What is Parkinson’s disease?
Parkinson’s disease is a neurological condition that causes neuron degeneration in one area of your brain. The affected neurons (nerve cells) produce dopamine, a neurotransmitter that controls muscle movement throughout your body. As more neurons die, dopamine levels drop, and you lose more muscle control.
What primary symptoms develop due to Parkinson’s disease?
These aren’t the only symptoms you will have, but they’re the four primary Parkinson’s symptoms:
- Uncontrollable shaking (tremor)
- Muscle stiffness (rigidity
- Loss of balance (postural instability)
- Slow movement (bradykinesia)
The tremors usually begin in your hands but can also affect your arms and legs. The muscle shaking tends to get worse when you rest and improves as you move and use the muscles.
What other symptoms does Parkinson’s disease cause?
Parkinson’s is a chronic, progressive condition. While no one can predict the pace at which your symptoms may change, most people with Parkinson’s find that their current symptoms slowly worsen while new muscle (motor) and non-motor symptoms appear.
For example, you may:
- Drag your foot when walking
- Take shorter steps
- Develop a stooped posture
- Struggle with handwriting
- Have difficulty swallowing
- Find it hard to speak
- Speak with a soft or flat voice
- Lose facial expressions
- Lose your sense of smell
- Have constipation
- Have a hard time sleeping
- Hallucinate or have delusions
- Develop memory loss
Memory loss affects 70% of people with Parkinson’s disease. Like other types of dementia, Parkinson’s dementia affects memory, language, and thinking skills.
How does medical cannabis help Parkinson’s disease?
Medical treatment for Parkinson’s disease offers two options: medications and surgery. The medications replace, increase, or mimic the effect of dopamine. You may also need medication to control tremors.
The active ingredients in medical cannabis, cannabinoids, directly affect your brain, activating nerves that can ease pain and help you sleep. Taking medical marijuana may also soften the impact of behavioral changes caused by Parkinson’s disease, such as agitation, irritation, and anxiety.
Medical cannabis may help relieve muscle symptoms, improving tremors, muscle rigidity, slow movement, and posture. Taking medical cannabis may also reduce involuntary muscle movements caused by medications used to treat Parkinson’s. Some patients report that medical cannabis lifts fatigue and improves their mood and memory.
Though each person experiences different results, medical cannabis can help improve your quality of life. To learn more, call Remix420 or book an appointment online today.
