Living with Parkinson's Disease - Meet others & come say hi

Welcome @mariemarie,
You'll meet a great group of supportive people in the Parkinson's group who will share their experiences and journeys with you. Exercise certainly helps anxiety. Here is an article and discussion you may be interested in reading:

- Depression and anxiety: Exercise eases symptoms http://mayocl.in/2med70Q

Marie, what is the BIG exercise program? What symptoms of Parkinson do you experience?

My symptoms are tight upper legs. I also need to work on my left foot gait. I'll get back to u regarding BIG. It's stretching and shouting. I'll know better what it's about once i start. I guess u know boxing is good, too.

@mariemarie Hi Marie: I'm sorry to hear of your diagnosis but I have a similar diagnosis, mild Parkinson syndrome. I do take a small amount of meds, but exercise is the best med of all. I'm glad to hear that you can participate in the BIG program as well as Peddling for Parkinson. I have done the BIG program but not the Peddling but I've known of lots of friends in support groups who have done both and they speak very highly of the Pedaling program. Exercise really does help maintain balance and range of motion and stalls the effects of PD. My Parkinson symptoms began with an uncertain gait, foot dropping and vocal problems. Please feel free to share what symptoms led you to the doctor, we would enjoy getting to know you better.

@mariemarie Yes, I have several friends involved in Boxing for PD. They speak highly of that as well. Teresa

Hi teresa,
So we both have same diagnosis. Is a syndrom same as disease? Mine started with numbness in left leg then gait issue january 2016. Went to Emory Atlanta last year. Doc did not think i had PD. Suggested a DAC scan which was abnormal. But neurologist in Knoxville where i live said i had very subtle symptoms. Said to exercise. Went to Mayo in Florida last week. Neurologist said he believed i had Mild Parkinson Syndrome. Said i need to do 150 minutes/week of exercise. I belong to a fitness center. Went this am. I hired a personal trainer. Did one hour exercise this am. I live alone but have great family within minutes.

@mariemarie I'm under the impression that "syndrome" is less serious than disease, however, I don't know that as a medical fact. My neurologist told me not to be concerned about becoming very disabled. I have not had the numbness or tightness that you mentioned but I do have the gait issues. I have a staggery-walk, especially if I'm tired or not on time with meds. I just can't walk in a straight line, however with the meds and exercise my gait is much better. I will also have the foot drop if I'm low on the meds. Before I started taking the meds I would have the "freezing." It is where you have a hard time walking through a door way, or just walking forward at any place. it's like you are frozen in one spot. Have you had that symptom? I just take small doses of medicine two or three times a day and that keeps me walking well. The meds seem to increase the communication between my brain and my lower extremities. I also had neurologists tell me that I didn't have PD but after a few falls I decided to look into the matter again and got a diagnosis. I'm glad I did as I'm sure you are as well. Keep in touch and we will both keep exercising! Teresa

Haven't had freezing. Doesn't mean i won"t. When were u diagnosed?

@mariemarie Perhaps you will never have the freezing. I was diagnosed about four years ago, but had the symptoms for about 15 years prior to that. They just became really annoying though at the time of diagnosis and were resulting in falls. Have you had any falls? The first neurologist I saw when the symptoms first started thought it might be early stages MS, but could not prove it. Later another neurologist thought it could be early stages PD, but I thought that you had to have tremors and be at least 70 to have PD and I was in my late 40's at that time. I've also had voice problems, do you have a weak voice as well? Teresa

Teresa, no falls. I was told the BIG program teaches u how to talk louder. Wonder how that's done??? I'm 71. U are young to have PD.

Marie

@mariemarie The BIG program is good for speech problems for PD folks,a speech therapist will help you practice projecting your voice. I could not use it because I have a paralyzed left vocal cord. Most PD patients have voice problems but not usually a paralyzed vocal cord. Makes me different, I suppose. I had the vocal cord treated at Cleveland Clinic. They implanted a silastic implant so that the paralyzed cord would close up with the working cord and that helped with swallowing, choking and speech. This is not typical for PD patients, so don't worry about it. Thanks for calling me young, I'm just a few years behind you actually. There is a new term called "young-onset" Parkinson's and it is for diagnosis under the age of 50. My PD probably started in my late 40's and was not diagnosed for a number of years. It's been an interesting journey to say the least! It has been nice getting to know you. Teresa