Loss of Strength?

[Redginger]

Have any of you experienced loss of strength as a symptom? My husband is extremely weak, or either his brain cant get his muscles to do what he wants them to, which is what he thinks it might be.

[Jalia]

This was my husband's first symptom. He has always been very strong and found it very depressing and puzzling to lose his strength. Diagnosis of PD explained this.

[Redginger in reply to Jalia]

Thanks for this helpful reply.

[KERRINGTON]

Yes, in my tremor arm.

[Redginger in reply to KERRINGTON]

Thank you!

[pvw2 in reply to KERRINGTON]

Same here. Medication got some strength back. Antioxidants like coQ10 helps.

[Hikoi]

Weakness - Definitely PD is a condition that affects the muscles so one would expect this. However I feel much better when my meds are working.

[Redginger in reply to Hikoi]

thanks for replying.

[JohnPepper]

Hi Redginger. Pd affects our subconscious brain, so we have to learn how to control many of our movements consciously. That is not easy to understand because there is no indication as to which part of the brain we use to control any of our actions.

The acid test is: If you make a specific action often, then it will be controlled by the subconscious. We walk, write and bring food to our mouths regularly, so your brain has learned how to make those movements without you having to think about them.

Most of our actions are controlled subconsciously.

However: with Pd, we have to take conscious control of some of the movements that are not working properly. That varies from person to person.

He is seeing his problem as a loss of strength when in fact the messages are not getting to his limbs. He has to now consciously tell his arms and legs to do things.

[Redginger in reply to JohnPepper]

Thank you, John, for your reply.

[AlpacaGal]

My symptoms included weakness early on. I was always amazon strong so it was shocking to lose strength. Even my horses could sense this and began pulling away! That was then. Having B-1 has returned much of my ability. I was using a cane last year at this time, struggling to be awake, hardly moving. This past fall I camped out, did three to five mile hikes daily and never need a cane, once again I'm doing a good share of our strenuous ranch chores. My tremors are still present and irritate me a bit, but the overall picture is quite rosy.

[Redginger in reply to AlpacaGal]

Thanks for your help. BTW where did you camp; any particular type of climate?

[AlpacaGal in reply to Redginger]

I was camped on Ross Lake in northern Washington state in the Cascade National Monument. The lake is glacial and the only boat launch access is in Canada. It was somewhat cold at night, pleasantly warm during the days. Terrain is rugged but trails were generally well defined.

[Zella23]

My husband has weaker muscles in his thighs - he was very proud of his muscles being a sports player earlier in his life.

His frequent complaint is feeling weak.

He can walk a couple of miles but always says he feels like he has run a marathon and has total fatigue in all his muscles.

Walking has helped and trying to do daily exercises set by physiotherapist helps too. I think keep moving as much as you can exercise if you can and as John Pepper above says you have to try and make these limbs move by conscious control.

All the best of luck, with this unpredictable condition.

He takes B1 which I think helps him plus other supplements as suggested on this site.

[Redginger in reply to Zella23]

Thank you for taking your time to reply!

[GymBag]

The good news is that I am loosing weight, bad news is it is all muscle. I thought all that shaking would count. My expensive pants from before retirement fit again but now I have trouble putting them on. They will be able to use my best suit without cutting the back but I am being cremated. I was an athlete , used weight training, heavy bag and ran every day and I may have wasted thousands of hours doing it. I think my gran-daughters could beat me in an arm wrestling match now.

The lack of real exercise brought on by the arthritis reduced the movement and thus a self perpetuating spiral. Watch out for that one. I think this decease is very predictable, one direction, going down.

[Redginger in reply to GymBag]

Thanks for replying. Yes, my husband is trying to exercise, and walk, but hardly has "strength" to do back exercises, and he used to be very strong because also he was a weight trainer and even competed in high school. Trouble is he has lost so much weight (that he really didn't have to lose) that he has not one square inch of fat on his body.

[TheLordsWeapon]

Yes ! I feel on and off weakness all the time, in the legs mostly, even not taking a shower at certian times because I think I might fall.

Makes me feel more like 77, not 57 8(

Mark

Age 57

Diagnosed 2016

[Redginger in reply to TheLordsWeapon]

Thanks. My husband is also 57 and symptoms began showing up a few years ago. Recently his family doc mentioned that he looks more like "an old man." He is considering trying the B1 again soon.

[TheLordsWeapon in reply to Redginger]

wow, nice thing for a family Doc to say to some one ,,,unbelievable

[Horselover]

I've always been strong and fit. I now have what I call jelly legs. I used to ride horses for a living and had my own for years. I now find looking after them quite hard , lack of energy and strength . Some days are better than others. I have been exercising 4 times a week but then I have no energy for housework and walking my dog.

[Redginger in reply to Horselover]

Thank you for taking your time and energy to reply. Blessings to you.

[Hidden]

I've lost a lot of muscle mass, so much I can't save myself if I fall.

[Redginger in reply to Hidden]

I think my husband has also lost muscle; his weight has dropped so much over the last couple of years and he really didn't have any to lose.

[katherinecompton22]

I noticed back, thigh, hip weakness worsening gradually over the last 4 years (presently 66, diagnosed 2015). The day I nearly fell face forward with my 5 month old granddaughter in my arms was a horrible wake-up call. I was trying to get up from a rocking chair while holding her. Not enough strength for a simple "sit to stand", I rocked until I had the momentum and then pushed up and forward - and staggered across the room until I finally found my footing.

That prompted me to get PT for lower back issues, core strengthening. Currently doing strength training with a trainer, as well as cardio. I'm doing better, and haven't failed to get out of the rocker, even tho the baby is 11 months old now. BUT consistency is key - losing 3-4 days due to travel or illness can really push me back. When I am between tasks, waiting for something to cook, etc, I practice sit to stands at different seat levels.

So now that I can feel less a threat to my grandkids, they've become a threat to me; I'm recovering from my 3rd upper respiratory infection in 5 months. Why do those precious creatures have to be so "germy"?!

[Redginger in reply to katherinecompton22]

What a fright you had! I have thought lately that I need to mention physical therapy to my husband, but he just has no extra time for anything because he is still working and is so extremely slow that he goes to the office 7 days a weeks and often works late into the evening.

I'm sorry for all those infections. Perhaps your immune system is weaker than it otherwise would be?

[katherinecompton22 in reply to Redginger]

I sure hope your husband can carve out some time to focus on this aspect of his health. I only retired 9 months ago - had no idea that my fulfilling, but sedentary job was contributing to a deconditioning that’s been hard to overcome. Yes, I’ve got to figure out how to boost my immune system!

[kaypeeoh]

I go to the gym three times a week for weight-lifting. But two years ago I had a DVT: deep vein thrombosis. Typically people get them in a leg but mine was in my shoulder. Actually in the axilla. One possible reason is excess weight-lifting. Since then I've cut back at least 50% when lifting. For fear of another clot I don't want to try to lift heavy again so I don't know whether I've lost muscle mass. My biggest problem now is negotiating through the icy parking lot when trying to get from my truck to the gym. I had running shoes with 1/4 inch hex-heads drilled into the soles that I used for running but my wife either threw them out or packed them away for moving.

[Redginger in reply to kaypeeoh]

Thanks for your reply. Yes, I've never heard of DVT anywhere else other than legs. so I guess you were doing too much, huh? Better find those special running shoes. Moving soon?

[rescuema]

Be sure you're not deficient in potassium and iron. Iron is a tricky one - you really have to be careful not to overdose but you do need to supplement when experiencing deficiency symptoms, and very early sign includes lower back pain. Drinking green teas/coffee also can block iron absorption due to the tannins, oxalates, and caffeine.

Anemia and iron metabolism issues are observed in PWP.

You can cook with cast iron skillet to increase iron. For potassium, eat potassium rich food and/or supplement with potassium citrate.

healthline.com/nutrition/ir...

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/278...

frontiersin.org/articles/10...

[Redginger in reply to rescuema]

Thank you for the info about iron and subsequent links. We saw the family doc a couple of weeks ago and she requested blood work but I forgot to specify to her about ferritin and TBIC. My husband told me plainly that he was not going back for another stick. Maybe next time.

[Astra7]

Apparently PD muscles use a lot more oxygen than regular ones, so it takes a lot less activity before they get tired.

[Redginger]

Thanks for your reply. I don't really mean he gets tired, but I mean strength like to open a jar, pick up something heavy, or other similar tasks.