Help please. Head tremor many years, jaw movement 2 years. slight tremor mainly left arm. some tention now noted upper body....

[asborne]

stressing me now. dr no help....says would be in arms and short steps if Parkinson mind you he hasnt seen me at worst.

[debbie66]

Ask your doctor to send you to see a neurologist as they will be of more help than a doctor.Ask for a second opinion.Try not to stress about it as this will make any symptoms worse.Sorry I can't be of anymore help but to say it is Parkinsons when it could be something else would be irresponsible of me,as I am not a doctor.

[asborne in reply to debbie66]

Thanks debbie, Seems like it is but dr not responding,one from another clinic is going to mention early stages in the letter to gp as its pretty bad at times. Am older person but still need help with this condition. Have gleaned some info but not sure how bad condition has to be for referal or how long it takes. Get some help from comomile teato settle nerves suppose but not jaw, only chewing gum helps that. Not nice having to chew gum to cover up movement..

[JennyR]

I AGREE. A GP in this country (US) in not equipped to deal with the subtle and often times quick changes of symptoms. Since i am not a doctor, I would suggest getting a referral to a neurologist at the soonest possible moment

[jules3]

Hello Ashborne. I am no doctor but I was a sufferer of Dystonia until I was put on medication and your symptons would sugggest this.

Have a read of this which I found on the Dystonia Society web page and see if this sounds like your problem....dystonia.org.uk/index.php/p...

[jonroberts]

Keep a detailed daily log with your symptoms and get a referral as soon as possible to see a neurologist with your log. Good luck.

[professor]

HELLO

SOUNDS LIKE

YOU HAVE A CONDITION KNOWN AS " ESSENTIAL TREMOR( SIMLAR IN EFFECT TO PD) A DRUG CALLED PROPANALOL TRADE NAME INDERAL COMES IN 2 HITS

A HALF INDERAL, AND FULL INDERAL THIS WILL HOPEFULLY REIEVE SYMPTOMS ASK YOUR DOCTOR, I AM NOT A DOCTOR, HOPE IT HELPS YOU

[asborne in reply to professor]

Hi,Worth a thought but jaw movement pretty bad against usual tremor of head. Had Inderal for heart in 90s but Bp went extra low. Rekon could help if essential tremor...get rare asthma attacks...so gp might be reluctant to prescribe. Whatever it is I need help now with jaw condition being bad day/night. Hope gp will take it seriously next time as getting me fed up and dont think antidepressant the answer for condition. Yes, any suggestions helpfull at moment. thanks prof

[asborne]

Good idea never thought of that Trouble is gp will say am being neurotic. At least it will give him better idea as to what I am putting up with. Suppose medication is the only answer and being diagnosed.

[Pete-1]

PD is so variable that your GP cannot be so certain in dismissing PD as a diagnosis. I made a list of signs and symptoms that I have with my PD and got up to number 38. Upon reflection 2 or 3 of these should be removed but that still leaves me with 35.

The following are just some of the things your GP should consider.

Has your GP asked about your sense of smell. Apparently this is likely to be one of the first symptoms.

Are you unaccountably fatigued by little exertion. Drooling / dribbling. What about muscle stiffness, particularly in the torso when bending , cramps, slow movements. Is it somehow more difficult to get out of a car. Maybe turning over in bed is a bit more awkward than it was.

Has your handwriting started to become largely illegible. Are you unaccountably depresssed or perhaps you experience anxiety when normally you would not. Do you find yourself misjudging the space available to get through perhaps banging your shoulder into a door frame.

Do people ask you to repeat yourself as your voice is very soft.

Dry skin and here's a funny one increased dandruff.

Vision problems, blurred vision, difficulty focusing and one i have that I particularly dislike is eye convergence insufficiency which leaves me with double vision for much of the time.

One test commonly tried by neurologist is to get the patient to tap the first finger and thumb together for as fast and long as possible, a PWP will soon start to falter or slow a lot.

And there's more but that's enough for now

[Hidden]

Please, please have your doctor refer you to a neurologist. And please seek a second opinion if need be. I had a neurologist tell me I didn't have PD because I wasn't disoriented. Never mind the other symptoms I had.

[asborne in reply to Hidden]

Had some relief with calamine tea. Tried from health shop Valerian and hops tabs 2nd dose has given good help today for few hours. appointment gp in 10 days, he will say subconcious stress/depression. Time will tell. Least have the tabs and tea to help now so can cope. Was reluctant to try valerian but suppose OK.

[Pete-1 in reply to Hidden]

I can see that a GP might be way off the mark as they know a little bit about many things. That's the whole idea, deciding which is an appropriate specialist for referral , but the neurologist who expected disorientation as a cardinal PD symptom was surprisingly hopeless perhaps even to the point of incompetence. Quite shocking in fact.

[asborne in reply to Pete-1]

Hi Pete1, Must be in so called early stage, but not pleasant. Choices Essential tremors, dystonia, parkinsons. Already am diagnosed coeliac and have developed IBS .

[Pete-1 in reply to asborne]

I have heard of Coeliac but don't know anything about it. Now the IBS could be due to Parkinson's Disease as one of the PD Symptoms, sometimes called Gastric Dismotility where the passage of food through the intestines is not regulated normally. This results in bloating. Also PD leaves some with difficulties swallowing. It is also very common for PWP to have constipation. I seem to remember a discussion in this forum that was discussing the possibility that Constipation was perhaps the only symptom of PD that is common to all PWP.

I wonder if you have any other symptoms that might point to PD. What symptoms of Dystonia do you have and bear in mind that you may have Dystonia without PD or as one of the symptoms of PD.

I should hope for a diagnosis of Essential Tremor as that may be treated (I think) and it is the least challenging of the Parkinsonism options you have listed.

[asborne in reply to Pete-1]

Whatever it is, rekon am not brave enough for advancing stages and effect of needed medication.

[Pete-1 in reply to asborne]

Getting old is generally better than the alternative so far as we are able to tell....

When you are ready for medication then you will be glad to have it. If you are unable to discern any benefit then you obviously won't need it yet and most importantly most people don' have side effects at all. Sometimes a bit of nausea until the body gets used to it or a bit of drowsyness.

There are others and some more significant too but the biggest problem at least regarding the best PD drug, leveodopa is after a number of years when the PD has become too advanced, it loses its efficacy. Even then I've heard of people successfully using Levodopa for 25 years.

Life is a hazzardous business whatever you do ...

[asborne]

Was in hospital emergency with bowel and allergic reaction. During heart test jaw movement uncontroled started, nurse said whats going on. It was never mentioned again as usual. Should have made further enquiries at time but wasnt feeling well and missed the chance to progress condition.