If you have Parkinson’s disease (PD), you may notice that, with time, your medications start to wear off between doses.
While PD symptoms fluctuate throughout the day and are not always visible, certain symptoms should never be attributed to Parkinson’s. Headache, fever, loss of muscle strength or sensation, vision loss and vertigo are not symptoms of PD.
Call your doctor if you experience these symptoms so that other causes can be eliminated.
Also contact your doctor if:
• There’s any noticeable change in symptoms, e.g. severe episodes of “freezing” (sudden mobility loss that affects walking).
• Your response to medication changes.
• You or a family member detects symptoms of depression, memory or reduced thinking ability.
Remember that PD progresses very slowly. So, if your PD symptoms worsen over days or weeks, it’s critical to search for an underlying cause.
Also, symptoms that appear suddenly – e.g. chest pain, shortness of breath, loss of mobility, weakness or difficulty with speech – warrant immediate medical attention to rule out an emergency.
