A mum diagnosed with a serious illness that has recquired brain surgery at 44 has shared the surprising symptoms - including loss of smell, OCD and intolerance to sugar and beer. Donna Marshall said that lesser-known side effects which started aged just 26 included a loss of taste and an inability to drink caffeine.
Parkinsons disease is more commonly known for creating problems like shaking and stiffness. But Donna says her symptoms even led her to spend thousands on an extravagant Halloween display as her OCD spiralled out of control.
The loss of smell was the first thing she noticed coming years before her actual diagnosis. The 54-year-old mum said: “The sense of smell went first of all, I was about 26. I didn’t think very much of it, and with that you get a lack of taste in food.”
Other symptoms didn’t start to show for another 16 years when Donna was out walking on New Year’s Eve and noticed her hand shaking. She continued: “I was walking along the beach on the Isle of Wight.
''I looked down at my hand it and it was shaking, I wondered why that was. Obviously now I know, it was Parkinson's.”
An intolerance to stimulants, such as caffeine and sugar, are another of the many symptoms of the disease Donna has had to learn to deal with. She said: “Any stimulant is no good for me, so any caffeine, sugar, obviously that’s in beer and I love my beer.
''Anything like that will stimulate and heighten Parkinson’s.”
One of the least known impacts of Parkinson’s is OCD, which can be a side effect of the medication needed to combat the disease. Donna said that she’s met a number of people since being diagnosed that also struggle with OCD.
The corporate businesswoman listed the three types of OCD that people suffer from. She said: “There's the gambling addiction, the shopping addiction and the sexual addiction, and none of it is very fun.”
The OCD that Donna suffers from came into full force last Halloween, when she decided to turn her garden into a haunted attraction. Donna said: “Normally people would just put a pumpkin out. I went the full hog.
''I spent thousands of pounds on professional dancers, I converted the front garden into a huge, great big graveyard. It was fantastic, all the kids loved it, but I didn't need to go that far and that's what it [OCD] does unfortunately.”
Donna’s own Mother, Margaret Marshall also suffered from Parkinson’s and Donna had to watch the disease take hold of her. Margaret passed away, aged 80, after she was left in a vegetative state for the final six years of her life.
Donna said: “They fed her through a feeding tube, which looking back at it is the worst thing that could have happened to her. She remained alive only through medical intervention, and then the decision to take that tube away sat on us as a family, Which is just the worst thing anyone had to do.”
Donna tries to make sure her own daughter, Beau, aged nine, does not see the debilitating side of the disease. She said: “I wake up early and take my pills on the sofa watching TV until I'm ready for business as normal."
The worst symptom Donna claims she suffers from is Dystonia, which drastically affects her day to day life. Dystonia includes a range of muscle spasms that cause physical discomfort and pain, and can sometimes last for hours.
Donna said: “The worst part of having Parkinson’s for me is the Dystonia because my foot cramps up and then my back cramps up. I can’t walk at all, I can’t even put one foot in front of the other. The hardest thing for me is not being able to follow a normal lifestyle. So just a normal everyday things that you would normally do is is difficult for someone with Parkinson's.
“Just walking up the stairs, just making a cup of tea, feeding yourself, all those things.”
Donna underwent deep brain stimulation surgery last week, which includes the placement of a device in her brain that targets certain areas. The hope is that the device will ease the pain of some of her symptoms, including Dystonia.
Her main advice for other people who are diagnosed with Parkinson’s at a young age is to try and find others suffering from the disease to talk to. She said: “There’s lots of people on Facebook, there’s lots of advice out there,
“I think the best thing I did was connecting with people like me, who have young onset Parkinson's, because it’s a different animal to when you’re older, it manifests itself in a different way.”
