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Helping Your Loved One Living with Parkinson's Disease
Lisa Reisman • Aug 28, 2019
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Helping Your Loved One Living with Parkinson's Disease
This highly complex neurological condition affects a million Americans. On average, it strikes at the age of 60, and fully 1% of Americans aged 60 or older live with it. Parkinson’s disease damages and kills cells in the brain and nervous system. Normally, those nerves communicate with each other and with the brain to cause movement. Parkinson’s disease significantly damages the flow of communication. It continues to deteriorate over time, taking your loved one’s control over his or her own body out of the equation.
So far, researchers have found little about what causes Parkinson’s disease, although some chemical imbalances, like low dopamine, correspond to Parkinson’s. While a hereditary link may exist, the link only seems to be significant when several family members have developed the disease. Additionally, we know from statistics that the disease appears among men more often than women. Other than those and sparse instances of direct environmental causes
(certain drugs, head injuries, and even pesticides), the cause of Parkinson’s remains a mystery in the vast majority of cases.
However, take heart. Research does have answers about the early signs of Parkinson’s, the stages of Parkinson’s, and living with Parkinson’s.
Signs
First things first. Early signs of Parkinson’s
begin subtly, sometimes just in one part of the body: small handwriting, an uncharacteristic lack of facial expression, digestive problems, quiet and slow speaking, shaking, and stiffness. As you can probably imagine, you can easily miss these small signs or misattribute them to age, so do your part to look out for changes in your loved one’s behavior. Any of them could signal that your loved one has sustained neurological damage from Parkinson’s.
Symptoms
In addition to these signs, your older loved one will likely experience some other complications:
Poor Sleep
Tremors and rigid muscles can make sleep very uncomfortable and difficult for your loved one. His difficulty controlling his bladder might wake him up throughout the night. Additionally, people with Parkinson’s disease are prone to developing REM sleep behavior disorder, in which his muscles will act out dreams involuntarily, which could hurt him during the night.
Help your loved one to stick to a sleep routine to prepare for at least 7 hours of sleep every night, and if she needs to take a nap to help her get through the day, encourage her to schedule that as well.
Blood Pressure
Parkinson’s disease correlates to lower blood pressure, and that can lead to lightheadedness, dizziness, exhaustion, and cognitive impairment. Low blood pressure weakens your loved one’s body, increasing his risk of falls and damaging his brain.
Drinking plenty of cold water, knowing when to take a rest, eating small amounts throughout the day, and getting regular aerobic exercise can help to regulate your loved one’s blood pressure.
Mental Health
Parkinson’s disease affects the nervous system, including the brain. Parkinson’s can therefore impair short-term memory, balance, multitasking ability, and speed in general. Parkinson’s disease also corresponds to lowered dopamine, which has a dual effect: low dopamine causes weakened motor control, and it can also cause depression and anxiety. In fact, depression can be an early warning sign
of Parkinson’s.
If you see any signs of either depression or Parkinson’s emerging in your elderly loved one, you should take her to see a neurologist and a psychiatrist. For the depressive symptoms, a psychiatrist can prescribe medicine to balance her dopamine and serotonin levels. These can differ from the medications a doctor would prescribe for depression alone, so check in with different specialists frequently.
Diagnosis and Treatment
Find a neurologist for your loved one who specializes in movement disorders. Although Parkinson’s disease does not have its own test yet, doctors know enough about Parkinson’s disease to understand symptoms and treat them.
If your loved one has two or more of these symptoms, he or she could receive a Parkinson’s diagnosis: tremors or shaking, slowed movement, stiffness, and imbalance.
Resources and tests can also rule out other illnesses. Brain imaging tests like MRIs, CT scans, and PET scans can show deficiencies unrelated to Parkinson’s, such as progressive supranuclear palsy, dementia, or essential tremor.
Doctors most commonly prescribe levodopa
to regulate dopamine, which in turn helps your loved one to control her muscles and movement. MAO-B can often supplement levodopa to encourage dopamine production. There are also dopamine agonists, which impersonate dopamine to trick the body into behaving as though it has enough dopamine. Talk to your doctor about your loved one’s allergies and other complications to be sure that he or she can select the correct medication for your loved one. She or he will also inform you and your loved one of the possible side effects associated with the medication and advise you on specific lifestyle choices.
Beyond medical treatment, you can help your loved one to improve his health at home. Relaxation and therapy can help to improve her condition. Meditation, yoga, massages, and even pets can help to calm your loved one’s nerves. Aerobic exercise, too, can help to strengthen muscles and improve balance. Dietary changes can help as well. Make sure that your loved one eats plenty of fiber and drinks plenty of water to help him with digestion, which Parkinson’s disease can complicate.
Parkinson’s disease differs case by case. The range and severity of your loved one’s symptoms will be unique to her. Together, we can personalize her care to make sure that she has everything she needs, including dignity and control.
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