The early symptoms are a slight shaking of the hands, arms, legs and jaw, also known as tremors. This is because the nerves begin to affect the muscles and affect movement. After a while, these symptoms will become noticeable to everyone around you and will then begin to progressively worsen as time goes on. Parkinson’s usually affects one side of the body more than the other and can also affect all forms of communications. It may be a chore to write because the tremors prevent accurate lettering and, after a while, the sufferer’s speech will also be affected. The full-blown shakes do not usually begin until a few years after the initial tremors start, although it can be as little as a few months for some sufferers. There is no telling how long this progression will take, but once it starts it is only a matter of time.
Doctors do not, as yet, know what causes Parkinson’s Disease,
despite extensive research into it. There is not even an official test to diagnose the patient. Most diagnoses are made on medical histories and tests to rule out other ailments and illnesses. Unfortunately, this means that there is no cure available to sufferers. Once you have it, you have got it for life. This can take some getting used to, but many sufferers simply get on with their lives until they reach the point where this is no longer possible. The disease often causes depression, as well as making everyday tasks, such as getting dressed, near on impossible. Buttons and laces could be the hardest puzzle in the world to a Parkinson’s sufferer and this makes it extremely frustrating.
There are drugs that will help alleviate symptoms for Parkinson’s Disease sufferers in the short term, although they have no beneficial effects in the long term. Certain medications can stop the tremors for short periods of time and thus allow sufferers to get on with their lives as normal. These drugs include carbidopa-levodopa, bromocriptine, selegiline, pramipexole, ropinirole, tolcapone and pergolide. Of course, they all have different brand names but are designed to do the same job. Some medications will suit an individual, but others will make symptoms worse for a time. Nobody can tell which ones will work and so doctors usually have to experiment to get it right.
Parkinson’s Disease is a horrible illness for the sufferer and the people close to him or her. There is very little that can be done, but being diagnosed early can alert patients to the amount of time they have to make the most of life before it takes over their bodies. Research is still ongoing but until there is a cure, life just has to go on as normal.
