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JUST HOW STRONG ARE OUR EMOTIONS?

August, 2003
By Peggy Willocks

As a new grandmother, I wanted to go with my daughter to the pediatrician for the first well-baby checkup. After we disrobed my 8-week old granddaughter and weighed and measured her (like something from the butcher shop,) we moved into the examination room. The doctor came in shortly and poked and prodded and gave my daughter the OK to proceed with immunizations. IMMUNIZATIONS! Yikes!! I had forgotten about that! Just the thought of sticking my precious grandchild with a needle and injecting a virus sent chills down my spine.

Moments later the nurse came into the room holding two syringes strategically placed between the fingers of one hand and 2-3 vials of “shot medicine.” My legs turned to rubber! I experienced a sudden “off” so severe that I couldn’t even talk! I’m sure the nurse wondered what on earth was going on with this once vibrant granny having to be led by the hand out of the pediatrician’s office. I sometimes wonder myself.

Emotions have everything to do with exacerbations of Parkinson’s symptoms. But why? Why can I be in the airport waiting in line for baggage security check and the next minute turn to “mush” when I am selected for a suitcase inspection (and knowing that I am not harboring any weapons!)? I decided to do a little research.

Sidney Dorros, an exemplary Parkinson’s advocate and author, was once quoted as saying, “I go from euphoria to despair in almost every two-hour medication cycle - a greater range of emotions than most people may experience in a lifetime. There is a direct correlation between the effects of the Parkinson drugs and how they are displayed emotionally.” ( http://www.parkinson.org/pr23 . ) I can empathize with Sid. Just when I think I have my “PD emotions” under control, I either burst into tears at the most minute event or don’t react at all to a major trauma.
Then there are those times that I am so anxious. I often refer to these times as “panic attacks.” I don’t know if they actually qualify as a panic attack in medical terminology, but the symptoms are quite similar: shortness of breath, racing heart, extreme nervousness, and exacerbation of my PD symptoms. A review of the National Parkinson’s Disease (NPF) site revealed a physiologic reason for such behavior:

“The structures that make-up the *Extra-Pyramidal System are close to the thalamus, and the control centers of the Autonomic Nervous System. In diseases such as Parkinson, in which the Extra-Pyramidal System is affected, the Autonomic Nervous System is also affected. . .Given the relationship of the Autonomic Nervous System to emotion, and the relationship of the Autonomic Nervous System to the Extra-Pyramidal System, it's not surprising there's a relationship of the Extra-Pyramidal System to emotions. ” ( http://www.parkinson.org/pyramidal.htm  ) Banting and Best's team, the discoverers of insulin, report a painfully recognizable anecdotal report of a man with diabetes:

A diabetic man after taking his insulin one morning realized, while walking down the street that he was developing hypoglycemia (low blood sugar caused by too much insulin). Realizing that he had forgotten to provide himself with a chocolate bar, he proceeded to the nearest drug store. By the time he reached the store his gait was unsteady and his speech was incoherent. He tried to explain to the druggist what he wanted (sugar) but the latter, fully convinced that he was dealing with a drunken man, threw the patient into the street.The patient, still conscious and terribly enraged at being so treated, promptly recovered and proceeded to another store unaided, made his wants known, and continued on his way.

Apparently, the activation of the Sympathetic Nervous System (specifically the adrenal glands as a result of the diabetic man’s anger), caused his body to release enough adrenalin (a chemical related to nor-adrenalin) to cause an increase in his blood sugar, sufficient enough to restore him to equilibrium. Have you experienced a similar event with Parkinson’s? Take my story of the pediatrician’s office . . . the thought of my grandbaby being “stuck” probably set my Sympathetic Nervous System in motion enough to disable me momentarily, yet totally. A reassessment of the airport baggage search probably reveals a similar explanation. The “fear” of the delay or apparent unjustified need for a search might have caused my body to dump adrenaline into my bloodstream, setting off the Extra-Pyramidal System.

NPF has a short online “anxiety test” to give you a better understanding of these Parkinson’s affiliated systems

( http://www.parkinson.org/autonomicn2.htm  ).

Now that I realize that such behaviors as “panic attacks,” sudden nervousness, rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, and uncontrollable tears are in actuality part of my disease, I can better explain my vacillating emotions to those around me. But more importantly, I can better understand myself.

* Part of the Extra-Pyramidal System after receiving information from the thalamus, subconsciously selects the best position and setting for a single movement or a series of movements. A disorder of this part of the Extra-Pyramidal System, temporary or permanent, can result in unsteadiness or in-coordination. (Source: NPF)