Progression Of Parkinsons Disease
Symptoms of Parkinsons disease develop slowly and gradually progress over time. Each person is affected differently and the rate of progression varies greatly between individuals. Parkinsons disease in itself does not directly cause people to die, although the symptoms do get worse over time. It is possible to live with Parkinsons disease for more then 20+ years.
What Can Parkinson’s Home Care Do To Help
Your loved one may require assistance in order to stay healthy and independent. Continually adapting to day-to-day processes is demanding and a Certified Nursing Assistants or Home Health Aides can help make the gradual transition as easy as possible by carefully monitoring your loved one.
The main focus of a caregiver is to provide assistance for your loved one as they adapt to limited mobility.
What Are The Treatments For Parkinson’s Disease
There is no cure for PD, and no treatment prevents the disease from progressing. However, treatments can usually ease symptoms.
- At first, you may not need any treatment when the symptoms are mild. A specialist may simply see you every now and then to monitor how the disease is progressing.
- A medicine that eases symptoms is usually started when symptoms become troublesome.
- Therapies such as physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy may also be useful as the disease progresses.
- Surgery may be an option for severe cases.
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The Shortcomings Of Current Care
In 2001, the Institute of Medicine , a U.S. non-profit that provides independent, objective analysis, issued its landmark report Crossing the Quality Chasm. The report opens, âThe American health care delivery system is in need of fundamental change.â It further states, âQuality problems are everywhere, affecting many patients. Between the health care we have and the care we could have lies not just a gap, but a chasm.â The report lists six aims to cross this chasm, proposing that health care should be safe, effective, patient-centered, timely, efficient, and equitable.
New, comprehensive PD care models are emerging that seek to deliver care that is aligned with the aims articulated by the Institute of Medicine., For example, ParkinsonNet, a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary care model in the Netherlands, can enhance care, improve health, and lower costs., Still, these models are resource intensive and demanding of patients and their caregivers. For example, integrated multi-disciplinary care models require individuals with limited mobility and driving ability to visit physical therapists and speech therapists three times per week for several weeks. Surgical treatments, such as deep brain stimulation, make similar requirements â often lifelong ones â for follow-up care for individuals with more advanced disease.
Navigating The Moods Of The Patient
People with PD may have emotions come up as they grieve the loss of their former abilities. Sometimes they may feel frustrated and lash out in anger or insist on doing something they should not, such as climbing a ladder when they have balance impairment. As the care partner, you may need to establish limits on their activities and have compassion for their emotional outbursts. Many people with PD also experience mood changes, such as anxiety and depression, and these symptoms should be discussed with the patients doctor to facilitate proper treatment.1
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Common Parkinsons Motor Symptoms
While symptoms progress differently for everyone, there are common main symptoms.
- Slowness of movement: Known as bradykinesia, this makes starting and performing physical actions such as getting out of bed, buttoning a shirt, or speaking more difficult.
- Involuntary shaking or tremor: A tremor usually occurs in the hand on the affected side but also can appear in other parts of the body.
- Muscle stiffness: Muscles in the arms, legs, or torso feel unusually tight, stiff, or achy.
- Trouble with balance and falls: This postural instability causes difficulty with balance, walking, and turning around. Frequent falls may occur without explanation.
- Freezing: A common phenomenon of being stuck in place when trying to walk or take a step.
- Soft or low voice: Called hypophonia, this affects voice volume and can cause muffled speech.
- Trouble swallowing: Decreased ability in automatic reflexes such as swallowing and blinking.
Features Of Individual Spaces
- Are different sizes and types of units available?
- Are units for single and double occupancy available?
- Do residents have their own lockable doors?
- Is a 24-hour emergency response system accessible from the unit?
- Are bathrooms private? Do they accommodate wheelchairs and walkers?
- Can residents bring their own furnishings? What may they bring?
- Do all units have a telephone and cable television? How is billing handled for these services?
- Is a kitchen area/unit provided with a refrigerator, sink, and cooking element?
- May residents keep food in their units?
- May residents smoke in their units? May they smoke in public areas?
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How Do I Care For Someone With Parkinsons Disease
Parkinsons disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that demands proper care for the patient. Since it adversely affects the motor abilities of the patient, a caregiver is extremely important who can take care of the patient. The major aim of the caregiver should involve-
Quality of Life: The caregiver plays an important role in maintaining the quality of life of the patient with Parkinsons disease.
Appointments: The caregiver should be responsible for keeping a track of all the appointments with the doctor.
Medicines: The caregiver has to make a note of all the medications prescribed to the patient by the doctor and give him those medicines from time to time.
Exercise: The caregiver should be aware of the general health of the patient. The patient should have a balanced and healthy diet and exercise regularly. This should be checked by the person who takes care of the patient.
Knowledge: The caregiver should make attempts to educate himself about the signs and symptoms of the Parkinsons disease along with the treatment protocol and the progression of the disease.
Understanding: The love and care offered to the patient by the caregiver can help him deal better with the mental turmoil accompanying the Parkinsons disease.
Caregiving For People Living With Parkinsons
Caring for a loved one with PD can be a challenging job, especially as the disease progresses. Former caregivers of a loved one with PD suggest doing the following : Get prepared, Take care of yourself, Get help , Work to maintain a good relationship with your loved one, and Encourage the person with PD for whom you care, to stay active.
Preparing for caregiving starts with education. Reading this fact sheet is a good start. More resources are available to you in theResources section of this fact sheet. Early Parkinsonâs disease usually requires more emotional support and less hands-on care. It is a good time for family members/caregivers to educate themselves about the disease.
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Who Develops Parkinson’s Disease
PD mainly develops in people over the age of 50. It becomes more common with increasing age. About 5 in 1,000 people in their 60s and about 40 in 1,000 people in their 80s have PD. It affects men and women but is a little more common in men. Rarely, it develops in people under the age of 50.
PD is not usually inherited and it can affect anyone. However, one type of PD, which appears in the small number of people who develop it before the age of 50, may be linked to inherited factors. Several family members may be affected.
Community Care: Shifting Care To The Community
Even at the early disease, PD patients report physical limitations and early rehabilitation is vital in maintaining function . However, in one large RCT, personalized home PT interventions did not reduce fall rates . Subgroup analyses showed that only patients with milder disease benefitted.
Community-based group balance exercises classes in patients with early PD can lead to self-reported improvements in balance control while also meeting their social and emotional needs , which may improve adherence. In a UK 2-arm RCT with blinded assessment, a minimally supported community exercise intervention delivering twice weekly 30-min aerobic and 30-min resistance training over 6 months, both gait speed and MDS-UPDRS Part III scores improved .
Additionally, community-based care may allow for care to be provided at lower cost. Using a Discrete Event Simulation model applied to the National Health Service in the UK, shifting patients with PD from hospital to community services allowed reductions in hospital visits by a quarter and reduction in hospital manpower by one-third. Hospital-based treatment costs were estimated to decrease by 26%, leading to 10% overall savings in the total cost of treating PD patients .
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Finding Time To Take Care Of Yourself
It may be tempting to put the needs of your loved one with Parkinsons first, and sometimes that may be a necessity. However, your needs also deserve to be met. You may need to consciously focus on time to relax and accepting support from others. Try to set aside time each week when you can take a break and engage in activities that bring you joy and energy.1
Overview Of The Singapore Model Of Care
PD is the second most common neurodegenerative disease in Singapore with an estimated 6,000 patients. The National Neuroscience Institute , which is one of the designated Parkinson centers of Excellence , looks after approximately two-thirds of the patients in the public health setting in specialized tertiary movement disorders clinics staffed by movement disorder neurologists and supported by specialist allied health professionals who deliver PD-specific care. Within our catchment area, we have an approximate ratio of movement disorder neurologists to PD patients of 1:500. However, despite Singapore’s small geographic size , patients in advanced disease remain dependent on caregivers or on private ambulance services to access in-hospital care. Allied health reviews are scheduled with their twice-yearly medical appointments where possible, but this is logistically challenging to achieve when multiple MDT input is required. A substantial proportion of our patients thus chose to forgo allied health visits.
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Parkinsons Disease And Medicare Coverage
Medicare is made up of multiple parts. Each part covers different services and treatments that youll need to manage Parkinsons.
Original Medicare is composed of Part A and Part B. Part A covers a portion of your inpatient hospitalization costs. Part B provides coverage of outpatient medical needs including those for diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.
Getting Started With In
Electing in-home care services for yourself or your loved one is an important decision. Comfort Home Care empowers clients and their families to make an informed decision regarding in-home care by providing a complimentary evaluation at the beginning of the in-home care process. Out three part process involves the following steps:
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How Is Parkinson’s Disease Diagnosed
There is no test that can prove that you have PD. The diagnosis is based on you having the typical symptoms . In the early stage of the disease, when symptoms are mild, it may be difficult for a doctor to say if you definitely have PD. As the symptoms gradually become worse, the diagnosis often becomes more clear.
PD is sometimes confused with other conditions. Some conditions can give ‘Parkinsonism’ features – that is, symptoms similar to PD but caused by other conditions. For example, some medicines used to treat other conditions can cause side-effects which resemble symptoms of PD. Some rare brain disorders can also cause similar symptoms.
Therefore, it is normal practice in the UK to be referred to a specialist if PD is suspected. The specialist will be used to diagnosing PD and ruling out other causes of the symptoms. They will usually be either a neurologist or a doctor specialising in elderly care. If there is still doubt about the diagnosis, sometimes a scan of the brain is carried out. This helps to differentiate PD from some other conditions that can cause Parkinsonism features. Other tests sometimes needed include blood tests and tests of your sense of smell.
Impulsive And Compulsive Behaviour
Some patients who take dopamine agonists can experience problems controlling impulsive or compulsive behaviour .
Impulsive behaviour refers to the inability of patients to resist carrying out certain activities, some of these activities could be harmful to themselves or others. In many cases, this behaviour is out of character.
Compulsive behaviour refers to an overwhelming urge to act in a certain way to reduce the worry or tension this urge produces. This behaviour can be expressed in a number of ways, including addictive gambling, impulsive shopping, binge eating and hypersexuality.
Nurses who suspect a patient might be experiencing compulsive or impulsive behaviour should discuss the issue with the patient and the patients neurologist or GP as soon as possible.
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Comfort Home Cares Professional In
Comfort Home Care has offered reliable in-home care services for individuals managing Parkinsons Disease and their caregivers since 1999. We employ talented and experienced Geriatric Nursing Assistants and Certified Nursing Assistants who are licensed iby the state of Maryland. Comfort Home Care can offer quality in-home care services for individuals and caregivers in Montgomery County. To ensure that our clients are being cared for by the best professionals available, our hiring process includes the following components:
- Thorough in-person interview
- Comprehensive national criminal background check
- In-depth review of personal references
- Evaluation of oral and written communication abilities
How Do Symptoms Progress And What Is The Outlook
The symptoms of PD tend to become gradually worse over time. However, the speed of progression varies greatly from person to person. When symptoms first begin, you may not need treatment when symptoms are relatively mild.
Most people with PD can expect to have some time of relatively mild symptoms. Then, when the symptoms become worse, they can expect several years of good or reasonable control of the symptoms with medication. But everyone is different and it is difficult to predict for an individual how quickly the disease will progress. Some people may only be slightly disabled 20 years after PD first begins, whereas others may be very disabled after 10 years.
Research into PD is active. For example, one main aim of research is to find medicines that prevent the damage to the affected cells, rather than just treating the symptoms, which is the main value of treatment at present. Further research on these chemicals continues. Research is underway using stem cell therapy to help treat PD. Other researchers are looking at alpha synuclein, a protein that gathers around the junction between nerve cells and is thought to affect the way messages are conducted between the brain and the nerves controlling movement.
Further reading and references
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If You Have Been Diagnosed With Parkinsons
- Feel your emotions. You will go through many different emotions as the disease progresses and you face new challenges. Allow yourself to feel and express your emotions in healthy ways.
- Educate yourself. Learn as much as possible about the disease and how it will likely affect you and your family as it progresses.
- Get involved in your care. Take an active role in your own health and your care plan. Be sure to work with your doctors to optimize your medications.
- Communicate directly. Be clear with family members and care providers about your priorities, needs, and wants.
- Reach out to others. Spending time with other people who have PD can help you learn about the disease and feel encouraged.
- Stay positive. Focus on what you can do rather than what you cannot do. Explore new activities and new ways to find happiness and fulfillment.
While the symptoms and progression of this disease vary from person to person, Parkinsonâs is generally defined byfive stages, ranging from mild symptoms that donât interfere with daily activities to advanced severe symptoms that are quite limiting and often debilitating. By Stage Three, most people with Parkinsonâs experience loss of balance and trouble controlling their movement. This is when families find that adding a care professional to their caregiving team can be helpful.
Volunteer To Help Out
Everyday responsibilities like shopping, cooking, and cleaning become much more difficult when you have a movement disorder. Sometimes people with Parkinsons need help with these and other tasks, but they may be too proud or embarrassed to ask for it. Step in and offer to run errands, prepare meals, drive to medical appointments, pick up medications at the drug store, and help with any other day-to-day tasks they have difficulty with on their own.
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Home Safety Considerations For Parkinsons Disease
Mobility problems are common symptoms of Parkinsons disease, therefore maximizing the safety and accessibility of a patients home is a top priority. Since seniors with PD often use mobility aids like canes, walkers, rollators or wheelchairs, wide, clear pathways in rooms and hallways are important. The following home elements can make it difficult for a person with limited mobility to get around their home safely.