Learning to live with Parkinson.s Disease?

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Kathrynne Holden, MS, RDJoined: 22 Jan 2007Posts: 94Location: www.nutritionucanlivewith.com
Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2007 7:13 am Post subject: News: Learning to live with Parkinson's disease

Learning to live with Parkinson's disease By Tom Nichols http://www.gainesvilletimes.com/news/stories/20070402/opinion/165134.shtml Two years ago, I was diagnosed as having Parkinson's disease, the second most prevalent neurological disease in the United States, coming after Alzheimer's Disease. About a million Americans have Parkinson's. I meet more and more people who have a relative or friend with this disease. Here are my reflections on the disease. First of all, Parkinson's is not fatal. People do die of other diseases that may have been made worse by Parkinson's, but people do not die of Parkinson's itself. Here is how it develops: Some brain cells near the middle of the brain in an area called the substantia nigra begin to malfunction and then die. These cells produce a chemical called dopamine, which is a chemical traffic cop that coordinates various parts of the brain that control muscle movement As these cells die faster than they are replaced, the effects on muscle movement intensify. Perhaps the most visible aspect of Parkinson's is for some limb of the body to shake. In my case, it is the fourth finger of my right hand that is almost always trembling, sometimes very little, sometimes more, especially when I am tired or worried. The other major result of Parkinson's is that the muscle freezes and refuses to move at all, or very slowly. The very first symptom I noticed was my fingers froze straight flat when I was playing my saxophone at a rehearsal of the Believer's Band at First United Methodist Church. Several of my fingers refused to push the keys down to make the note I was trying to play. I had to take the other hand and force the fingers to curve so I could continue to play. I knew this was a problem but my general physician did not recognize the disease. I was misdiagnosed for about four months. A neurologist found I had Parkinson's. Now I am a patient of Dr. Stewart Factor of the Emory University Parkinson Clinic in Atlanta. Dr. Factor is a specialist doing research on Parkinson's. He invited me to be part of two studies being conducted by the Michael J. Fox Foundation. Both studies are trying to discover any possible causes for this disease. I am honored to have participated. There is no cure for Parkinson's. It is a progressive disease. If it strikes a young person that individual has a longer time for the disease to progress. Only 15 percent of all Parkinson's disease patients are under age 50. I was lucky to be 77 when I found out I had the disease. This is my advice to someone who may have symptoms of shaking or freezing muscles: Find a specialist physician who can prescribe an extensive medical program to keep the symptoms under some type of control. If you become overmedicated, you can easily go into a major shaking fit, and you don't want that. If undermedicated, a Parkinson's patient will have more exaggerated symptoms. Some medications work well with one person and not another. So each patient has to find the right balance of medications, the right strength of them, and the right times to take them. I take my meds three times each day, and carry them with me at all times. Besides finding a specialist, I recommend that a person new to the disease might wish to explore a support group. I belong to two such groups, one for cancer and the other for Parkinson's. Since my cancer is very slow growing and I am under no medication or treatment for it, I don't have much to contribute to the cancer support group at First Presbyterian. But I do enjoy meeting with them when possible. I am an active member of the Lake County Shakers, a Parkinson's Disease support group of close to 40 members at St. Paul's Methodist. About half of the members of this group have the disease, and the other half are their caregivers, usually a spouse. The group meets first and third Thursday mornings at 11 a.m. in a classroom at St. Paul's. We exchange information about our individual medications, and have guest speakers describe topics related to living with Parkinson's. And finally, we take fun trips, like our recent trip to the Cherry Blossom Festival in Macon. If interested in attending a session, you are welcome. Call Marie and Bob Bridges at (770) 532-8849 or Louell and Ray Roper at (770) 967-4276 for more information. Parkinson's is not fatal, but it does affect quality of life for those living with it. One can easily get depressed as the disease progresses, but in a support group you find love and understanding from those whose lives have been changed but not destroyed by the disease. I can tell my disease is progressing, but I have not been forced to change my life much. Living with Parkinson's is not easy, but it is far better than the alternative of not living. Tom Nichols is a retired college professor who lives in Gainesville; e-mail, wtomnichols@charter.net. http://www.gainesvilletimes.com/news/stories/20070402/opinion/165134.shtml_________________Best regards, Kathrynne Holden, MS, RD -- For a Parkinson Tip of the Day visit: http://www.nutritionucanlivewith.com/
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