Stages of Parkinson's Disease

Taking care of a person with Parkinson’s is tough and it progressively gets tougher as the condition progresses. Samiksha Sivan, Clinical Psychologist, PDMDS talks about caregiver burnout and how a caregiver can take of herself/himself.  “It is extremely tough to see my husband, who was such a lively person become so dull and expressionless. I help him with most of his everyday tasks now and he seems to realise somewhere that he is dependent on me and he hates it! I worry a…

A grandchild remembers grandpa Zend Merwan Zend and how the progression of  Parkinson's Disease affected the man, his activities of daily living but not his zest and will power for life. Zend The Boxer (1948) Zend The Baker (1950) Zend the Marathoner (2012-2013)  Zend The Conqueror (Afternoon newspaper 26-7-12) The above titles are what Zend Merwan Zend (Born :9-12-1935) is known by. I simply call him Grandpa!  At the age of 60, my grandfather (I hero worship him) had suddenly…

Marianne de Nazareth recounts how traumatic it has been to see both her parents suffer from Parkinson’s and how the progressive disease strips the dignity of the individual. Parkinson’s is an old disease in our house. Both my Dad and Mom were afflicted with it, unfortunately.  My Dad was ravaged by it first, and now it is after my Mom. It has been tormenting our family for nearly three decades now. My father, Anthony Michael Furtado, got Parkinson’s in his mid-50s. We started noticing a…

Rajeev, 56 has been diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease but is unsure of the reaction he will receive if he shares his diagnosis of Parkinson's with his social circle. What do you think he should do?  Living in Dread “Hey, WHAT happened to you? Are you all right?”, screamed my cousin Sony who met me after several years at a wedding. Gosh! The secret is out, I thought. “I am all right, why?”, I said, keeping up the charade. “You are too slow”, he was spot on.  Sony is a doctor and he…

Sudha Meiyappan, founder of Parivarthan, shares Mr. Sagarmal Dugar's conscious approach to Parkinson's and to his life.  Parivarthan is a community support group in Chennai that provides a safe platform to those diagnosed with Parkinson’s disorder.  There are few people who are so inspiring that each interaction with them leaves one with a feeling of lightness and hope.  Mr. Sagarmal Dugar (holding the mike in the picture above) approached us in early 2016 wanting to be…

The lesser known non-motor, psychological symptoms of Parkinson’s disease such as depression and anxiety can be more difficult to manage and more disabling than the characteristic motor problems like tremors and rigidity. Learn more about it from psychologist Meghana Srinivasan from Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorder Society (PDMDS). Parkinson’s disease is primarily known to be a neurological disorder that is mainly characterised by problems in body movements that affect daily…

Dr Kapil Agarwal, Senior Consultant & HOD Department of Neurology at W Pratiksha Hospital in Gurgaon, discusses some salient issues about Parkinson’s Disease and how one can tackle it best. Symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease Following symptoms may indicate that patient may be suffering from Parkinson's disease: Tremors of hands, head, body, etc. Slowing of movements in routine activities like walking, eating, dressing, bathing, etc. Reduction of facial expressions- decreased blinking of eyes…

Shaila Bhagwat, 67 has Parkinson's which affects her right-side. She makes every effort to remain independent and self-reliant with an assorted and strict regimen of exercises, yoga, meditation, laughter and music therapy, gait training, handwriting practice, knowledge building, among other resolutions. Four years ago, I had a tendon tear in the right shoulder and had a suture anchor inserted. It took me 2 months to recover from my surgery with the help of physiotherapy. But unfortunately, as…

Sometimes willpower can knock out even health adversities. As in the case of 72-year-old Rajendra M Thakkar, retired General Manager of Reserve Bank of India, who straightened out his speech impairment, a symptom of Parkinson’s, through sheer grit and diligent exercises. When my Parkinson’s set in a few years back, I was in the midst of cardiological issues and bypass surgery, and didn’t pay much attention to the mild trembling of my hands and legs. But when my speech started getting affected…

Mr Hari Prasad, who underwent the Deep Brain Stimulation operation about 3 years back to stall growing symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease, is a happy and relaxed person today, sharing his views on PD and DBS. Hari, how many years has it been since you had the DBS operation? Exactly three years. (Operation done end of March 2015) Read how Hari stopped popping pills for Parkinson's Disease every 2 hours  Has it been smooth for you since you had the operation? More or less. There has been no…