Medication aside, there are many ways people living with Parkinson's disease can improve their health and well-being, preserve physical function, ease symptoms and enhance quality of life. Chief among these are getting regular exercise, eating a healthy diet, staying hydrated and getting an adequate amount of sleep.
Physical therapy to help you with your movement. Occupational therapy make daily activities easier. Speech therapy to improve your speaking and swallowing. Music, art, or pet therapy to improve your mood and help you relax.
According to studies, physical activity is not only a good way to treat patients with Parkinson's disease, it appears to help prevent or delay the onset. Getting the body moving helps build strength, balance, endurance and coordination. It is even better when the heart is involved, like with aerobic exercise.
Some of the most popular exercises include walking, stretching, and gait/balance training. “Being positive, resting when you need to, eating well, and exercise – especially walking – is vital to a better life with PD.” “Consistent and strenuous exercise, and continuing to stay active with work and friends.”
Parkinson's symptoms and stress. Although tremor in particular tends to worsen when a person is anxious or under stress, all the symptoms of PD, including slowness, stiffness, and balance problems, can worsen. Symptoms, particularly tremor, can become less responsive to medication.
Most people with Parkinson's disease have a normal or near-normal life expectancy. Modern medications and treatments mean that people can manage their symptoms and reduce the occurrence or severity of complications, which might otherwise be fatal.
Parkinson's disease does not directly cause people to die, but the condition can place great strain on the body, and can make some people more vulnerable to serious and life-threatening infections. But with advances in treatment, most people with Parkinson's disease now have a normal or near-normal life expectancy.
Not everyone develops every symptom of Parkinson's disease, but if you're affected, non-motor symptoms including depression, anxiety, anger and irritability can have a huge impact on your quality of life and those around you.
Over half of people with PD consider fatigue to be among their most disabling symptoms. It is often described as tiredness or exhaustion. Though there is overlap between fatigue, sleep disorders, and depression, people with PD can often separate fatigue from sleepiness.
Healthy Eating and Regular Exercise: A Powerful Combo
Studies show targeted nutrition may slow Parkinson's advancement. Eating a whole-food, plant-based, Mediterranean-style diet — including fresh vegetables, fruit and berries, nuts, seeds, fish, olive and coconut oils and more — may be linked to slower PD progression.
Some studies have reported that the average time from onset of Parkinson's to developing dementia is about 10 years. One large study found that about three-quarters of people who live with Parkinson's for more than 10 years will develop dementia.
The most common symptoms experienced by people who have been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease are anxiety and depression. The patient is understandably anxious, fearful about how their lives will change in general and how functional impairment caused by the disease will manifest itself.
Individuals with PD may have a slightly shorter life span compared to healthy individuals of the same age group. According to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, patients usually begin developing Parkinson's symptoms around age 60 and many live between 10 and 20 years after being diagnosed.
In most cases, Parkinson's disease symptoms develop gradually. However, recent studies have noted that some individuals in the advanced stages of this disease can deteriorate suddenly. Typically, an abrupt worsening may occur due to a stroke, as this can also affect movement and balance.
For people with Parkinson's, walking every day can drastically improve your ability to live an independent and fulfilling life. Research has found that just 20 to 30 minutes of brisk walking daily may slow the progression of Parkinson's symptoms, while improving gait, balance, tremor and flexibility.
Most patients die with Parkinson's Disease and not from it. The illnesses that kill most people are the same as those that kill people with PD. These are heart conditions, stroke and cancer.
Happiness can be an elusive thing when battling a chronic disease like Parkinson's. So many things can get in the way of experiencing happiness: pain, deep fatigue, irritability, the time consumed by the disease, and grief accompanying things stolen by the disease.
Average Life Expectancy for Seniors with Parkinson's
Depending on age and location, overall life expectancy is somewhere between the ages of 78 and 81. However, overall life expectancy rates are skewed a little by the fact that more young people engage in risky behavior that can cause earlier death.
Patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) can experience several behavioral symptoms, such as apathy, agitation, hypersexuality, stereotypic movements, pathological gambling, abuse of antiparkinsonian drugs, and REM sleep behavioral disorders.
To help maximize the medication's effects, eat high-protein foods at other times of the day. If you take your medicine in the morning, have oatmeal rather than high-protein eggs for breakfast, and save your protein intake for later in the day.
In a second study, normal chocolate was compared with cacao-free white chocolate with respect to improvement in motor symptoms in PD patients (Wolz et al. 2012). One hour after intake of dark chocolate, the UPDRS-III improved significantly, which was not the case for white chocolate.
Bananas along with watermelon are great sources of dopamine as they contain high quantities of Tyrosine– the building block of dopamine. Vitamin C has many positive effects on Parkinson's and can help to reduce the symptoms.