So, I don´t know if this is normal or not when you have a disease. That you become part of an amazing worldwide community of other people in the same shoes. But it's true for parkinsons. I found people before I had the diagnosis. People who knew exactly what I was going through and who were more than willing to chat with me, give advice, tell me about their own experience, etc. I didn't realize at the time the value of this community the way I do now. I truly feel like we are in this TOGETHER. And they are not just any kind of people. I would go as far as to say - people who get PD are extraordinary people. Some true friendships have come out of this experience that I would not have been without. I am so very thankful for this silver lining of the terrible fate we all share. Next year I will be going to the World Parkinsons Congress in Barcelona and I can't wait to meet some of the friends I have made online in real life.
Tremor - This is the symptom that most people associate with PD. But not all people with PD have tremor, at least not as their main symptom. When I first went to the doctor with my symptoms, the first thing he told me was that I was shaking. I had not noticed this myself, but when I told some of my close friends about it, they admitted to have noticed that I was a little shaky. I was first diagnosed with Essential Tremor, which is different from Parkinson's tremor. Essential tremor is mostly action tremor whereas PD tremor occurs more at rest. About 70% of people with Parkinsons experience tremor at some point of their disease. For some it can be really debilitating. Luckily for me, I only have slight tremor that doesn't really affect me. However, if I get stressed or scared, I can start shaking more, and also when I am cold. Another less known kind of tremor that I do experience more is internal tremor. As the name suggests, it is tremor from within, not visible to others, but it can make you very uncomfortable.
Muscle tension / stiffness / rigidity is extremely common, and 9 out of 10 people with Parkinson's experience this. To me, it feels like the muscles in my left side are constantly tightened when they should be relaxing. As if I consciously have to relax them, but seconds later they tighten again. Stiffness can cause pain, fatigue from your muscles working all the time, it can make it hard to move or turn over in bed at night. Rigidity can happen in different parts of your body, like your arms, legs, back, neck, and even smaller facial muscles. This is why with time, many people with Parkinsons have a mask-like face with little expression, as their facial muscles are tight and stiff. This can be prevented by including the face when exercising, practicing face yoga, exaggerating facial expressions in front of the mirror, etc. Yoga and stretching in general also helps muscle tightness a lot.
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