Parkinson's Disease For Dummies (eBook)

Jo Horne, Michele Tagliati (Autoren)

eBook Download: EPUB

2022 | 2. Auflage
448 Seiten
Wiley (Verlag)
978-1-119-89360-8 (ISBN)

Infos

Maintain a take-charge attitude and live your life to the fullest with Parkinson's

Whether the diagnosis is yours or that of a loved one, Parkinson's Disease for Dummies contains everything you need to know about living with this disease. This book is an easy-to-understand, straightforward, and sometimes humorous guide that offers proven techniques for coping with daily issues, finding the right doctors, and providing care as the disease progresses. This user-friendly guide helps you navigate you through the important steps toward taking charge of your condition. You aren't alone—inside, you'll discover proven coping skills and first-hand advice, along with practical tools that will help you navigate the treatment journey. In classic, compassionate Dummies style, Parkinson's Disease For Dummies will answer all your questions, and guide you through the process of finding your own answers as well.

• Keep your mind sharp, stay in shape, and keep your stress under control
• Life a full and satisfying life after a Parkinson's diagnosis
• Get the most current information on Parkinson's medications and treatments
• Learn the best ways to support loved ones living with Parkinson's

With updates on the latest in alternative treatments, dementia, and young onset PD, Parkinson's Disease for Dummies is here to show you how you can keep a positive attitude and lead an active, productive life.

Michele Tagliati, MD is Vice Chair of Neurology and Director of Movement Disorders at Cedars Sinai Medical Center. He researches Parkinson's disease and other movement disorders.

Jo Horne, MA is an experienced author whose credits include Care giving: Helping an Aging Loved One and A Survival Guide for Family Caregivers.

Inhalt

Foreword xvii

Introduction 1

Part 1: Getting to Know PD 5

Chapter 1: Parkinson's Disease: The Big Picture 7

Chapter 2: Considering Possible Causes and Risk Factors 19

Chapter 3: Sizing Up Symptoms, Signs, and Stages 33

Part 2: Making PD Part -- But Not All -- of Your Life 47

Chapter 4: Getting an Accurate Diagnosis 49

Chapter 5: You've Been Diagnosed -- Now What? 69

Chapter 6: Drafting Your Healthcare Team and Making a Game Plan 85

Chapter 7: Choosing How and When to Share Your News 101

Chapter 8: Young Onset Parkinson's and Lewy Body Dementia 113

Part 3: Crafting a Treatment Plan Just for You 131

Chapter 9: Eat Well, Sleep Well, and Exercise 133

Chapter 10: Managing PD Symptoms with Prescription Medicines 171

Chapter 11: When Surgery Is an Option 187

Chapter 12: Considering Complementary and Alternative Medicine Therapies 199

Chapter 13: Combating Anxiety, Depression, and Apathy 215

Chapter 14: Clinical Trials and Your Role in the Search for a Cure 235

Part 4: Living Well with PD 247

Chapter 15: Maintaining Healthy Relationships 249

Chapter 16: PD in the Workplace 267

Chapter 17: Adjusting Your Routine While Your PD Progresses 281

Part 5: Coping with Advanced PD 297

Chapter 18: Facing the Progression of PD Symptoms 299

Chapter 19: When Care Partners Become Caregivers 319

Chapter 20: Putting Your Financial and Legal House in Order 343

Chapter 21: It's Just Bricks and Mortar: Housing Options You Can Live With 359

Part 6: The Part of Tens 379

Chapter 22: Ten Ways to Deal with Difficult Feelings 381

Chapter 23: Ten Ways to Care for Your Care Partner 387

Chapter 24: Ten Ways You Can Make a Real Difference 393

Appendix A: Glossary 399

Appendix B: Additional Resources 409

Index 415

Textauszug

Chapter 1

Parkinson’s Disease: The Big Picture

IN THIS CHAPTER

Seeing Parkinson’s disease for what it is — and what it isn’t

Making plans to establish and follow through on your care

Getting from here to there: Your present and future with PD

The National Center for Health Statistics (a division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) reports that approximately 1 percent of all Americans over the age of 65 receive a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Doctors diagnose 60,000 new cases every year. But you didn’t pick up this book because you’re interested in mass numbers. You opened it because you’re only interested in one number — for you or someone you love. You opened it because maybe you noticed some symptoms that made you think, “Parkinson’s,” or you just got a confirmed diagnosis and you’re wondering what’s next.

What’s next is for you to go into action mode: Understand the facts (rather than listen to the myths) about PD — what causes it, how it’s treated, and of huge importance to anyone diagnosed with PD, how to live with it. (Notice we said live, not just exist.) In this chapter, you can find the big picture of the rest of the book and (more to the point) where to find the information that you need right now.

Defining Parkinson’s — A Movement Disorder

Parkinson’s disease falls into a group of conditions called movement disorders (disorders that result from a loss of the brain’s control on voluntary movements). The normal action of several neurotransmitters in the brain may be affected by PD. The best-known neurotransmitter is dopamine, which relays signals from the substantia nigra to certain brain regions that control movement, balance, and coordination. In the brain of people who have Parkinson’s (PWP), cells that produce this essential substance (dopamine) die earlier than normal.

The brain regions that receive signals from the substantia nigra are the putamen, caudate, and globus pallidus — collectively named the basal ganglia — in the striatum; see Figure 1-1.

FIGURE 1-1: The dopamine pathway.

Although a whole group of conditions can cause parkinsonism (as defined by rest tremor, bradykinesia or slowness of movement, rigidity or stiffness, and postural instability or propensity for falling), the exact cause of parkinsonism is unknown and therefore you will see the disease defined as idiopathic PD. Idiopathic is a Greek word that means arising spontaneously from an unknown cause. As the term suggests, the jury is still out as to the underlying cause (although theories do exist).

Navigating the unpredictable path

Go into a room filled with 50 people with Parkinson’s (PWP), and they all vary when it comes to

• How they first suspected they had PD
• Signs of PD progression — from almost no progression to rapid onset of symptoms
• Attitudes and outlooks from the individuals dealing with their PD

When you’re diagnosed with PD, you set out on a unique journey — one where your outlook, lifestyle changes, and medical treatment can be key directional maneuvers along the way. In truth, this disease is one that you can live with, surrender to, or fight with everything you’ve got. The road veers and curves differently for each person. Some people may choose one path for managing symptoms, and some people choose another. Sometimes, the disease itself sets the course. The bottom line? No one can give you a clear roadmap. But you can count on one thing: Understanding the chronic and progressive nature of PD can take you a long way toward effectively managing your symptoms and living a full life.

Accepting the chronic progressive factors

Chronic and progressive can be scary words when you’re talking about your health. But keep the words in perspective. Any number of chronic conditions occur with age — arthritis, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol, to name three. So, take a realistic look at the terms, accept them for what they are (and aren’t), and move on.

Chronic: It’s part of you now

In medical terms, illnesses are either acute (develop quickly and usually go away with treatment or time) or chronic (develop over time, may be managed with treatment, but have no cure at this time). In short, a chronic illness such as PD (or arthritis or high blood pressure) is now part of you — a fact that can help or hinder you as you work to build and maintain quality of life.

If you refuse to accept that PD is a fact of life for you, then you’re wasting precious time and energy in denial. Remember that most people face many challenges in life; if you can accept that PD is yours, then you’re ahead of the game. Facing PD is no different than facing any situation that changes the way you think your life will turn out.

Progressive: It will get more challenging

Progressive, advancing, worsening — scary stuff. But to give you some good news: For millions of PWP, the progression takes years, even decades. Many PWP live relatively normal life spans following their diagnosis. However, two factors are essential for successfully containing PD’s progressive effects: your attitude and your willingness to attend to lifestyle and medical therapy.

Throughout this book, we address both factors in multiple ways, but for now, remember

• Your attitude: Refusing to allow this diagnosis to color every part of your routine and life gives you a huge assist in coping with the management of new symptoms through the years.
• Your willingness to take lifestyle changes seriously: Also, get involved in the fight to find a cure (see Chapter 24 for how). Being proactive can make all the difference between you managing the disease or the disease managing you.

Recognizing symptoms that raise questions

First things first: Do you have PD? Although researchers may not yet have a clear idea of the cause(s) for PD (see Chapter 3), they have established that the neurological symptoms of idiopathic PD usually start only on one side of the body and include at least two of these four key symptoms:

• Tremor at rest: Trembling in the hands, arms, feet, legs, or chin when you aren’t engaging that body part in activity
• Rigidity: Stiffness in the limbs and trunk, usually detected by the doctor and different from the joint stiffness typical of arthritis
• Abnormal movements: reduced dexterity and slowness of fine movements (bradykinesia)
• Postural instability: Impaired balance with tendency to fall or near fall

The first letters of the symptoms spell out the handy acronym TRAP to help you remember (like you need to be reminded!). The symptoms of PD can sometimes make you feel trapped inside your body. In this book, we work hard to show you a number of ways to fight back and maintain control of your life in spite of the TRAP.

Chapter 3 discusses symptoms (what you report to the doctor) and signs (what the doctor observes) in more detail.

Distinguishing between Parkinson’s Disease and Related Conditions

Several neurological conditions may at first appear to be idiopathic PD (without known cause), but doctors can sometimes eventually trace the symptoms back to some other neurological condition (essential tremor, for example). Such variants progress differently and respond differently to therapy. (Chapter 4 has more on the distinctions.)

The subtleties of diagnosing idiopathic PD may lead your family doctor to send you to a neurologist, a specialist in the treatment of neurological conditions or a movement disorders specialist, who is specifically trained to treat patients experiencing loss of motor function. If that happens, don’t panic, because it is actually a good thing. Getting the correct diagnosis, discussed in Chapter 4, is the first step toward figuring out what comes next for you and how to effectively deal with it.

A real condition or syndrome, but not PD

Non-PD conditions that can have similar symptoms include the following:

• Essential tremor (ET): Perhaps the most common type of tremor, affecting as many as five million Americans. ET differs from the tremor in idiopathic PD in several ways: ET occurs when the hand is active (as in eating, grasping, writing, and such). It may also occur in the head, voice, and legs.

  The renowned actress, Katherine Hepburn, had ET, not PD. You need to figure out whether you have ET or PD because each condition responds to completely different sets of medications.

• Atypical parkinsonian syndromes: May initially have the same symptoms as PD. But these syndromes will also cause early (within three years) and severe problems with balance, blood pressure, vision, and cognition. In addition, they do not respond to medications as well as PD and have a much faster progression than does PD.
• Secondary parkinsonism: Can result from traumatic brain injury or from damage to the brain due to multiple small strokes (atherosclerotic or vascular...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 7.7.2022
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Gesundheit / Leben / Psychologie
• Themenwelt: Medizin / Pharmazie ► Allgemeines / Lexika
• Schlagworte: Consumer Health Special Topics • Gesundheit • Gesundheits- u. Sozialwesen • Health & Social Care • Private Gesundheitsvorsorge / Spezialgebiete
• ISBN-10: 1-119-89360-7 / 1119893607
• ISBN-13: 978-1-119-89360-8 / 9781119893608