 |
 |
Hi Bill, I like your idea of making up a training document for MD's. My original idea was that we have a national database of all PD patients with a history of exposure to different chemicals, hereditary factors, head injuries, age of diagnosis, etc. Also would be included; a list of symptoms that were experienced prior to diagnosis: foot drop, lack of arm swing, depression/anxiety, loss of balance, pain, frequent urination, etc. My feelings are that if you get enough people to provide enough data that you will eventually begin to see some common denominators. Hopefully it would divulge experiences/lifestyle/events that a majority of people with PD share and thus would reflect a possible cause for PD. After a few inquiries, I was left with the impression that this would be a pretty expensive proposition and that the money would be better spent elsewhere. Well, I see a LOT of money being spent in many directions but I'm not sure that we are seeing a great big BANG for the buck. If every physician who diagnosed a new PD patient would have them fill out this type of questionnaire (this would also include their current PD patients) and it was entered into a National Data Base, I do believe that we would eventually begin to see a pattern emerge as to a common cause of PD. Since this avenue of exploration is not being pursued, I think the next best thing might be to have the medical community more informed about the the symptoms of PD and a combined list of symptoms sounds like a good start. Sooooo........Here's my contribution. 1. Experiencing feelings of anxiety, worry, pessimism, gloom & doom. Not in character with my normal personality. ( I chalked it up to menopause.) Now I am learning that there may be a connection between the loss of estrogen and the onset of PD. 2. Aches, pains, general over-all feeling of not being well. Unusual fatigue and need for afternoon naps. (This one I tagged as "getting older".) 3. Strong burning in leg muscles and fatigue after nominal physical activity. (I thought I might have fibromyalgia.) 4. Developed drop foot. Saw a neurologist who ordered MRI. He saw no problem with my test results. Told me to "Go home and live with it". You must know what my opinion of him might be. (I had to think that this must be a result of chronic knee problem I'd had for years.) 5. Pain in lower back and left leg, stiff neck and shoulders. (Had recently fallen playing volleyball. My left foot had stuck to the floor when I went up for a ball and I fell...sound familiar? Saw a sport's medicine doctor. He did X-ray and finding nothing too unusual aside from some mild arthritis he likened me to his 89 year old mother who was not adapting well to the limitations of aging. I, at this time, was 57 years old and did not appreciate his condescending attitude to say the least. I still have the pain and it is becoming worse but it is relieved somewhat when my Sinemet is working.) 6. Dizziness when going from a squatting position to standing. (This played heck with my putting ability in golf. My blood pressure was normally on the low side so I guessed I needed a little more salt in my diet.) 7. Frequent and urgent urination. (I went to my primary for urine test. Thought I had bladder infection. Test came out normal. Go figure...) 8. Spacey feeling. Began having trouble with my sense of direction when driving and balance when walking. (Now I am beginning to get VERY worried.) 9. Short term memory was becoming poor. Coordination was declining. Multitasking was frustrating. Sense of humor was on the decline. Things were making me nervous that shouldn't. The corners of my mouth were turning down and my lips were becoming thin...I was becoming a nervous, thin lipped, grim faced, slack jawed, clumsy and tired old lady. 10. Arm swing/left side, diminished. Same side as foot drop. (Time to see another neurologist.) And finally a diagnosis: Parkinson's disease. That pretty well completes my list. I'm sure that I have neglected to include a few more symptoms that I was experiencing but can't think of them at the moment (another clue!) I hope this is of help in your attempt to enlighten and educate today's doctors on the symptoms to look for in PD. I know that I went through two years of searching for an answer for my ills and many times felt rebuked and dismissed as either a whiner or a hypochondriac. In those two years, I lost a lot respect for and trust in the so-called "specialists". I hope that this might help to spare others that experience. Dee ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn