Hello Joseph,

I had been diagnosed to have Parkinson's in 1995. In retrospect, I realised
that symptoms have already started to show up   two to three years prior to
this.. But
being ignorant, I thought I was just getting old, bcause my seniors told me
that by the time you are 50, you will have what is called "50-year-old -
shoulder and neck pain" or osteoarthritis of the cervical spine.  The GP
I consulted also said something similar, an incidence of fall which
injured my left-shoulder was believed to be the immediate cause that
triggered the problem. The doctor who was about my age explained the reason
why the pain persisted for so long. "For people of your age, it may take six
months or longer to recover from the injury." said the doctor who prescribed
pain-killer.  For a long time I avoided using my left hand to do work
which required  muscular strength  - If I did, the whole limb from the
neck down to the fingers would be painful and more pain-killer will be
taken. Overtime my left hand became weak and did not swing normally when I
walked .  I often dragged my left foot or missed a step. My
left limbs seemed not responding or slow in excuting  my order. After
diagnosis, and taking sinamet , the pain has been eased for many years until
recently when I started to have "wearing off" and dyskinesia.

My peculiar gait before the diagnosis was first observed by a colleague when
I walked
pass her  office every morning. She told me she could tell without lifting
her head or take a look,  by just listen to the rhythm and sound of my
footsteps  - which gave 3 instead of two beats - she knew it was me!

It is common for people with early PD to be mistaken as suffering from
diseases which show symptoms similar to PD. It takes an experienced
neurologist who will observe your movement, hold and rotate your arms to
feel your arm movement etc and carrying out several tests before he can say
it is likely to be PD; further investigations including CT Scan and MRI will
also be done to rule out brain tumour or strokes. Levo-dopa medication
Sinemet/Madopar may be taken to see whether or not symptoms such as tremor
regidity etc. are improved. With all these supporting evidents, then the
doctor will tell his patient with high degree of certainty that it is PD.
Most patients would seek a second and third opionion from  other doctors to
confirm the diagnosis. In my case, I consulted two, both gave the same
verdict.

Now after  10 years with the disease, I have experienced almost all
the symptoms you listed in cronological orders. In my opinion, it is time
for you to
consult a Neurologist or a movement disorder specialist for diagnosis.
Whether it  is PD or a different disease, early treatment is always better
than delay which allows the disease to degenarate without any check. With
early diagnosis, you will have more options and  your doctor will explain to
you which  treatment options that will gve you the best benefit.

Japan has  a big number of PD sufferers, as Japanese average life-span is
one of the longest in the world. The older a person lives, his chance of
getting PD is higher. Japan is very advanced in research and treatment of
PD. They also have large number of experts in this field.  Among them is
Professor Yoshikuni Mizuno, a  world famous professor in neurology and
consultant neurologist  from Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo,
Japan.

L.S. Chee

----- Original Message -----
From: "Merv Swing" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, December 04, 2004 10:34 PM
Subject: Re: Introducing myself and asking a question


> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Joseph Essertier" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Thursday, December 02, 2004 6:03 PM
> Subject: Introducing myself and asking a question
>
> Hello, Joseph:
>
> I had many of your symptoms about two years ago.  I discussed them with a
> very wise general practioner who suggested a two week trial of sinemet.
> After one week, I called him back to tell him that the sinemet showed so
> much improvement in the symptoms that I believed he had confirmed the
> diagnosis of Parkinson's.
>
> I see you've had a lot of replies suggesting that you do see a Parkinson
> specialist and wanted to add my opinion that it worked for me.
>
> Merv Swing
>
>
> > Hello.  My name is Joseph Essertier.  I am an American
> > living in Japan.  I teach English and comparative culture
> > at a college in Nagano City, Japan, where the Winter
> > Olympics were a few years ago.  I also do research on
> > modern Japanese literature.
> >
> > I subscribed to this list because i wanted to ask some
> > questions to people who know about and have experience
> > with Parkinson's.  Experience has taught me that patients
> > usually know some things about their own health problem
> > that their doctors don't know or understand.
> >
> > I have not been diagnosed with Parkinson's, or even tested
> > for it, but i just started to wonder about this disease
> > the other day.  I didn't know anything about the symptoms,
> > except for the classic tremors that one sees in famous
> > people with PD in the mass media.  I just read about the
> > symptoms on the internet for the first time two days ago
> > and was surprised that i have many or most of the
> > symptoms.  I thought it was a disease that elderly people
> > got -- only elderly people -- and that the tremors were
> > very extreme, like the whole arm shaking.
> >
> > I read this article yesterday:
> >
http://www.umm.edu/patiented/articles/what_parkinsons_disease_what_causes_it
_000051_1.htm
> >
> > In that article, the parts that caught my attention the
> > most, that describe the kind of neurological problems i
> > have been having are:
> >
> >
> > *       Tremors may first be only occasional, starting in one
> > finger and spreading over time to involve the whole arm.
> > The tremor is often rhythmic, 4 to 5 cycles per second,
> > and frequently causes an action of the thumb and fingers
> > known as pill rolling. [This is the first time i have
> > heard this expression, "pill rolling," but it describes
> > very well one of the first things that started to worry me
> > -- about 4 years ago.  I get that in many different
> > fingers, but mostly fingers in my right hand.  I get
> > those, but i also get faster side to side twitches in my
> > fingers, especially during electrical storms, which we get
> > a lot of in Japan.  Once in awhile all the fingers in my
> > right hand will start to curl up, like my hand is trying
> > to make a fist but failing.  I notice this sometimes while
> > i am standing.  Once in awhile i feel embarassed when i'm
> > standing and talking to someone and this happens, and i
> > flex my hand to make it stop].
> >
> > I also get what i call "twitches" on my lips, eyelids, in
> > my toes, arms, legs, and other places.  They only happen
> > when the muscle involved is at rest.  I notice them the
> > most when i'm in bed, either when first waking or going to
> > sleep.
> >
> > *Muscles may become rigid ( akinesia). These symptoms
> > often begin in the legs and neck.
> > [I have suffered from a very stiff neck for the last 6 or
> > 7 years, but what surprises me is how on some days, it is
> > perfectly fine, with no stiffness at all.  I have tried
> > all kinds of stretching, with no luck.  I also experience
> > rigidity in my foot, where i cannot pull the foot/toes
> > upward, esp. when riding a bike.  And i have some rigidity
> > in my fingers sometimes].
> >
> > *Intestinal motility (the ability to swallow, digest, and
> > eliminate) may slow down, causing eating problems and
> > constipation.
> > [In the last year i have developed problems with
> > constipation, for the first time in my life.  The worst
> > has been this autumn.  My lower abdomen has been hurting
> > when i first wake up each day lately.  I have had trouble
> > swallowing for the last few years, to the point where i
> > don't start eating unless i have something to drink close
> > by].
> >
> > [I have all of the following]:
> > *       Orthostatic hypotension. Some patients experience a
> > sudden drop in blood pressure when they stand. This can
> > cause dizziness and fainting.
> > *       Changes in sensations of temperature, hot flashes, and
> > excessive sweating. My wife often says during the summer
> > she can't believe how much i am perspiring.
> > *       Leg disorders. Cramps and burning sensations in the legs
> > are common.
> >
> > I'm not sure if one would call it depression because
> > i'm usually pretty content with my life and everything,
> > but once in awhile i start crying about things that are
> > not a big deal and the crying becomes uncontrollable,
> > where i want to stop but cannot.  (My son recently said to
> > me, to my surprise, that he had never seen me cry -- not
> > that i think that real men don't cry.  I'm just not the
> > crying type.)  The first time that happened was about 5
> > years ago while watching a silly soap opera.  I don't
> > watch soap operas and watch very little TV in general.
> > Later i could not explain to myself why that soap opera
> > got to me.  I don't remember what the story was about at
> > all now.  I have had a number of similar crying bouts
> > since then, where later i cannot understand why i was so
> > upset.
> >
> > Most of the other symptoms in this list i guess i
> > experience but am less sure about -- either i'm not sure
> > if my symptom is being described or if mine is not that
> > bad.  For example, "shuffling."  I am not sure if it looks
> > like shuffling.  My stride seems shorter than it used to
> > be, and i sometimes feel a little difficulty in pulling my
> > leg upwards as i lift my feet for a step forward.  That
> > could just be tiredness though.  But i have been making a
> > conscious effort over the last year or so to pull my legs
> > up higher and take longer strides.  I have always been the
> > type who walks fast, but recently i am surprised to find
> > people on the street walking past me, where i am the slow
> > one.  And i have had trouble with stairs for the last 7
> > years or so.  About 7 years ago, i remember a friend, who
> > was in her late 50s, say to me as we were walking up the
> > stairs, "Come on old man!  Why are you so out of breath."
> > I have always been into exercising and sports -- riding my
> > bike everywhere, running, baseball, and other other things
> > -- and always strong and healthy, so i was surprised to
> > hear her say this, and similar things have happened many
> > times since on stairs.  I always have trouble keeping up
> > with the other train passengers while walking up stairs in
> > train stations in Japan now.  I'm 37 years old by the way.
> >
> >
> > My thumbs twitch a lot at times, always moving in the
> > direction of the other fingers.
> >
> > Somewhere i read something about excessive salivating as
> > one of the PD symptoms.  I have had trouble with that a
> > number of times in the last few years.  This autumn i have
> > had two periods of really extreme salivating, both for
> > about 2 weeks.  I had some sores in my mouth during the
> > 2nd, latest period, and my dermatologist said the sores
> > would heal naturally.  It happens a lot in fall here to
> > people.  So that may or not be the same as the other
> > salivating, which i don't remember being accompanied by
> > sores in my mouth.  A month or two ago i woke up one day
> > with my pillow case wet from salivating while sleeping.
> > No sores then.
> >
> > Fatigue, of course.  I have gone through a few periods of
> > extreme exhaustion, that wouldn't be solved by rest.
> > Three summers ago i had the summer from hell, where i
> > would go to work at 9 AM, leave for home at 4 PM sharp
> > (yes, really easy hours), take a nap until dinner time, go
> > to sleep after dinner, and wake up the next day at 8 AM.
> > All i did was sleep and rest, but was still tired.  That
> > lasted for at least 2 months.  It was a very hot, humid
> > summer, but i had been through many such summers in Japan
> > before.  What was so special about that summer?  I still
> > don't know, but i think the last two summers have not been
> > a problem because i changed my diet.  I have a near
> > vegetarian diet now with mostly whole grains.  I really
> > avoid white bread and white rice now because of the
> > constipation.
> >
> > I was diagnosed with seborrheic dermatitis the other day.
> > That's what got me started thinking about Parkinson's
> > because i read that people with Parkinson's get it a lot.
> > I have suffered from this for at least the last 5 years,
> > but never went to the dermatologist about it.  I thought
> > it was just dandruff, which i guess it is, but i have
> > major flaking or scaling on both sides of my nose, and all
> > the other typical places.  That has just become steadily
> > worse.  Only in the last year did it really start to
> > bother me, where my head and face were incredibly itchy.
> >
> > I have another skin condition, which used to be called
> > "neurodermatitis," which i know because my grandmother had
> > it -- she always wore white cotton gloves because of it --
> > but is also called "housewife dermatitis" in Japanese.  I
> > can't remember the doctor's name for it at the moment.
> > It's like psoriasis.
> >
> > Three years ago i was diagnosed with "panic disorder."
> > I'm not sure if i really have it because usually there is
> > a psychological component.  I have had about 5 panic
> > attacks in the last 5 years, the first one on a packed
> > "bullet train," but i rode trains hundreds of times after
> > that without fear, and never had another attack on the
> > train, which is the typical place for panic disorder
> > patients to get them in Japan.  (The trains are very
> > crowded and there is less oxygen, so...)  The doctor gave
> > me the equivalent of Xanax, in case i had another attack,
> > but i never took it.  He recommended that i take another
> > drug every day, but i said no thanks.  I avoid drugs of
> > all kinds.  If i can live with the symptoms, i'd rather do
> > that than face the side effects of the drugs.
> >
> > Finally, one problem i had that might relate is epilepsy.
> > I had grand mal seizure(s) -- not sure if it was one
> > seizure or more than one -- at the age of 3.  I took
> > phenobarbitol for a year or so, until my parents became
> > worried about how drowsy and unfocused i was, and took me
> > off of it.  Never had another grand mal after that, but
> > was tested for it in high school, and the doctor said i
> > was still having petit mals, which i occasionally noticed.
> >
> > This is a very long-winded introductory message, but i
> > guess my question is, "Do you think that these symptoms
> > are serious enough that i should go to a neurologist?"  I
> > already did go once before, to a neurologist in Japan.
> > That was about 5 years ago, when my symptoms were not as
> > bad as they are now.  He said that i was having these
> > twitches in my fingers, toes, and face -- this was before
> > the really strong ones, like all my fingers starting to
> > curl up, or the time my whole right hand wobbled back and
> > forth -- because i was just really "tired."  He
> > recommended rest and some tranquilizers.  Again, i said no
> > thanks to the tranquilizers.
> >
> > I went to cardiologists twice because the panic attacks
> > made me think i had a heart condition.  My heart is very
> > healthy though.
> >
> > The only doctor who actually helped me was a doctor in the
> > States.  Without actually seeing me in person, he guessed
> > that i would benefit from omega oils?  Fatty acids.  So i
> > take cod liver oil now.  I also take, on his
> > recommendation, vitamin B complex and magnesium
> > supplements.  The magnesium really relaxes me and helps me
> > to sleep through the night.  I was waking up too early for
> > awhile.  Thanks to him, i think, the twitches have
> > actually been not as bad during the last 2 years, as they
> > were during the previous 2 years.  New symptoms have
> > appeared and some other things have become worse, but the
> > twitching, esp. "twitching" of my heart (panic attacks),
> > has become much less frequent.
> >
> > One other thing i did, upon the recommendation of some MS
> > patients on the internet, was have all my mercury fillings
> > removed and replaced with composite resin.  I had about 8
> > "silver fillings," which are like 50% mercury and only 35%
> > silver.  That seemed to improve things a little, but
> > nothing dramatic.
> >
> > I am wondering if i should consider Parkinson's and maybe
> > try going to a neurologist once more, maybe a different
> > one here in Japan, or to one in the States the next time i
> > am there.  I have read a little about Alzheimer's.  An
> > expert on that disease on an MS site recommended that i
> > read a certain book on Alzheimer's, which i assume was
> > because he thought i might be a candidate for that.  I
> > think i had low blood sugar problems, which seem to have
> > gone away as i increased the amount of chlorophyl-rich
> > foods i eat and started eating brown rice.  Low blood
> > sugar is a cause of Alzheimer's, as is mercury.  As
> > mentioned, i considered MS.  I also read about ALS.  At
> > this point, i don't know what the problem is and i am just
> > avoiding neurotoxins, eating healthy and safe food,
> > getting moderate exercise and rest.  That is my strategy
> > in a nutshell.  I'm doing okay, except for certain
> > inconveniences and some pain once in awhile, but i am
> > thinking that the sooner i understand what the cause of
> > all these symptoms is, or what the causes are, the better.
> >
> > Thank you.
> > Joseph
> >
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