Parkinson's is known as a movement disorder. If we look deeper into how Parkinson's manifests itself, there are two different types of movement disorders. There are Bradykinesia and Dyskinesia. Bradykinesia appears as a reduction in automatic movements. Examples include slowness of blinking, swinging of the arms while walking, or just slowness of actions. Bradykinesia is a cardinal symptom in the diagnosis of PD. A person must have bradykinesia along with a tremor or rigidity.
Dyskinesia involves people having uncontrolled, erratic, and writing movements. These can be slow and fluid or rapid and jerking. Dyskinesia is a complication of some Parkinson's medication and not a symptom of the disease itself. It occurs with long-term levodopa use to treat Parkinson's.
Treatment for Parkinson's requires taking enough Levedopa to control your symptoms. By taking the medication it eventually will result in the onset of dyskinesia. Each time a PWP takes their medication, we must make a choice. Do we continue to poison our body to treat one movement disorder for another?
Season 2 Episode 1 is packed full of honest conversation that strives to make the best of this situation.
Add your experience and suggestions to the conversation. If you would like to leave Daniel a voice message and you live in the U.S. call 1-706-873-1656. Email us at parkinsonsandmepodcast@gmail.com or visit our site parkinsonsand.me
