Hi I’m new to this site and dealing with Parkinson’s and the array of symptoms that I am experiencing. I assume they are all part of having Parkinson’s but want to know if others are having similar issues.
They include the following:
-Lower back and hip pain making sleep difficult
-Morning stiffness and severe pain in both feet
-difficulty with breathing and narrowing in trachea
While there will be people who have Parkinson's who also have those problems , to my knowledge they are not symptoms of PD.
You should see a medical doctor about them . Especially concerning
difficulty with breathing and narrowing in trachea
Agree an MD is in order for the breathing difficulties.
an md cant help yo you will need a mvmnt specialist and a lng doc. as part of yor pd team....Although James Parkinson, in 1817, described breathing abnormalities in his “Essay on the shaking palsy”, there has been limited research on this important non-motor symptom.
People living with Parkinson’s may present with a wide variety of respiratory symptoms, ranging from shortness of breath at rest (SOB) to acute stridor. Shortness of breath can be very distressing for patients and clinicians alike. Multiple investigations may be undertaken, looking for infection, blood clots and heart problems. Although these potential causes of breathing abnormalities need to be excluded, clinicians must remember that PD itself and its medications can cause SOB; and that normal investigations should not automatically lead to a diagnosis of anxiety, depression or lead to inappropriate treatment plans.
Several different patterns of breathing abnormality may be found in PD:
Yes all likely to be pd related. They all sound like muscular problems. Are you on pd medication?
I think this is the first time that we disagree.
True PD can effect all muscles, internal, external, voluntary and non voluntary
BUT are you saying that if he was to take sufficient PD meds that the following problems will be reduced ?
-Lower back and hip pain making sleep difficult
-Morning stiffness and severe pain in both feet
-difficulty with breathing and narrowing in trachea
I am not so sure . To me they are caused by other things such as previous trauma to the back and Lymph system breakdown or allergy.
GymBag,
I am sure we would find agreement. All those symptoms I have experienced (except severe pain in feet , but they can be painful ). I agree that chewies symptoms may not be pd related but my hunch is they are, and are made worse by pd
My breathing problems are an off symptom exacerbated by asthma but Im sure that my asthma is due to my drugs.
I dont think any of these are diagnostic symptoms, they just go with the territory and often are relieved by levadopa.
Back pain seems to be a common and early symptom in Parkinson's disease, and patients appear to be more often troubled by chronic low back pain, possibly due to a combination of altered posture, abnormal muscle tone, and truncal dystonia — uncontrollable muscle contractions in the trunk.
neurologyadvisor.com/adviso...
I have lower back tightness particularly in the morning. Yoga has been very helpful
It is all too easy to think that all our health problems are connected to having Parkinson’s, not only for the patient but it can be the go to answer for some MDs too. I was lucky that my neurologist referred me on to an orthopaedic neurosurgeon when I had many months of lower back pain and sciatica which, incidentally, caused foot pain and leg weakness. It was a long haul and I ended up having three operations but my back is fine now. I still have Parkinson’s. I am not trying to add to your worries but, as others have said, you need to get it checked out, and especially the breathing problems. If it is attributable to Parkinson’s, it does not change anything but at least you will know. Good luck - I wish you well.
You are so lucky. My HWP has (and still is) experiencing all the same symptoms as you. Has had many steroid injections in his back and a discectomy, plus 2 complete knee joint replacements - all without success. Maybe the difference was that you saw an orthopaedic neurosurgeon whereas my husband saw a plain orthopaedic surgeon.My husband also used to have breathing problems but now it seems to come and go without reason.
I tend to agree with Hikoi on this one based on my husband's experience. Oh, and he has very painful feet too btw.
I am so sorry to hear that. Sadly, on top of having PD, we can still suffer the degenerative process on spine and joints due to scoliosis or other factors. I agree that back surgery can be a minefield and steroid injections often don’t work. My lumber spine was fused in the end and I have not looked back but not everyone is so lucky (and I recognise that in the new world of Covid, I might still be waiting for a first appointment). Had I not been referred on I was potentially facing loss of bladder and bowel control and may have been confined to a wheelchair by now. So all I am saying is that it is important to check things out (which your husband obviously did) and not assume that PD is causing everything. Breathing difficulties could be caused by aspiration of liquid or food particles into the lungs which is a common problem with PD but it still needs to be investigated.
Yes, this:
is that it is important to check things out ... and not assume that PD is causing everything.
What we are least well equipped to do here is diagnosis. Some of the symptoms might be Parkinson's related, or might not. Anyone implying certainty based on a post on the Internet is doing the poster a disservice.
In my experience, 9 years with my husband having PD, I would mention problems either to your Neurologist or MD, not sure how it works in Canada, and check out those issues.My husband has been referred to a Urologist, to check out unusual symptoms and diagnosed with BHP and given additional help and meds with that. MRI on his back referred by the Neuro and now found out the cause is degenerative condition of the spine and given treatment for it.
Better to always to check out and not assume they are related to PD, especially with breathing issues.
All the best to you,
Chewie,
If you reported those same symptoms on an arthritis forum, most people would agree that they are arthritis symptoms. I have severe psoriatic arthritis that gave me all of those and more symptoms except the breathing issue. Some studies find that arthritis is more prevalent in PwP, but other studies do not confirm this. Lower back degeneration and lumbar spinal stenosis seem more common in PwP, especially with increased age.
parkinsonsnewstoday.com/201...
Either way you need your primary and neurologist to help narrow things down and figure out an appropriate treatment plan for you.
Art
If you reported those same symptoms on an arthritis forum, most people would agree that they are arthritis symptoms.
And they would not be wrong. According to an xray ,arthritis causes my knee pain but it is amazingly better when on l dopa. My point is that all these problems are made worse by Parkinsons.
i think people should get these problems assessed but there is not always effective treatment and I often think that is why neuros appear to focus on drug treatment, and movement problems. They know they cant stop denervation of the heart that can happen in PD, or rectify PD breathing issues, or effectively treat all neurogenic bladder issues for example.
Patients with Parkinson’s disease have a higher incidence, longer duration, and greater severity of low back pain than individuals without the disease, according to a study.
Low back pain was significantly more frequent (87.6%) and lasted longer (16 years) in Parkinson’s patients than in controls (64.9%, 11.8 years). Additionally, in patients with low back pain, the pain was more frequently (87.3%) located in the lumbar region compared with controls with low back pain. Lumbar pain intensity was also higher in Parkinson’s patients.
“[Low back pain] and lumbar degeneration are common in [Parkinson’s disease]. Both are related to movement disorder symptoms. The knowledge about musculoskeletal conditions in Parkinson’s disease is important for an interdisciplinary conservative or operative treatment decision of [low back pain],” the researchers concluded.
This is from the study we both linked to above.
Here is an article published just last week linking osteoarthritis and PD:
medpagetoday.com/rheumatolo...
Make sure to have good levels of vitamin D - "many patients with osteoarthritis have low levels of vitamin D, which can further raise the risk. Recent research has revealed that vitamin D can enhance the synthesis of dopamine by increasing tyrosine hydroxylase activity. In addition, this vitamin may promote the expression of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor, a critical protein for the survival of dopaminergic neurons," the researchers explained.
I fully agree, but doctors are supposed to work out a treatment plan for their patients and if they can't they should be open to other options like this to at least manage the pain to improve the patients quality of life and allow them more mobility :
healthunlocked.com/cure-par...
Art
Breathing problems can also sometimes be caused by anxiety and tightening of the chest. Or improper chest breathing. Try looking up correct breathing. Anxiety is a PD symptom.
wimhofmethod.com/breathing-...
If you are sitting a lot in a fixed position your diagphram can constrict. Try diaphragm release treatment.
This might also help the lower back.
Morning stiffness can be helped by moving each joint while lying in bed before getting up. Spend 5 minutes starting at feet, moving up through the body rotating feet, knees, hips, wrists, elbows, shoulders. Then tense and release each muscle. This helps to ease the stiffness a bit so when you get up it isn’t as painful.
Also limit sugar, gluten, and fried food, too much alcohol and processed food as it might be caused by inflammation caused by these foods. Try proteolytic enzymes .
I sympathise. I am pretty fit for a PwP but I share with Chewie lower back and hip stiffness causing inflexibility. I deal with that by rigorous exercise. I do not have painful feet but I do have breathing issues - difficult to explain but it is an irregular breathing pattern arising usually when trying to sleep (another problem - I was once a ‘head hit the pillow person’) - basically it is hard to find a position comfortable enough to induce sleep and then waking with the feeling that each breath is drawing in too little air. It isn’t!Try to overcome the panicky feeling and impose a regular breathing pattern. If you can find a way to have deep restful sleep the breathing issue will improve as it does for me on those rare occasions when I sleep well. I think these issues are definitely related to PD but rather to the medication than the condition. These things were never a problem for me before PD and Ldopa. Stoicism is the only way I’ve found to deal with these infinitely variable effects in the panoply of PD which affects us all in widely different ways. Good luck.
yes. I got all three and more...
I have all those symptoms. Pain in my feet from applying pressure to them when I’m in my “off” periods. I have to squeeze the toes on my left foot as tight as I can to get relief from internal foot tremors. Shortness of breath usually occurs after any exercise or exertion. I have increasing discomfort in my hands as well. Both hands & feet hurt all the time due to the squeezing during my “off” times. I was diagnosed June 29, 2018. Levodopa relieves all those symptoms; but the sore feet and hands hurt all the time since I’m squeezing them.
Breathing problems in Parkinson’s disease: a common problem, rarely diagnosed
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder after Alzheimer’s disease. It is characterized by bradykinesia (slowness in movement) tremor, rigidity, and postural instability. Potential non-motor manifestations of PD include depression, anxiety, constipation, overactive bladder symptoms, dementia, and sleep disturbances.
Although James Parkinson, in 1817, described breathing abnormalities in his “Essay on the shaking palsy”, there has been limited research on this important non-motor symptom.
People living with Parkinson’s may present with a wide variety of respiratory symptoms, ranging from shortness of breath at rest (SOB) to acute stridor. Shortness of breath can be very distressing for patients and clinicians alike. Multiple investigations may be undertaken, looking for infection, blood clots and heart problems. Although these potential causes of breathing abnormalities need to be excluded, clinicians must remember that PD itself and its medications can cause SOB; and that normal investigations should not automatically lead to a diagnosis of anxiety, depression or lead to inappropriate treatment plans.
Several different patterns of breathing abnormality may be found in PD.
To read further open link
atlasofscience.org/breathin...
This is from a link I gave above which i hazard to guess only a very few opened.
yes....breathing isses were first described by Dr P himdself, i have pd induced copd restrictive and obstructive lng disease sinemety responsive. google it...>80% of us will dire from breating isses. all 3 things you describe are pd textbook. hang tough...beware honeymooners advice...
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