Coping with Parkinson’s

THERE is currently no cure for Parkinson’s disease, but treatments are available to help relieve the symptoms and maintain a quality of life. In last week’s article, I went over the medicines used to treat the condition. Today, I will discuss another side of managing Parkinson’s disease including supportive therapies, surgical methods and dietary adjustments.

If you are a Parkinson’s disease victim, there is no doubt that you still remember the exact moment when you received the bad news of the diagnosis. A lot of things go through your mind then for sure including, what will happen to me? Will I be a burden on my family and loved ones, and most importantly, can it be cured?

The most important approach in managing Parkinson’s disease is linking the individual with the specialist multi-disciplinary team in hospital and outpatient clinic to receive the best supportive therapy there is and plan for the future. Supportive therapies include the following:
1. Physiotherapy: Parkinson’s is a movement disorder where movement, walking and balance are affected. With a perfect balance between medications and movement physiotherapy including, falls education and muscle-strengthening exercises, these symptoms can be overcome.
2. Social support: the home will need to be adjusted to fit the needs of the individual with adequate home support by family members and public local nurses and caregivers. This is very costly and requires planning. The social worker provides financial and planning support.
3. Occupational therapy: Parkinson’s affects the activities of daily living. From being able to button your shirt to driving your car to the supermarket. The occupational therapist looks at the individual’s function in the house and at work. They provide tools and education to improve matters. For example, due to the tremors that occur with Parkinson’s disease, feeding oneself using an ordinary spoon can be very difficult and messy. With the proper tools, having a meal can be much easier.
4. Speech and language therapy: many people with Parkinson’s disease have swallowing difficulties (dysphagia) and problems with their speech (dysarthria). A speech and language therapist can often help improve these problems by teaching speaking and swallowing exercises, or by providing assistive technology for communication.
5. Diet advice: for some people with Parkinson’s disease, making dietary changes can help improve some symptoms, such as increasing the amount of fibre in your diet and making sure you are drinking enough fluid to reduce constipation. Also, increasing the amount of salt in your diet and eating frequent, small meals to avoid problems with low blood pressure, such as dizziness when you stand up quickly.
6. Psychiatry: being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease can be life altering. A lot of individuals get depressed. There is no shame with this diagnosis. Treating it early is extremely important to achieve the maximum quality of life possible.
7. Other therapies: include surgical treatments, these are still under trials and research and are often used if medical treatments are not effective and in special circumstances.
 
Surgery for Parkinson’s disease has come a long way since it was first developed more than 50 years ago. The newest and most commonly used version of this surgery, deep brain stimulation, was developed in the 1990s, see illustration, left.

Worldwide, about 30,000 people have had deep brain stimulation. It is mainly effective for tremors and abnormal movements that occur when the medication effect wears off. The individual uses a hand held remote to activate the device once the symptoms start. As mentioned, it is not for everyone and used only in special circumstances.

A mixture of medicines and supportive therapies can make living with Parkinson’s disease easier and can help you deal with your symptoms on a day-to-day basis.

Most importantly, a plan should be laid out for an individual as soon as he or she is diagnosed with this debilitating disease. Proper education and knowing the course of the illness and how it progresses are also important.