Parkinson’s disease was first discovered in 1817 in London by James Parkinson as a neurological syndrome. In the earlier years Parkinson’s was referred to as “Shaking Palsy”, in which James Parkinson wrote and published an essay about. As the years and research carried on, Parkinson’s disease was coined by William Sanders but then popularized by the same French Neurologist that founded Multiple Sclerosis, Jean Martin-Charcot.

There are numerous signs that a person may display before they are officially diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. No single one of these signs indicate Parkinson’s, but if more than one signs are showing it might be important to schedule an appointment with a doctor to be able to rule out Parkinson’s.

1. Tremors while resting.

• Slight shaking in finger, thumb or chin
• Shaking can be normal after exercising and or stress. Shaking can occur with certain medications as well. Shaking should stop once you rest after exercising or calm down after being stressed. Shaking from medication should stop once the medication is discontinued.

2. Small Handwriting:

• When writing letters have become much smaller than it was in the past and cramped together. This condition is referred to as Micrographia.
• It can be normal for handwriting to change with age or if you have stiff hands or fingers or are dealing with other conditions such as arthritis.

3. Loss of smell:

• Trouble smelling foods like bananas, dill pickles or licorice.
• It is common for smell to change by a cold, flu or stuffy nose, but the smell will return to normal in when situations heal.

4. Trouble sleeping:

• Thrashing around in bed or acting out dreams while deeply asleep or sudden movements during asleep.
• We all have nights we toss and turn instead of sleep, but that is common because we do have good nights of sleep. Quick jerks of the body with initiation of sleep or when in a lighter sleep are common.

5. Trouble moving or walking:

• Stiff feeling in body, arms or legs that does not go away. Your arms do not swing like they use to when walking. Stiffness or pain in shoulders and or hips.
• It is normal to experience stiffness if there has been an injury to the arms or shoulder, but if there has not been any injury and the sensation does not go away, it is a good idea to speak to a doctor about these issues.

6. Constipation:

• Straining to move your bowels is very unhealthy.
• Not having enough water or fiber in your diet and certain medications can lead to constipation, so once you eliminate or correct those factors, the constipation should clear up.

7. Soft or low voice:

• Significant and noticeable changes in the voice.
• Chest colds and other viruses can alter the voice, but will go away and voice will return to normal once the illness is gone.

8. Masked Face: Serious, depressed or mad facial expression on face

9. Dizziness or Fainting:

• Feeling dizzy or fainting regularly when stand up from chair.
• Dizziness and fainting can be a sign of low blood pressure as well.

10. Stooping or hunching over when standing up and you used to be able to stand up straight.

Just like when I wrote about Multiple Sclerosis, I was pretty shocked on just how long this disease has been around for. I also found it pretty amazing that one of the Neurologists that was researching Parkinson’s Disease also did much research on Multiple Sclerosis. I fully understand that Parkinson’s disease and Multiple Sclerosis are vastly different, but they are both Neurological issues that affect daily life, so maybe that is one reason I understand my step father as much as I do. When my husband and I are around him, I am very aware of any changes my step father is experiencing. As a strong nature man I know this disease bothers him because he is not able to do all the things he use to do. This man had a strong passion for model airplanes and loved flying them, but now due to the shaking finds it difficult to fly the planes. It breaks my heart to see him suffer and I do hope that cure will be founded soon. Being a man that I love and respect, I will never stop being on his support team! There are way too many people around the world that suffer with this disease, but just like my step father they all keep fighting. I try to offer my step father encouraging words and lift his spirits as much as I can because he needs that extra support. I always tell him how well he is doing and that keeping up the battle against Parkinson’s might be difficult, but will pay off in the long run. Sadly, I can completely relate to how he feels fighting a battle that seems impossible, but giving up will never be an option for either of us!

I appreciate y’all visiting my site today and I would love to read your comments. Please stay tuned for more information regarding Parkinson’s Disease as my next post will be about the different symptoms a person may go through after they have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s. I have found that there are Primary and Secondary Symptoms Parkinson’s warriors may deal with.

I hope y’all have had a lovely and enjoyable weekend! It seems as though the weather is trying to be spring, but has a bad moment from time to time sending chilly weather our way. I hope the rest of your Sunday is relaxing as you prepare for another new week! As always, I am sending y’all lots of love and comfort!

Always, Alyssa