Episode Transcript:
Christina Chartrand (00:40)
This is Christina Chartrand and...
David Chandler (00:43)
David Chandler.
Christina Chartrand (00:45)
With LIFE Conversations with Senior Helpers. We're so glad to have you on this week's episode.
David Chandler (00:53)
Yes. And this week we're going to be talking about Parkinson's and this month is Parkinson's Awareness Month. So, we're excited to share with our listeners about what is Parkinson's, uh, what are some of the common signs and symptoms? How is Parkinson's diagnosed? What are some ways that we can help support and treat loved ones and talk a little bit about what is Parkinson's month and why is it important?
Christina Chartrand (01:24)
Well, this is great. I'm excited about this. I'm excited to talk about it. We get lots of questions around it. So, let's first start out with our first question, David. What is Parkinson's disease?
David Chandler (01:34)
Yeah, so we're going to do a very high-level overview of what is Parkinson's. We're not going to get into a lot of the scientific specifics, medical information, but overall, a good definition of Parkinson's is that it's a neurodegenerative disorder that affects movement and it's caused by a lack of dopamine. Dopamine is the neurotransmitter in the brain that helps coordinate movement. And so, when your brain is lacking that dopamine and you're not able to control your movement as well as you were previously, that's what leads to those symptoms that we commonly see with people that have that diagnosis of Parkinson's.
Christina Chartrand (02:25)
Really interesting.
David Chandler (02:26)
Yeah. So, Christina, what are some of the common symptoms of Parkinson's?
Christina Chartrand (02:34)
Well, I like to always talk about when I think about Parkinson's disease is two types of motor symptoms as well as non -motor symptoms. And typically, when someone is first diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, it's the motor symptoms that people probably recognize first. The first one, well, I'm going to talk about is a tremor. A lot of people, that's probably the number one symptom that people think about as far as a tremor. And typically, it starts on from one side of the body and goes to the other side.
So, it may start on your hand and your arm and may move to the other limbs as well as can happen in your legs and feet and in your head as well. Another symptom of Parkinson's is what we call rigidity and that's kind of stiffness in your joints. So, you can think of any joint that you might have from shoulders to elbows to wrists is where you're having that stiffness.
The other is what I call bradykinesia which is slow movement. And this one's kind of interesting because a lot of people don't really see it at first. It's someone who is, you know, maybe doing a task and they're doing it at a pace that is much slower than they're used to doing it. And so, it's usually kind of a symptom that people would begin to notice.
And the last one when it comes to kind of those motor symptoms is balance. You know, when we're losing our balance and coordination, unsteady on our feet, maybe a falling, maybe you are falling and feeling like you're, that sense of falling would be another one of those motor symptoms.
There are many non -motor symptoms. I'm not going to go into all of them because there are so many, but some of the non -motor symptoms might be things like anxiety, depression, also some dementia that people may see, also incontinence might be another one of those. So that's typically what you're seeing when it comes to some of those basic symptoms when it comes to Parkinson's disease.
David Chandler (04:37)
Yeah. And something that's interesting about Parkinson's is there's actually no conclusive test to diagnose Parkinson's. A lot of times when we go to the doctor, sometimes it can actually take a little bit to reach that diagnosis of Parkinson's because doctors are going to rule out other things that may be contributing to those symptoms that you're having.
And so, when you go to the doctor, the doctor is going to take your medical history. They may do some neurological exams. They may do some imaging studies. But there is no conclusive test that you can actually just give and say this is Parkinson's.
Christina Chartrand (05:21)
Yeah, it is very interesting. And I think that's what happens for so many that there are actually a lot of people who are in the early stages of Parkinson's that are undiagnosed because it's masking or looking like something else. So, for example, that rigidity might look like arthritis. So, you're thinking, oh, that's not what I have.
So, it really brings up a good point. And also, if you have any one of these symptoms, just to really check out with your primary care and share that information with them.
David Chandler (05:48)
Yeah, I know I have some friends that have tremors or rigidity and it's not Parkinson's, it's just something that they've experienced. So just, if you're having that symptom, it may not be something that you need to worry about that is this a diagnosis that I may have, but it is really important to go and talk to your primary care doctor. They may make a referral for you to go see a neurologist and to rule out anything that may be happening. So.
Christina Chartrand (05:54)
Yeah, really, really good point. So, another question comes up, well, how do people treat Parkinson's disease?
David Chandler (06:18)
Yeah, we were actually laughing about this before as we were preparing for the episode. And if any of our listeners have a definitive answer on how you pronounce this, one of the most common medications, the most common medication for treating Parkinson's is Carbidopa. To me, it's Levadopa. I was like, yeah.
Christina Chartrand (06:27)
Yeah, I was pronouncing it LEAVE-A-DOPA!
David Chandler (06:52)
So, if any of our listeners, we actually did some other research. We listened to pronunciations on the internet and there is a mix of, if you go and you listen, there's people that say it's levodopa. Some people say it's levodopa. That was really interesting. As we were talking about this, I said to Christine, I was like, it's levodopa. I said, no, it's levodopa.
Christina Chartrand (07:05)
Like, for the past six years, I've been saying, leave-a-dopa.
David Chandler (07:18)
Yeah. So not sure if that maybe this is like a regional thing, you know, Coke, pop. I don't know! Yeah. So, yeah. But so that, that is the most common medication that's used to treat Parkinson's is Carbidopa, Levodopa. It helps to have the brain have that, that dopamine that it needs to control movement.
David Chandler (07:44)
And it's really important if you have a loved one that is taking this for Parkinson's, you'll know that it's really critical that they take this medication. Generally, it's about every four hours and otherwise that dopamine starts to decrease, and they start losing control of their movement. So, it's a great medication for helping to control those symptoms, but it is really important that you take it as scheduled by your doctor.
Christina Chartrand (08:13)
Yeah, so like the difference we think about morning, noon, and evening as far as medications and it doesn't work that way, does it? It has to be the actual time. Yeah. You know what, David, there's so much research around Parkinson's disease and so many other medications that are out there to really help and support the disease. And there's other symptoms that begin to happen as well, which may have additional medications.
David Chandler (08:20)
No. Right. Yeah.
Christina Chartrand (08:40)
You know, one of the things that, you know, especially the people that I know with Parkinson's is when you're feeling something, you know, is to get out there and say it, don't live with it, to go and talk with your neurologist, talk with your primary care and say, this is how I'm feeling, because it's constantly changing. And doctors are very aware of that, that they're gonna, maybe needing to change the medications, the amount of medication, the timing of medication. So, it's important to constantly be communicating with your physicians.
David Chandler (09:13)
Absolutely, yeah. So, and Christina, one of the things that you're very well knowledged on is how lifestyle modifications and therapy can help with Parkinson's. And can you talk about that and then also tie that in with how we care for our loved ones that have had this diagnosis?
Christina Chartrand (09:18)
Yeah, I am passionate about this because what we found is that exercise can really play a role in helping in reducing the symptoms. Now it doesn't make the Parkinson's go away, but it does reduce those symptoms. And so, the type of exercise we're talking about is actually cardio type activity, right? Getting your heart rate up and doing different types of exercises that make that level.
There are several different programs out there. I know we're going to have our guest speakers going to talk about Rock Steady Boxing. Another one I really love is Dance for PD, which is kind of a movement that you can do in a sitting position that I really love. But honestly, just getting up and going every day is really critical because the more you sit, the more the stiffness is going to sit in, the more you get up and kind of force yourself to go and move, you're going to feel better.
And so it's really important when I feel like lifestyle is also just kind of thinking about food intake, the types of food that you have, ask the questions to your primary care or your neurologist around protein, typically protein and the Carbidopa, Levadopa. It's not good to have together to have some space between the two. And so that's just a question that you may want to ask your primary care.
But I really believe that an active lifestyle can really make a difference in just so many levels about how you're feeling. Also support groups, I really believe in connecting with other people who are experiencing the same thing as well, can be so impactful in how you're feeling on a day to day.
David Chandler (11:23)
Absolutely. And Christina, let's talk about Parkinson's Awareness Month and why is this month so important?
Christina Chartrand (11:32)
I love that we have a whole month to talk about Parkinson's because I think this is really an opportunity to do several things. One is you've got national organizations that are typically raising money around this month and this money goes into care, it goes into research to find a cure. It's all those really good things that are important. But I also like to take it to another level. Think about the people who have Parkinson's disease. This is a great opportunity to reach out with other people who are experiencing the same thing. And those, your friends, your family, your community is an opportunity for you all to connect and learn more and to be able to support each other.
David Chandler (12:14)
Yeah, absolutely. And, and I'm, I'm wondering, and I can think of, we're about to, uh, release our next Senior Helpers Spotlight Story. That's going to be, uh, focusing on one of our clients that has a diagnosis of, uh, of Parkinson's. Christine, are there any, uh, specific examples that you can think of, of times where we've been able to go in and support clients with Parkinson's or just have a big impact on their life.
Christina Chartrand (12:46)
Yeah, for sure. I think about, you know, a lot of times when people are diagnosed with Parkinson's, once they get the medication kind of figured out, they're good for a while. They're living the same life that they've had. No really big changes. But as the disease progresses, it gets harder. It gets harder for the person who has Parkinson's disease, but it also gets hard for the family as well. And this is where some extra support can come into the home to, you know, provide that relief.
Like if you're worried about your loved one being alone or falling to have somebody, a friend, you know, a home care company, like senior help or somebody coming into the home to be with them so that you can let your spouse go out and be able to go to the grocery store and do things with friends so that they're not feel so, you know, stuck in the home and not being able to do anything else.
But I've also seen, Parkinson's, where having somebody else come into the home, a different person than the person, your family caregiver who's been caring for you, can bring a whole new perspective, right? We can go in and we can look at any durable medical equipment that might be needed, changing the environment to make it easier to maneuver around. We know small tight spaces can cause that festination, which is kind of getting stuck when you're walking, you can't keep going.
So, being able to evaluate the environment and make some changes to make it easier for that person to be able to move around the home. That's where I've seen some really positive impacts for not only the family caregiver, but also the person living with Parkinson's.
David Chandler (14:24)
Yeah, I think tied in with that is what you were mentioning earlier with the quality of life, hearing about Rock Steady Boxing, which we're gonna have our guest speaker coming up on our next episode. We'll hope you'll tune in for that. It's gonna be really fun.
Having that quality of life and having those things to look forward to and know that even as it's progressing, as that disease is progressing, staying active, keeping engaged can really help to slow the progression or continue to have that excellent quality of life.
Christina Chartrand (15:17)
Yeah, there's also some great organizations out there that I always like, you know, the Michael J. Fax Foundation. If you're always looking for the latest, greatest, what's being created when it comes to finding something for the cure or what new drug that potentially might be available. I think they're always on top of it. They've got a lot of research behind it. And the Parkinson's Foundation. I'd love to go to that site.
They provide a lot of one free advice, but also free stuff too, like really cool stuff. Like one of the things, I think that I think is amazing is at kind of a hospital kit. So, when you're going in, let's say that you, the person with Parkinson's has to go into the hospital for whatever reason. Well, it's kind of almost like an educational tool for the nursing staff there to understand what these symptoms are and the importance of medication, things to think about and it's great. And those kinds of resources are all free from that organization.
David Chandler (16:18)
Well, any parting thoughts for our listeners as we celebrate Parkinson's Awareness Month?
Christina Chartrand (16:27)
Well, I would just like to say, if you do know somebody with Parkinson's disease, and a lot of people do, just do one thing this month. So, it's either reaching out to your friend who has Parkinson's, or possibly donating, if you can, to an organization. They typically do walks as well. Or sharing or learning a little more about a support group that's local in your area. Just touch one person.
David Chandler (16:55)
All right, we're excited for this month and how we can educate people, join in the research and support for Parkinson's. So, we hope that you'll also join in with us and we'll see you on our next episode.
Christina Chartrand (17:14)
All right, looking forward to that!
As Parkinson's Awareness Month comes into focus, "LIFE Conversations with Senior Helpers" brings critical attention to Parkinson's disease, offering insights into its complexities and the paths available for management and support. Christina Chartrand and David Chandler's discussion not only educates but also inspires action and connection within the Parkinson's community and beyond. Remember, knowledge is power, and in the case of Parkinson's, it's a beacon of hope for those navigating this journey. Stay informed, stay supportive, and let's continue the conversation on living well with Parkinson's.
