Living with Parkinson's

Living with Parkinson's Diseases adds daily challenges to everyday life. In my previous blog post, I described the symptoms of Parkinson's disease and some of the difficulty people who suffer from Parkinson's Disease face on a daily basis. As I mentioned previously, symptoms of Parkinson's include tremors of the body including the limbs, face, and stiffness in the body. In addition, slower movements and lack of coordination are also symptoms of Parkinson's Disease. As the disease progresses over time, the patient will have more difficultly completing everyday tasks including walking, chewing, talking, and sleeping. In some cases, the disease will progress quicker than others. The disease also effects emotional stability in the patient and could cause emotional changes as well.

A person in early stage Parkinson's Disease may

experience symptoms with their posture and gate (MedStoreRx).

Living with this disease is a day to day challenge. According to the National Parkinson Foundation, there are five stages of Parkinson's disease and it can take a patient up to 20 years to go through each of these stages. During stage one, the patient has mild symptoms of tremors and other movement disorder that occur on only one side of the body but at this stage patients do not notice an interferce with their everyday life. As the disease progresses to stage two, the symptoms are increasing and symptoms will start to affect both sides of the body. At this stage symptoms can include trouble walking and difficultly completely everyday tasks. The person may still be able to complete tasks they always could but it may start to take them longer. In stage three of Parkinson's Disease, the patient will notice loss of balance, slow movements, and increased risk of falls. A patient with stage three Parkinson's is still able to function on their own but their condition does effect their daily routine. Patients at this stage may have trouble completely everyday tasks such as dressing and eating. As the disease progresses to stage four, most people need assistance with everyday life and are unable to live alone. They will have trouble walking and symptoms are more serious that before. Stage five is the final stage of Parkinson's Disease which results in severe mobility issues including the possible need for a wheelchair and daily assistance. At this stage a person, may be unable to leave the bed and require a full time nurse to help them complete their everyday routine. In addition to the physical struggles a stage five patient faces, they are also facing emotion changes including possibly hallucinations or delusions.

If you are interested in more information on the stages of Parkinson's Disease,  click here to watch a video describing the stages of Parkinson's.

References

MedStoreRx (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.medstorerx.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/parkinsons-disease.jpg

National Parkinson Foundation: Believe in Better. Retrieved November 19, 2016, from http://www.parkinson.org/understanding-parkinsons