Is it Parkinson's??

I am 20 this year. Female.

For the past weeks, I have had increased consciousness of fine tremors and muscle weakness in my hands, it started with my right hand, then my left and now it's predominantly left-sided.

Severity of tremors: They don't tremor when placed on laps/table tops. Tremors are seen when I hold a piece of paper using 2 pinching fingers or when I flip pages of a book. The tremors are not extremely visible but I can feel them very vividly.

In addition, I have these symptoms:

Palpitations (Sometimes my heart misses a beat)
Breathlessness upon climbing stairs or jogging for 1.5km
Cold intolerance
Thigh muscle fasciculations, eyelid and lip twitches
Scar hyperpigmentation all over my limbs and very poor wound healing that shows up brown (I believe the discoloration is due to vessels in the dermal/subcut layer been "seen") Very disfiguring and I have attached a picture of these lesions.
Easy fatigue, constant sleepiness
Loss of concentration
Moderate hair loss (20-30 per hair comb)


I have been slightly anemic in the past, managed with ferrous tablets but have seen been well under these symptoms showed up.

I am a medical student myself and hence I will be able to understand the jargon used should any doctor be kind enough to answer my queries. Please help me out. I have not been to see a doctor for this conditions as the previous doctors I've seen for my skin condition conveniently diagnosed it as ezcema (eczema) and prescribed betamethasone which did not help at all.

Please help me.

[Jules77733]

This sounds like a classical case of thyroid disease. Have you had a thyroid panel done, recently?

While I'm not a doctor, I've done a bit of reading about Parkinson's disease and in your case, it'd have to be early-onset (rare) in a female (even more rare). Additionally, Parkinson's typically presents with other visible motor function impairments, such as a shuffled gait and newly-developed speech impediments. The tremor is certainly a worrisome symptom, but it frequently occurs in patients suffering from hyperthyroidism, and has even been observed in patients with hypothyroidism. Thyroid disease can also cause anemia, though I'd be interested to hear what kind of anemia you have.

Just my thoughts...I hope you feel better soon!

[fayewes]

Thanks so much for your reply. I really appreciate any input at this point of time.

To add, I have these muscle fasciculations almost everywhere, even in my arms, above my elbow. And will hypothyroidism cause hyperpigmentation?

I do not have any gait/speech impairment but will these show up in early Parkinson's? What I'm most afraid of is that my symptoms are the early of Parkinsons/delibitating conditions like ALS???

[Jules77733]

No problem! Your post caught my eye because I began experiencing many of the same symptoms you did, but it began with the tremor, spurring me to think that I might have Parkinson's, too, about a year ago. Fortunately, my neurologist was able to assure me that wasn't likely the case.

Muscle fasciculations can be the result of endocrine dysfunction, and they are not unheard of with hyperthyroidism. Hyperpigmentation has been linked to decreased thyroid and adrenal function, so it's plausible that this symptom is a result of thyroid disease. I'm more inclined to think that this hyperpigmentation is a result of anemia, but if you've had your anemia under control and it is monitored with periodic bloodwork, then this can't be the sole culprit.

Gait and speech impairments tend to show up as some of the first signs of early Parkinson's, although early Parkinson's is much more likely to affect males than females, and is typically seen in the late 20's to early 30's. ALS will often begin with difficulty walking/running, resulting in a lot of tripping and stumbling, as well as slurred speech. If you aren't having any problems with speech and/or you're not experiencing difficulties with walking, I don't think you should be concerned about having a neurodegenerative disease. :) Plus, many of your symptoms point toward a hormonal imbalance...so you'll probably need to see an endocrinologist if the symptoms persist for some time.

Thyroid disease, on the other hand, is extremely common in women, and a peak in the occurrence of thyroid disease (particularly the onset of autoimmune thyroid disease) is in the early-to-mid-20's age category, making you a prime candidate...unfortunately. Fortunately, though, thyroid disease is fairly easily diagnosed, although the positive bloodwork can lag behind the symptoms, and managed. If you only have a transient thyroiditis, it'll disappear after a period of several weeks to months.

[fayewes]

Thank you so much. Can't express enough my thanks to you for the reassurance even though I am prepared for nasty diagnoses. I do hope it really is an endocrine problem. Will definitely consult a doctor on my problems.

God bless you for your kindness.

[soldy]

Hi Please take your recent MRI scan to the department library and check the area of pineal and pitutiary glands for location size and frequency of cystsIN MILLIMETERS Do it yourselfDo you have cysts or lymphs nodes painful to touch.

[fayewes]

Thanks soldy. I dont have painful lymph nodes nor cysts but I do have a tumor in my right breast. I have yet to arrange for surgery to excise it because the doctor feels its just a fibroadenoma, of no big concern.

[Jules77733]

I'm glad to have helped. Hang in there and keep me posted, please! I'll be praying/crossing my fingers for you. The breast fibroadenoma points toward endocrine/hormonal issues, so I'm very hopeful for you!