Once you realized that something wasn't right how long did it take to be diagnosed with Parkinson's? Were you seen by a specialist?
I was diagnosed after first visit with neurologist. But, my symptoms actually began several years earlier. First being tremor of lips, left hand, and dragging of left foot. Especially when stressed or tired. Incontinence of urine and occasionally feces. Muscle cramps in legs and feet, restless sleep with night terrors, hollering and acting out nightmares through body movements. My first visit was actually to discuss cognition problems that were interfering with my job, driving, and management of finances.
I started having limping and balance problems in 2007 and was diagnosed by a seasoned family doctor in 2010. I didn't see a neurologist until June 2014. However the family doctor already started me on carbo/levo 25-250 in 2011.
It took me 2 years I ended up at neurological disorders & movement specialist.
I mysteriously lost my handwriting a few years before my diagnosis, and it went downhill from there with extreme fatigue and tiredness. I got so I couldn't function in anywhere normal, so decided to go see a neurologist. He diagnosed me on my first visit with PD. That was in 2008, and it's been a struggle ever since to get treatment from the VA. Turns out I was exposed to Agent Orange in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam war.
it took me 3 years, and 5 doctors before I was told