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What is it Like To Go Through Diagnosing Parkinson's Disease

Maybe you have noticed some slight tremors in your hands or fingers, or your foot, mouth or chin tremors. Your first clue may not be tremors but perhaps you notice that you are walking slower than you usually do, or you are shuffling as you walk. Your first symptom may be drooling or having difficulty speaking. Movements that require rapid movements are usually the first that you will notice having difficulty with, movements such as dancing, writing, speaking, or typing.

Parkinson's is usually a disease of individuals over age 56 with the usual age for onset being 65. Occasionally someone young will be diagnosed but that is unusual. Parkinson's is a chronic, meaning long term and it is also a progressive disease, meaning that it will continue to get worse as the years pass. Your symptoms will get more noticeable or intense. There are a few individuals who have symptoms that progress rapidly, but usually the progression is slow.

Half of people age 85 or older has Parkinson's and 15 percent of the 65 to 74-age population have Parkinson's. Other than age statistics there is no other way to predict whether or not you will get Parkinson's. If you have a person in your family that has Parkinson's you are more likely to get Parkinson's.

When an individual brings a symptom to the attention of a doctor, the doctor will start to rule out other diseases or conditions. To do this, the doctor will take x-rays, blood tests or brain scans in order to see if they are positive for other diseases. The doctor will take a complete medical history and a family history as well as information about symptoms, your activity level, and any medications you currently take, and also any current medical problems you are experiencing as well as any toxic exposures that you are aware of. Your doctor will then conduct a physical examination. Your doctor may refer you to a neurologist to help establish the diagnosis.

It is especially difficult to diagnose Parkinson's disease in the beginning stages of the disease. It is even difficult for neurologists to make the diagnosis some times. Basically because the disease is diagnosed by the symptoms it is important to give good details about what symptoms you are having, how long they last and the intensity of the symptoms and how it affects your life.

The medical and personal history will be like clues to reveal relevant symptoms. The history will also reveal any medications that you take or have taken in the recent past, and any important information about exposure to environmental toxins.

Identifying early symptoms is important because early treatment can slow the progression of the disease.

It is important for the doctor to witness as many of the symptoms that you are having as possible. This is why the doctor will ask you to walk in front of the doctor, or to get in and out of a chair, usually a deep chair. The doctor will look for the occurrence of symptoms on only one side of the body.

If the diagnosis is being made once the disease has progressed the symptoms are more pronounced and are unmistakable. When the disease is more advanced the diagnosis is generally made based on symptoms alone or by conducting simple physical tests and a medical and personal history.

Some of the tests conducted are a smell test, drug challenge test, imaging tests, and tests that rule out Parkinsonism, and other diseases that mimic Parkinson's disease such as arteriosclerosis, and Alzheimer's disease.