Anyone here have it or know someone who does?

I'm going to a neurologist in relation to what happened to me in this thread. He seems to think I have Parkinson's due to the fact that ct scans showed no damage from a stroke. He's the only doc that seems to have this opinion.

My questions are, does Parkinson's just up and hit you in the head one day, or is it a gradual thing? And does it only affect one part of the body (arm/hand in this case) or is it a full body type of thing?

Have you had an MRI of the brain with and without contrast? That will show a lot more of what is going on with the vascular system than a cat scan. Also, have they checked your B12 level? With the diabetes issues going on, your nutrition and uptake may have been screwed up. Severe B12 deficiency can cause all kinds of neurological issues. Regarding Parkinson's, my mom had a vascular form of Parkinson's, and it did come on somewhat suddenly, manifesting with balance and tripping issues. The MRI would better show the small vascular issues that could cause that kind of Parkinson's.

txags92 said:

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Have you had an MRI of the brain with and without contrast?

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Yes. They were clear.

My concern is I've been on a regimen of Dopamine and Ropinirole (typical Parkinson's treatment) for a while now and have seen no improvement at all. In fact, I stopped taking them a few days ago and I think the tremor in my arm has improved slightly. I'm thinking I need to go to another neurologist.

TequilaMockingbird said:

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txags92 said:

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Have you had an MRI of the brain with and without contrast?

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Yes. They were clear.

My concern is I've been on a regimen of Dopamine and Ropinirole (typical Parkinson's treatment) for a while now and have seen no improvement at all. In fact, I stopped taking them a few days ago and I think the tremor in my arm has improved slightly. I'm thinking I need to go to another neurologist.

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Hmm. Where are you located? If in Houston, I see Dr Mary Ellen Vanderlick for my MS, and she is very good. Dr. William Ondo is the Parkinson's specialist that diagnosed my mom. I would recommend either of them highly. For my mom's vascular Parkinson's, adding dopamine didn't really do much beyond making her hallucinate. She responded better to ADHD meds and mental sharpness meds than to dopamine.

txags92 said:

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TequilaMockingbird said:

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txags92 said:

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Have you had an MRI of the brain with and without contrast?

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Yes. They were clear.

My concern is I've been on a regimen of Dopamine and Ropinirole (typical Parkinson's treatment) for a while now and have seen no improvement at all. In fact, I stopped taking them a few days ago and I think the tremor in my arm has improved slightly. I'm thinking I need to go to another neurologist.

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Hmm. Where are you located? If in Houston, I see Dr Mary Ellen Vanderlick for my MS, and she is very good. Dr. William Ondo is the Parkinson's specialist that diagnosed my mom. I would recommend either of them highly. For my mom's vascular Parkinson's, adding dopamine didn't really do much beyond making her hallucinate. She responded better to ADHD meds and mental sharpness meds than to dopamine.

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I'm in Midland?Odessa, but went to Dallas for my heart surgery.

The wildcard for me (with regard to my arm tremor) is the fact that I have a severely torn rotator cuff in that arm, which we think happened when I fell during the stroke event (I was holding on to the door knob when I fell). In the beginning the orthopedist suggested not operating on it right away. But I really think I need to have that fixed and then we'll see if that affects anything.

TequilaMockingbird said:

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Anyone here have it or know someone who does?

I'm going to a neurologist in relation to what happened to me in this thread. He seems to think I have Parkinson's due to the fact that ct scans showed no damage from a stroke. He's the only doc that seems to have this opinion.

My questions are, does Parkinson's just up and hit you in the head one day, or is it a gradual thing? And does it only affect one part of the body (arm/hand in this case) or is it a full body type of thing?

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I was just talking to a family friend who was recently diagnosed with Parkinson's. I think that he's in his mid to late 70s now.

Two or three weeks ago, he found himself unable to get up. He was transported to the hospital where they diagnosed his Parkinson's.

I went to the orthopedist this week. He is the one that had referred m e to the neurologist. When I told him the nuerologist was going the Parkinson's route he made a face, then said he couldn't really say things about other doctors. But he was going to refer me to another neurologist ASAP.

several things can cause parkinsonism

and, parkinsons can present in several different ways

a lot of things can cause tremors

neurologists often use meds (sinemet, requip, etc) to look for a good response to help confirm the diagnosis of parkinsons

with the details provided, your story seems quite atypical for parkinsons

As a fellow Midlander, get out of Midland for anything beyond routine medical issues. I definitely wouldn't see a local Neurologist or Neurosurgeon. The Neuro docs in the big cities see far more cases of just about everything.