Parkinson's Disease?

The neurologist called it a "working diagnosis" after he examined me this morning. He was quick to point out that a definitive diagnosis of Parkinson's is possible only with an autopsy and invasive dissection of the brain which he thought I wasn't too interested in getting at this point. But, he pointed out, the four most common symptoms of Parkinson's are:

* Tremor, which means shaking or trembling. Tremor may affect your hands, arms, legs, or head.
* Stiff muscles.
* Slow movement.
* Problems with balance or walking.

and I have three of the four symptoms. (I haven't yet shown any significant tremors in daily living and he couldn't detect any in his physical exam of me.)

The good news is that Parkinson's doesn't affect life expectancy so I should live as long with it as I would have without it. The bad news is that it is incurable and progressive which means that without treatment, the symtoms will continue to get worse for the rest of my life.

Since the condition is caused by a lack of necessary dopamine in the brain, I'll be starting on an oral medication that is labeled a "dopamine agonist" designed to stimulate my natural levels of dopamine. I will gradually increase my dosage until my symptoms disappear (something the doctor thinks is very possible at this point) or the side effects such as sleepiness or nausea become intolerable. Of course, one of the things that will confirm the diagnosis is whether my symptoms respond to the medication.

During the visit with the doctor, I presented him with a list of all the symptoms I could think of that indicated a difference in the way I act or feel from a year ago. Although I tried not to use my knowledge of Parkinson's disease indicators, my list was close enough to that list of indicators that the Doctor asked if I had used online resources to attempt a self-diagnosis. He said it in a nice, non-accusatory way. I liked that he was sharp enough to consider that possibility, though.

So, like Michael J. Fox, it looks like I will be trying to deal with this new and interesting development in my life.

Here is the link to Kaiser's Health Dictionary entry for Parkinson's. The other location I felt very helpful was at Parkinson's Disease Foundation.

As the doctor pointed out to us, every case is a little different so you have to be cautious about generalizing symptoms or outcomes.