of procedures designed to confirm or deny the probability of Parkinson's.

FYI I am a veteran with PD residing in a veterans retirement home adjacent to a veterans hospital. I'm certain the VA will provide you with adequate referral information. Good luck. Bob C

You ask a very specific question, and as non medical people we cannot answer it. We can however bring a collective set of experiences, and say yes you have symptoms similar to PD, but there are other conditions that also can cause symptoms like that, and do as Debi and Bob have suggested, and indicate what your best route is.

Diagnosis of PD is a long route for many people. It is difficult when you know that there is something 'not right' and you want answers, but in the world of PD the answers are slow to come, and most of us have had to learn to be patient. For some this takes years, for others it is easier.

Your MDS will use a process of elimination and observation to get to your particular answer. I wish there was an easier way - when I was in your position, I too wanted the quick definition, to end the worry, and gain access to what I then saw as 'the right treatment' for whatever it was I had. I have learned an awful lot since then!

You are very welcome here, please ask as many questions as you like, even though we cannot give answers to them all. And let us know how things go, too.

Best wishes
Lindy

Thanks for input
 

Thank you to everyone for their thoughtful and informative answers.

I now have a tenative diagnosis of ET (essential tremor). I was able to get in sooner due to a cancelation.

I am going to try some meds for the ET to see if this helps.

It seems that ET and Parkinson's is very similiar in the begining stages?
I have read a little on this board about that.