Interesting

[davidpizzica]

Today I went to see a new neurologist. What she told me was surprising. I don't really have Parkinson's! What I do have is essential tremors. It's sometimes confused with Parkinson's disease. E.T. can affect the hands, head and the voice. Parkinson's will only affect the hands. I forgot the name of the new meds I'll be taking, she told me to quit taking the Parkinson meds.

[Karen]

Wow, that is interesting, and potentially good news.

[Pinot's Mom]

Sounds like good news to me - right? Is this diagnosis a more stable and manageable condition?

[davidpizzica]

Essential Tremors have their own interesting set of problems. In Parkinson's, the tremors would affect you when you're at rest, while Essential will show up only when you're actively doing something, like eating. I have difficulty holding utensils holding a cup to drink from (I've been using straws!). Essential will eventually get worse and could affect my speech and head movements differently than Parkinson's will. I've been put on some new medicine for it and just after the new year, I'll get a C-T scan and a nerve conductivity test (OH JOY!) Trust me to find a weird disease!

[jennielynn1970]

Sounds like really good news!!