How does Parkinsons start? And at what age? My mother has Dystonia, and I understand it is hereditary.

[Whateveritis]

I just wanted to know if I am a candidate for Parkinsons? I have had several neck injuries and my arms and hands shake and I have panic attacks frequently. What are the symptoms of Parkinson’s, numbness , shaking uncontrollably, impaired speech, Or is it a virous or a hereditary condition

[park_bear]

About 10% of Parkinson's is hereditary. Environmental toxins play a role - exposure to permethrin triples the risk of acquiring Parkinson's. Permethrin is the active ingredient in most home "flea bomb" insecticide foggers.

In early stage Parkinson's only one side has tremors. Stress certainly aggravates it.

[Whateveritis in reply to park_bear]

Thx. You talk about tintinitus is this another name for ringing in the ears ?

[park_bear in reply to Whateveritis]

Yes tinnitus is ringing in the ears

[Whateveritis in reply to park_bear]

What about numbness and very tight neck muscles. As well as fibromyalgia, which is what I suffer from. Stress is a “yes” for me. What about nausea?

[park_bear in reply to Whateveritis]

Yes my experience was tight neck muscles particularly on the affected side and tight calves on both sides. For people with PD, nausea can arise from the use of levodopa.

[MBAnderson]

There is a place where a large percentage of the population has PD, but having parents who have it does not mean that you will get it. People with Parkinson's describe it as a tremor more so then shaking uncontrollably. People with Parkinson's do have impaired speech and many have numbness of their feet. Perhaps injuries in your neck are pinching or compressing on nerves. Your doctor should be able to determined that.

[Whateveritis in reply to MBAnderson]

I was to see a neurologist and she told me that I probably didn’t have Parkinson’s, just nerve damage, which has given me a tremor. I am just really trying to understand how a person feels inside. My nervousness gets so bad that my feet sometimes get numb or my left arm will get numb. I have notices myself getting clumsy and loss of balance. Sometimes a fall then I won’t feel the effects for a couple of days then it like ears won’t stop ringing and my eyesight has gotten worse. I am really wondering about all my old injuries catching up as I suffer with chronic pain. I feel like some one has beat me up. Which I know is the Fibro but my feet the nerves feel strangely

[park_bear in reply to Whateveritis]

This does not strike me as Parkinson's. It does strike me as something that merits a lot deeper and more urgent investigation than your neurologist has provided so far. I would insist on more efforts at diagnosis, perhaps an MRI or other imaging.I would tell this Dr. you are experiencing rapid deterioration and the situation requires urgent attention.

[Greenday in reply to Whateveritis]

Ask from your neurologist to refer you to a DAT-scan or F-Dopa-PET examination, to check for any reduction in brain dopamine. Parkinson's & Parkinsonian syndromes are linked to the reduction of dopamine levels.

[Whateveritis in reply to Greenday]

Thank you for your info. Do you know if Parkinson & Dementia are related when it comes to dopamine levels

[Greenday in reply to Whateveritis]

There are 2 PD dominant pathologies with dementia expression 1) Parkinson’s with Dementia (PDD) and 2) Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). Both share numerous clinical and biological features. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/158....

However the two disorders are difficult to distinguish without accompanying clinical records that document the course of the disorder.

DLB: If the onset of dementia is within 12 months of parkinsonism's onset, it is likely to be DLB.

PDD: By contrast, if the onset of parkinsonism is more than 12 months earlier than dementia onset, it should be PDD.

medscape.com/viewarticle/56...

Alpha-synuclein aggregation is linked the loss of the dopamine neurons. Furthermore, alpha-synuclein is the primary structural component of Lewy bodies, suggesting that protein aggregation plays a role in Parkinson's with Lewy bodies as well.

Alpha-synuclein overexpression is dominant in Parkinson’s and other synucleinopathies (PDD, DLB, MSA PSP). This overexpresion of Alpha-synuclein results in the the death of dopaminergic (presynaptic / postsynaptic) neurons, which leads to the loss of the dopamine levels in the brain; this is what differentiates PD syndromes from other pathologies such as ALS.

Studies show that after a decade of motor symptoms, 78% of patients with Parkinson disease meet the criteria for dementia, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/197...

Recent findings indicate that α-synuclein pathology spreads into the brain and can affect the peripheral autonomic and somatic nervous system. Indeed, monomeric, oligomeric, and fibrillary α-synuclein can move from cell to cell and can trigger the aggregation of the endogenous protein in recipient neurons. This novel “prion-like” behavior could further contribute to synaptic failure in PD and other synucleinopathies ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

Based on recent studies, the answer to your question is that a-synuclein propagation possibly causes the different pathologies of the disease such as PDD. Dopamine depletion is one of the side effects of the death of dopaminergic neurons caused by a-synuclein aggregation.

PDD is Parkinsonian dominant syndrome. DaTScan, SPECT and PET are useful tools to diagnose the loss of dopamine levels in the brain and differentiate PD & syndromes from other non-PD pathologies. MRI can be used to detect possible atrophies associated with cognitive impairment.

* Approximately 20% of patients who do have the PD disease and who have already come to medical attention are not diagnosed as such. jnnp.bmj.com/content/73/5/529

[Bailey_Texas]

Hello Whateveritis;

You sound like you already believe you have Parkinson's. Your symptoms do not sound like PD to me. The only thing i suggest is to ask your doctor to give you some carbadopa levadopa and see if it helps with you symptoms .

The pain i feel is not like any thing i have felt before. I have run a drill bit through my hand, had a finger cut off, muscle spasms in my upper back that hurt so bad i passed out. None of that compares to my Parkinson's (PD) pain. PD pain is a different animal it drives me to point that i yell and scream at the top of my lungs. It just gets to me. PD pain with the other things PD does to your emotions is for worse than any other pain i have dealt with.

[ddmagee1 in reply to Bailey_Texas]

I, too, have felt that terrible PD pain. Before I was diagnosed, I would have terrible pain, that I attributed to other problems, but after diagnosis of PD and being put on Sinemet, I found out that was PD pain!

[redean]

I would ask to see a neurologist. It can be so different for us all.

[ddmagee1]

Seeing a movement disorder specialist, for a complete evaluation, would be my advice, to help you, in your quest for an answer for your annoying symptoms.

[vivalavida]

Yoy mention tinnitus

I changed my anti depressant and noticed my ears ringing really load after a little research turns out it was a medication side effect. Dont know if you are on meds for your anxiety but if so you might want yo ck the side effects

[jupiterjane]

You may need an EMG. healthline.com/health/elect.... Discuss it with your Dr.

[arwenmark]

OP one thing to remember is that every person with PD has different symptoms and it affects each person differently and at different progression rates.

I agree you need to see a Neurologist that is a Movement disorder specialist.