Why Monitoring Every Parkinson’s Symptom Matters

“We must never neglect the patient’s own use of his symptoms.” Alfred Adler

“A sick thought can devour the body’s flesh more than fever or consumption.” Guy de Maupassant

Painful Leg Cramps with Parkinson’s: I bent down to put some extra toilet paper rolls into a bathroom cabinet this morning. Suddenly, the hamstring muscles in both legs cramped up like I was trapped in a large vise. After a few seconds of pain, I realized I must break through the lack of mobility, straighten up, and stretch out these constricted muscles.

And I immediately thought, were these leg cramps caused by Parkinson’s? Alternatively, could these cramps be related to an old sports injury involving the spinal lumbosacral joint (L5-S1) interaction? Or could it be some manifestation of the newly diagnosed arthritis in my hips?

Likely, the muscle cramps were just one of the many aspects of Parkinson’s. With age, it seems that injuries are magnified in intensity and frequency in the presence of Parkinson’s.

“It is man’s natural sickness to believe that he possesses the truth.” Blaise Pascal

Remember the Main Symptoms of Parkinson’s: It is essential to mention the significant symptoms of Parkinson’s, which include:

• Poor balance (postural instability).
• Stiffness of the arms, legs, and neck (rigidity).
• The slowness of movement (bradykinesia).
• Tremor.

Additional common symptoms include lack of arm swing while walking, difficulty walking, softer speaking voice, smaller handwriting, and a swallowing defect. The most common non-motor symptoms include sleep disorders, cognitive effects, psychosis, and depression.

Whether you have only a few symptoms or many symptoms, their expression describes your case of Parkinson’s. Our individuality with the disorder makes it even more complicated than it is already.

Thus, living with Parkinson’s manifests how symptoms are expressed in every individual. And various events can magnify the multiple signs. For instance, not getting enough sleep can accentuate many symptoms. And elevated levels of stress can ignite your Parkinson’s symptoms. Getting too cold can lead to uncontrollable shivers. Furthermore, staying hydrated during a hot day is essential, as dehydration with fatigue can magnify many signs.

“I am not afraid to die; I am only afraid of saying goodbye to you forever.” Shannon L. Alder

Everyone Has Their Collection of Symptoms with or Without Parkinson’s: A recent golf foursome was comparing/contrasting our current medical conditions, ranging from triple bypass surgery to knee and hip replacement, respectively. At that moment, my Parkinson’s symptoms seemed minimal compared to these medical calamities. But it is not bragging or boasting when we describe our medical conditions. It is because we want to share the information, so we would better understand our current dilemma and situation.

Our response to Parkinson’s somewhat aligns with resilience and inner strength, our ability to cope with changing health conditions. It also amounts to us remaining positive, not negative. Living with Parkinson’s requires somewhat of a hopeful belief system and not as much of a giving-up personality. Life with Parkinson’s firmly resides in your willingness to live in the presence of Parkinson’s and other disorders.

“Self-contemplation is infallibly the symptom of disease.” Thomas Carlyle

Prioritizing Your Medical Condition(s): Parkinson’s is with you for the rest of your life; thus, you must monitor and control it daily. Yes, other things contribute to your overall well-being. Still, the constancy of Parkinson’s teaches one to be acutely aware of its issues and symptoms.  

My mixture of symptoms of Parkinson’s compared to your individual assembled symptoms will be somewhat similar yet likely different. Such are Parkinson’s and life. Such is life as we age. And wrapped around all this are your other conditions, such as cardiovascular, cancer, musculoskeletal, and neurological disorders. Yes, your heart, liver, kidney, lungs, and organs are all vital to your continued good living. 

“Your opinions are your symptoms.” Tom Stoppard

Balancing Act of Life with Parkinson’s: You must understand your symptoms and use your clinical healthcare team to maintain your health for longevity and quality-of-life (QoL). Clearly explaining how you feel and how your medications are working (or not) is extremely important. Understanding your symptoms from Parkinson’s will undoubtedly contribute to improving your QoL.  

Okay, so it is also likely as we age that, we will add symptoms, troubles, and clinical issues such that these non-Parkinson’s clinical features may become even more important than Parkinson’s. Thus, it is critical to manage everything very carefully and understand both your disorders’ short- and long-term consequences.

Over time, some of you will still have almost perfect health. Others will have only mildly perturbing symptoms from all your disorders. Others may have severe complications outside of Parkinson’s that contribute to poor health.

Managing Parkinson’s requires self-awareness that allows one to assess their disability daily. Furthermore, an active medical plan coordinated with your healthcare providers, and family/friends, will go a long way to give you the highest yield for your continued good health and QoL. The final key is to focus on today and not fret about tomorrow.

“We live in a time when the words impossible and unsolvable are no longer part of the scientific community’s vocabulary. Each day we move closer to trials that will not just minimize the symptoms of disease and injury but eliminate them.” Christopher Reeve

Cover Photo Image by Dimitris Vetsikas from Pixabay