Parkinson’s Disease Specialist
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iACHE
Mauricio Garcia Jacques, MD
Interventional Pain Management & Integrative Physical Medicine located in Houston, TX
In the United States, more than 1.5 million people experience trouble moving freely and speaking clearly as the result of an inhibiting condition called Parkinson’s disease. At iACHE in Houston, located in the EMG Center, the Galleria, and North Houston, the team treats symptoms of Parkinson’s disease with a multidisciplinary approach and uses ketamine infusions to level out the effects of the most popular Parkinson’s disease medications. Book your appointment with Garcia Jacques Mauricio, MD, by phone, or online for Parkinson’s disease treatment and management.
Parkinson’s Disease Q&A
What is Parkinson’s disease?
Parkinson’s is a debilitating neurological disorder that doesn’t yet have a cure. It sets in gradually in five stages, affecting your movement and causing difficulty with even simple day-to-day tasks. The five stages are:
- Stage 1: mild, hardly noticeable symptoms
- Stage 2: stiffness and tremors
- Stage 3: worsening symptoms that interfere with daily life
- Stage 4: trouble standing, significantly slower movement
- Stage 5: confusion and other mental effects
Symptoms of Parkinson’s disease start to appear as the cells in a part of your brain called the substantia nigra die. These cells are responsible for producing dopamine, a neurotransmitter that helps control the movements of your muscles.
What are the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease?
Parkinson’s disease has several hallmark symptoms that worsen with time. If you or a loved one has the disease, you might notice:
- Slurred, quiet, or rapid speech
- Tremors
- Slower movement
- Poor posture
- Poor balance
- Muscle stiffness
- Changes in your handwriting
In most cases, symptoms start on just one side of your body and remain worse on that side, even when they worsen and appear on the opposite side. You might not even notice some of the changes until they’re drastic.
Advanced, untreated Parkinson’s disease may start to affect your mind. It can cause psychosis, hallucinations, and mental conditions like depression or anxiety. In later stages, you’ll need someone’s assistance at almost all times.
How is Parkinson’s disease treated?
If you have Parkinson’s disease, you must be prepared to take medications, make changes to your diet and lifestyle, and undergo certain treatments, like physical therapy, to control your symptoms and stop them from progressing.
Several drugs are available to help moderate symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. The iACHE team offers low-dose ketamine infusions to supplement your treatment and reduce some side effects of the drugs. During treatment, you sit comfortably as a board-certified anesthesiologist coordinates and supervises the infusion. You’ll follow up with telemedicine and virtual visits to discuss your results with your provider.
Levodopa, a popular Parkinson’s drug, can cause uncontrolled muscle movements with a condition called dyskinesia. Low-dose ketamine infusions can reduce or prevent dyskinesia movement, as well as treat depression or anxiety that stems from later stages of Parkinson’s disease.
If you notice a difference in the way you move, speak, or write that may be associated with Parkinson’s disease, don’t hesitate to call iACHE or book an appointment online today.
