Pay attention to signs of Parkinson’s, but don’t catastrophize

It can be hard not to catastrophize everything that happens to you when you have an underlying chronic disease like Parkinson’s.

Indeed, Parkinson’s can cause myriad symptoms. Stiffness and joint pain, gait problems, slurred speech, difficulty typing or using touch-screen technology — this disease is insidious and can show up in so many ways.

Teasing out what is Parkinson’s-related and what might be caused by another issue is tricky. It’s easy to assume the worst and blame Parkinson’s and its uncertain pace of progression for everything. A bad day can make you feel like you’ll never bounce back, and leg pain might make you worry that you’re on a sudden, downward spiral to losing your mobility. It can be pretty scary sometimes.

Recommended Reading

April 7, 2025 News by Michela Luciano, PhD

Benefits seen with solengepras as solo Parkinson’s therapy: Trial

I experienced this several years ago. One day, I was working on a big project for work and my computer was giving me trouble. When I used my mouse, I was double- and triple-clicking without meaning to. My cursor would skip across the screen, and I’d have to use two hands to get the arrow to point where I wanted it to. It was so sudden that it scared me. I tried taking more Sinemet (carbidopa and levodopa) and doing hand and finger exercises, to no avail.

I was sure this was a sign of a cliff in my disease trajectory. I was going to have to quit my job. I wouldn’t be able to travel. I’d have to say goodbye to soup — holding a spoon full of hot liquid and directing it to my mouth would clearly be impossible.

I kept this change a secret for about two weeks, spinning it in my mind, feeling overwhelmed and alone. Finally, I confided in my husband. I sat at my desk and told him the distressing news with tears in my eyes. He looked at me and said, “You have a $6 mouse that is probably seven or eight years old.” He then reached for my mouse and had the same trouble with double-clicking and skipping around as I did.

Then he said, “Sometimes, the world isn’t ending. Your flipping [he used another word] mouse is just broken.” One two-day Amazon delivery solved the problem.

Lessons learned

There were two big, somewhat contradictory takeaways from this incident for me. The first was: Don’t keep things from your care partner. When you’re spinning on a thought, a spouse or friend can often point out the simple truth that will stop you from your spiral. That’s what friends and family are there for. And even if it had been something much worse than my flipping mouse needing to be replaced, sharing the fear with my husband would have lightened the burden considerably.

The second was that while you don’t need to turn everything into a catastrophe, you should pay attention to emerging symptoms and get them checked out. This time, it was a broken mouse. At another time in the 12 years since my diagnosis, I had a ruptured disk in my spine that one provider said was just a progression of my Parkinson’s. In that case, both my husband and I advocated for me, and I got the (thankfully successful) back surgery I needed.

Pay attention to the signals from your body, but don’t get overly upset about them until you know what’s wrong. Share the burden, and you won’t feel so alone. And don’t let anyone else, even a medical professional, tell you you’re not experiencing what you feel. It never hurts to get a second opinion, whether it’s a broken mouse or a ruptured disk.

Note: Parkinson’s News Today is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of Parkinson’s News Today or its parent company, Bionews, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to Parkinson’s disease.