Signs and symptoms of Parkinson’s disease develop gradually over time, depending on the age of onset. These can depend from individual to individual, and some early signs may even go unnoticed.
Usually, early Parkinson’s symptoms first reveal on one side of the body and remain worse on that side, even after it affects both sides.
Some of the first symptoms of Parkinson’s disease include:
Tremors: One of the common early signs is a slight tremor or shaking. It usually begins with a limb, often the hand or finger. It may cause patients to rub their thumb and forefinger back and forth. This is referred to as a pin-rolling tremor. Hand or feet may tremble when at rest.
Rigid Muscles: Another one among widely found Parkinson’s disease symptoms is muscle rigidity or stiffness. It can occur in any part of the body, limiting the movement of that particular muscle. One also feels considerable pain.
Erratic and Slow Movement: Also known as bradykinesia, Parkinson’s disease may slow down your body movements, cause distinct discomfort completing simple tasks, and make it time-consuming. For example, you will find increased difficulty getting out of the bed or chair and require dragging your feet while you walk.
Loss of Automatic Movements: Parkinson’s disease also decreases your body’s ability to perform automatic functions like blinking, smiling, swinging arms while walking, etc.
Impaired Body Posture and Balance: Parkinson’s patients often suffer from a stooped posture and face difficulty maintaining body stability.
Speech Impairments: Speech impediments can also occur due to PD. One might speak softer, quicker or speeches may even become blurry in some cases. Further, it becomes more of a monotone, losing the usual inflections.
Writing Changes: As your hands become shaky and tremble, you will also face trouble while writing. It becomes slower, and writings may even appear smaller than they used to be.
Sleep Problems: Restless legs and other factors affect various sleep problems among PD patients. It also causes insomnia, dementia, hallucinations and delusions.
Loss of Smell: Another common symptom of several Parkinson’s disease symptoms is loss of sense of smell among patients.
Additional complications caused by Parkinson’s disease
- Mental health and emotional issues
- Problem while swallowing food or beverage
- Difficulty in chewing and eating
- Bladder problems
- Sleeping disorder
- Blood pressure fluctuations
- Constipation
- Difficulty in performing cognitive functions
- Sexual dysfunction
- Fatigue