Does anyone know the early symptoms of Parkinsons?

[Catherine Vincent]

The reason I ask is because I am worried about President Clinton. I watched the Democratic Unity dinner broadcasted on CSPAN and when Clinton was on stage speaking, he raised both hands together and the index finger of one of his hands was shaking. Although when he did the same thing a few times later, it didn't happen but it startled me when I saw that. Am I being paranoid?

[opiate69]

1. hmm...

I think you might be a little paranoid, but, ya never know...here's some info:

http://my.webmd.com/hw/parkinsons/hw93188.asp?lastselectedguid={5FE84E90-BC77-4056-A91C-9531713CA348}

What are the symptoms of Parkinson's disease?
The classic symptoms of Parkinson's disease are shaking (tremor), stiff muscles (rigidity), and slow movement (bradykinesia). A person with advanced Parkinson's disease also may have stooped posture, a fixed facial expression, speech problems, and problems with balance or walking, as well as a decline in intellect.

Tremor is usually the first symptom people notice. Unlike most other tremors, the "resting" tremor of Parkinson's disease is most severe when the person is awake but not moving around. The tremor improves with purposeful movement or when the person is completely relaxed or asleep. In contrast, tremors caused by other conditions typically get worse during movement and improve when the person is at rest.

Many people who have tremor do not have Parkinson's disease.
Up to 25% of people with Parkinson's disease do not have tremor.1

[Catherine Vincent]

2. Thanks for the info.

It really was shocking seeing that finger shaking like that at first. But the other times it didn't happen. So I guess there's nothing to worry about.

[bluestateguy]

3. I saw that too

The camera didn't seem to show it much, but I noticed that too.

My father was diagnosed with Parkinson's a few years ago, but the doctor retracted the diagnosis a couple of months later. Weird. He was trembling in his hands, and the doctor jumped the gun and said it was Parkinson's. So trembling is not necessarily a sign of Parkinson's. But it could be, and it tends to start in the hands.

[Gloria]

4. My father had it....he started with an odd shuffle and jerkiness...

and the stiffness due to muscle tension/tremors

Katharine Hepburn shook like crazy, but didn't have Parkinson's..

By the way, did you notice the top/side of Bill's teeth? (if you were facing him). Looks like he's having dental work done--there was a huge
gap up there and it looked like it was giving him some problems at various points during his speech. At one point it looked like he was snarling when talking about Republicans....although, he very well may have actually been snarling at them!

[Catherine Vincent]

5. No, I didn't notice Bill's teeth.

I will have to go back and look at the tape. I normally notice anything different about the big dog but I guess that one slipped by me. All in all Bill is looking good especially since he's on that South Beach diet. But if only he'd get rid of those bags under his eyes.;)