My posts on the early warning signs of Parkinson's and end-stage Parkinson's continue to be the most popular among my readers. People want to know when Parkinson's begins and when it will end.
Mike from Florida found my list helpful and expanded upon it to develop a more comprehensive list. Needless to say, no two people with Parkinson's are alike, and neither will develop the same symptoms nor exhibit all of these symptoms. This checklist is a general guideline for personal use. Contact your doctor for medical advice, diagnosis and treatment.
Checklist Compiled by Mike from Florida
( ) A tremor when limb is relaxed (about 25% of patients, however, will not have a tremor)
( ) Aching muscles
( ) Anxiety
( ) Change in facial expression (staring, Iack of blinking)
( ) Confusion
( ) Constipation
( ) Depression
( ) Difficulty making decisions
( ) Difficulty standing up (rising from seated position)
( ) Difficulty swallowing (not swallowing food, but just saliva)
( ) Dizziness
( ) Drooling
( ) Excessive daytime sleepiness
( ) Failure to swing one arm when walking
( ) Fatigue
( ) Flexion (stooped) posture
( ) "Frozen" painful shoulder
( ) Joint stiffness and pain
( ) Limping or dragging of one leg
( ) Loss of balance
( ) Loss of sense of smell
( ) Micrographia (small handwriting), and difficulty beginning handwriting
( ) Muscle pain (not caused from exercise), primarily in the thighs
( ) Numbness, tingling, achiness or discomfort of the neck or limbs
( ) Random sharp pain in joints
( ) Short-term memory loss
( ) Sleep disturbance
( ) Softness of the voice
( ) Strange sensations in hands
( ) Subjective sensation of internal trembling
( ) Symptoms on one side of the body
What this leaves out is slowness. What I noticed first was how slowly my husband ate, after being a fast eater. Would a shuffling walk also be included along with limping?
Posted by: Pam | February 27, 2008 at 06:57 PM
Hi Pam,
Thanks for your feedback about slowness of movement in PD(bradykinesia). I'm unsure how often it is an early sign of PD, but certainly hits us all living with PD at some point in time.
Kate
Posted by: Kate Kelsall | February 28, 2008 at 06:08 PM
Very accurate checklist. The sooner you catch that it is parkinsons, I believe that you will be able to slow the damage.
Posted by: Tim | April 14, 2008 at 09:58 PM
Thanks for this. :)
I'm going to the doctor's on Monday to get a referral to a Neurologist for my symptoms.
Posted by: Michael Hurd | March 28, 2012 at 05:57 AM