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Parkinson's Disease
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Posted 3/30/2010 10:39 AM (GMT 0)
I am a 68 year old male and I have just been diagnosed as having PD.

My only symptom is that , when I go hiking, I start to keel over to the left after 4 or 5 miles. I recover after rest but then keel overagain after a shorter distance.

Has anyone any experience of this or any information that might help me keep on hiking

Trog

Posted 4/3/2010 12:27 AM (GMT 0)
I'm new to the chat room concept but read your post.  I was diagnosed with PD at 68 also; now 69.  I admire you.  If you are hiking 4 or 5 miles before reeling you are doing great. I don't know what is happening in the body but I suppose the neurons and dopamine levels are dropping and muscular problems are causing it.  I say, keep on keeping on for the miles you have and just readjust your sights a bit on what you can do.  Keep up the good work! 

Posted 4/3/2010 9:22 AM (GMT 0)
Hi slowmover

I am also new to chat rooms. I joined because I wanted to share experiences with people with prostate cancer which I also have. I have found some of the comments very helpful especially information about different treatments.

I had hoped that it would be the same for PD.

I have been experimenting by doindg long walks (up to 8 miles) at my own pace and have had no problems. The difficulty is that I run a walking group in Oxford and the problem arises in trying to keep up with the natural pace of the group. I doesn't happen on all the walks but is becoming more regular and, on the last walk, I needed support after 5 miles in order to get to lunch at a pub. I recovered over lunch and managed to complete the final 3 mies back to the car.

I have come across an article in a medical journal which describes a man of our age with identical symptoms.  He was diagnosed as having widespread small vessel disease. I was therefore shocked to have the diagnosis of PD and wonder why the diagnosis differed from the man in the article. Hence my approach to the chat room to find out if this condition is common and whether anyone has any advice on how to alleviate it.

I am having my head MRI scanned mext Thursday to check whether there are any underlying conditions to explain it. 

Thanks for your response

Posted 6/17/2010 7:35 AM (GMT 0)
Head MRI results show nothing specifically wrong, just the usual age related effects such as slight shrinkage etc.
Posted 6/19/2010 8:18 AM (GMT 0)
I have heard drivers veering their cars to the left but never people doing it while walking/running. I wonder if it is related to the loss of balance experienced in Parkinsons and is a right hand/left hand thing.
Posted 6/19/2010 12:46 PM (GMT 0)
Tucker bag - I have a slight balance problem but this is something that is a normal sign of ageing. Police use it as a indicator for age (I'm told).

I still ride a mountain bike cross country and can still keep my balance well enough for that.

The neurologist has diagnosed it as an early sign of PD because I have no other symptoms

Trog

Posted 6/21/2010 2:12 AM (GMT 0)
Dear Trog
I share your scepticism about the diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease based on a single symptom. To my knowledge there is still no diagnostic toool for PD and diagnosis is generally made by elminating all other possible causes of the symptoms. Your response to parkinson's medications can also indicate whether you have PD or something else. A big problem for neurologists is that people with PD vary so much in their presentation of the disease and I don't pretend to have the same expertise as your neurologist, however, I think that I would be seeking a second opinion if I were you.
Posted 6/21/2010 9:13 AM (GMT 0)
Dear Tucker bag

Thanks for your reply but I think it will not be in my interest to seek any further advice on PD as there will be no benefit now I know that there is no treatment for it.

My main interest in this forum was to find other people who had experienced Pisa walking and find out how they coped with it.

In the last 18 months I have been diagnosed with so many medical problems that have been difficult to come to terms with.

Pisa walking is the only obvious symptom of anything wrong with me. And that only comes on after 5 or 6 miles of strenuous hiking (we call it rambling in the UK). Since most of my social life is based on the walking group, which I lead, it will be difficult for me to give up and hence my quest for further information.

The other medical conditions, non of which show no obvious symptoms, may also have an effect and Pisa walking may be due the the extra demands on my body of these other diseases.

I am the opposite of a hypocondriac: I went into my doctor's surgery 18 months ago to find out whether there was any treatment for my osteo arthritis and the blood and subsequent tests have led to me being diagnosed with prostate cancer, myelodisplasia ( a serious blood disorder) and low bone density. Two weeks ago I had a check up prior to an operation to determine the extent of my PCa only to find that my ECG trace showed that I had had a heart attack which has left me with a weak heart.

All of this I have found very hard to believe as I lead an active life style I hike and swim and do cross coutry mountain biking without being aware of the fragile nature of my health. I feel fit and well so I am still carrying on these activities but avoiding extreme exertion. I am awaing hospital test to see how badly damaged my heart is.

I am sorry, I have just realised that most of this has anything to do with PD but once I started, it just seemed to flow. The only relevaance to PD is that I have put it on the back burner until I get some of these other problems sorted out

Trog

P.S. there was no treatment for osteo- arthritis. Sometimes ignorance is bliss

 

Posted 6/21/2010 10:39 AM (GMT 0)
Trog.
WOW, I salute you and I will say no more.
Posted 6/21/2010 10:39 PM (GMT 0)
Dear tucker bag


I'm sorry my earlier reply may have sounded like a bit of a rant. I guess that sometimes I feel that there is no end to the number of medical conditions that they find wrong with me.

I feel well and try to carry on as normal but I am spending a lot of time going to the hospital for a check up on one of the conditions only to come away with the knowledge that they have found something else that has no connection with the original problem.

I need a break.

Kindest regards

Trog

Posted 6/22/2010 5:16 AM (GMT 0)
I am new to this site also. I have quite a story and no, I am not drinking...my story is true. I am a 58 yearold female. Very active. Diagnosed with PD in 2004. Had done rather well with it until 2008 when my husband, 60, died from Creutzfeld-Jacob Disease...commonly known as"Mad Cow." I spiraled into deep depression and the PD worsened. The odds of CJD are one in a million. I was married to that one. On Jan. 12th of this year, I had Deep Brain Stimulation at the Univerisity of Al. in Birmingham. It was an awsome and wonderful experience for me. Seven hours on the table with no pain!!! I experienced immediate relief and would highly recomend taking that chance to anyone.. On Feb, 13, my beautiful sister,56, became very ill and died on April 2 of......CJD. Chances, 2 in a billion in one family. Needless to say I am being tested. I spiraled again and my DBS slowed down on me. My Drs. have worked closlely with me and I will be victorous over this. God loves me and I know it. There is an internal investigation with the CDC about the CJD. It is a coming illness!!!! I am not sure if I am writing for PD or CJD but life is good and I hope this helps someone!! May God bless each of you!!! Tipsydi
Posted 6/22/2010 11:58 AM (GMT 0)
welcome to HealingWell.I wish you the best.Life sure is a challenge,and it seems that you got more then your share of challenges.Thankyou for your input,and I hope you find support here.,and God Bless you.Ed
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