I was caught off-guard when a 70 year old newly diagnosed man with Parkinson's Disease (PD) asked questions about early symptoms. I frequently get questions from folks who were diagnosed when they were in their thirties or forties (young-onset persons living with PD --YOPD) who are currently in the advanced stages of PD. Whether young or old onset or early or advanced stage of PD, people have concerns and fears about living and dying with PD.
Getting back to the basics, the four primary symptoms of PD (I call them the "S Symptoms") include:
Shakiness--tremor
Slowness--also called bradykinesia
Stiffness--rigidity
Steadiness--balance and gait problems
You don't have to have all four symptoms to be diagnosed with PD. In fact, about 30% of those with PD never develop a tremor. There are a host of other symptoms beyond these four basic ones.
Here's the link to the story that I wrote about on my PD diagnosis 13 years ago in 1996: http://katekelsall.typepad.com/my_weblog/2006/11/ten_years_ago.html
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