UPDATE: As of January 2020, Blue Water claims are being processed.
Many veterans develop Parkinson’s disease, and whether it is caused by Agent Orange exposure, welding fumes, solvents, or other service-related causes, it can have debilitating effects. With the new success of the Blue Water veterans (aided by our own Matthew Hill,) many veterans who were stationed in Da Nang harbor and other harbors and bays will be presumed to have been exposed to Agent Orange. Many of these veterans have been suffering from the debilitating effects of Parkinson’s, and may now be able to connect their disability to their time in service. However, along with Parkinson’s comes not only secondary effects, but side effects of treatment and medication that can also be disabling.
Motor Problems
Most people immediately think of motor problems when they think of Parkinson’s disease. Many Parkinson’s disease sufferers experience tremors as their first symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, and these tremors typically begin in one limb, at the distal part of the limb, farthest away from the body. Often, the tremors involve “pill-rolling” movements, where the thumb and finger rub against each other in a circular manner. These tremors typically happen at rest, when you’re not actively using your hand. This is actually important, as tremors while at rest are distinctive of Parkinson’s disease, and doctors can often use this to differentiate Parkinson’s disease tremors from other causes of tremors. This can severely affect the ability to write with a pen, or perform many fine motor skills.
Those who suffer from Parkinson’s disease also suffer from rigidity, and constant and severe contraction of muscles. This can lead to joint, neck, and back pain which can range from mild to severe. In late stages, the veteran may not even be able to move around without aid. In addition, Parkinson’s disease sufferers may suffer from impaired balance, which can lead to falls and all the dangers associated with falling.
Veterans with Parkinson’s disease may also experience trouble swallowing and even speaking, which can have an enormous impact on daily activities and social and occupational functioning.
Neuropsychiatric Problems
Memory, mood, speech, and cognition can also be affected by Parkinson’s disease, and again, the severity of these disturbances vary from person to person, and depend on the severity and progression of the disease.
Problems with cognition (thinking) are fairly common. A Parkinson’s disease sufferer may have difficulty planning ahead, remembering the location of objects and places, as well as locating events in time, or remembering in what order events occurred.
In those suffering from Parkinson’s disease, the risk of dementia is greatly increased, with Parkinson’s disease sufferers experiencing dementia at up to six times the rate of those without Parkinson’s.
The mood and behavior of Parkinson’s sufferers can also change greatly. Parkinson’s disease is highly correlated with depression, anxiety, and apathy. Those with Parkinson’s may give up on a difficult task well before a non-sufferer, which contributes greatly to occupational and even social functioning.
Depression and anxiety can have severe effects on sleep, and even in those who do not experience mood disturbances can have insomnia or excessive sleeping with Parkinson’s disease.
Side Effects of Treatment
Most medicines used to treat Parkinson’s disease involve the regulation of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that plays a role in movement and cognition. However, dopamine affects many other aspects of our nervous systems, including arousal, nausea, and even our reinforcement and reward system.
L-DOPA (or Levodopa, Sinemet) is a precursor to dopamine that is found in the body naturally, and in medication form, is the most common treatment for Parkinson’s disease. Some other medications typically involve dopamine agonists, which increase the amount of dopamine available in the brain. While adding more dopamine to the brain can greatly reduce symptoms like movement problems, tremors, and cognitive problems, we cannot direct the excess dopamine only to those areas affected by Parkinson’s.
As dopamine is involved in our reward system of the brain, it is also highly involved in the process of addiction. Therefore there can be severe side effects of the medication that sound improbable, like gambling problems, sexual compulsions, and overeating. These can lead to secondary problems of their own, such as obesity.
Other side effects of the medication that could cause secondary disabilities include hypotension, fainting, pericardial effusion (the buildup of liquid around the heart,) sleeping problems from insomnia to narcolepsy, anorexia, hallucinations, and even psychosis.
If you’ve been recently diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, I am sure reading this article has been difficult. It’s a scary disease and can have severe secondary effects. A key thing to remember is not EVERYONE with Parkinson’s disease experiences ALL of these problems. However, it is important for veterans to recognize that when new disabilities arise, they may be related to their service-connected Parkinson’s disease.
UPDATE: As of January 2020, Blue Water claims are being processed.