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Question: I was diagnosed with early Parkinson's disease in 2010 (apx) in AZ where I was living at the time. Doctor put me on Amantadine and carbidopa/levodopa and I moved to IL in 2012 and new doctor has kept me on these medications plus the dissolveing one I take after waking up and the extended release after 8:00 am. Amantadine is once a day and carbidopa/levodopa four times a day every four hours. I was experiencing the "wearing off" symptom which was the reason for the new dosages. I live alone and am doing OK. However, my daughter has just been diagnosed with ET and after reading about it on the web I find that the symptoms described are very similar to the symptoms I experience even more than any PD symptoms. Is it possible that I have been mis-diagnosed all these years? I would appreciate your response to my e-mail which is YYYY@YYYY . Thanks, XXXXXXX Nicoloff
Brief Answer:
Essential tremor(ET) vs Parkinson's disease(PD)
Detailed Answer:
Hello XXXXXXX
Thank you for trusting HealthcareMagic,
The symptoms of essential tremor and Parkinson's can overlap, and it can be very difficult to differentiate between the two.
The difference between the two are detailed below:
-Tremor: Tremor seen in ET is usually postural/intentional whereas in PD it is resting
-Rigidity is seen in PD and not ET
-Bradykinesia, small handwriting, gait abnormality, mask like facies are all seen only in PD
The two disorders can also co-exist. A thorough neurological examination is required to differentiate between the two.
Since you are responding well to carbidopa/levodopa, the likely possibility is Parkinson's disease rather than ET.
If further clarification is needed there are objective tests like accelerometry, spiral analysis etc are available to differentiate between ET and PD.
Hope this answers your question
Please feel free to address further questions here
Regards,
Dr.Lekshmi
Essential tremor(ET) vs Parkinson's disease(PD)
Detailed Answer:
Hello XXXXXXX
Thank you for trusting HealthcareMagic,
The symptoms of essential tremor and Parkinson's can overlap, and it can be very difficult to differentiate between the two.
The difference between the two are detailed below:
-Tremor: Tremor seen in ET is usually postural/intentional whereas in PD it is resting
-Rigidity is seen in PD and not ET
-Bradykinesia, small handwriting, gait abnormality, mask like facies are all seen only in PD
The two disorders can also co-exist. A thorough neurological examination is required to differentiate between the two.
Since you are responding well to carbidopa/levodopa, the likely possibility is Parkinson's disease rather than ET.
If further clarification is needed there are objective tests like accelerometry, spiral analysis etc are available to differentiate between ET and PD.
Hope this answers your question
Please feel free to address further questions here
Regards,
Dr.Lekshmi
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Arnab Banerjee
Answered by
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