Loving someone with Parkinson's: What's it like?

Yash Shroff 

Loving Someone with Parkinson’s: What’s it like?

Love and Other Drugs, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway, is a romantic-comedy drama which tells the story of a pharmaceutical sales representative (Jake) who falls in love and starts a relationship with a woman who suffers from early-onset Parkinson’s Disease (Anne). While it is always entertaining to read movie reviews, that is not the purpose of this article. This talks about and analyses the portrayal of the life of a patient suffering from Parkinson’s. 

Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disease that affects movement and coordination (Mayo Clinic, Parkinson's disease 2022). Parkinson’s does not only affect motor functions but also has a significant impact on non-motor functions (DeMaagd & Philip, 2015). It’s a chronic and progressive condition that has no cure. Parkinson’s disease occurs when neurons in the basal ganglia region, that is involved in movement, become impaired or die. These cells produce an important chemical called dopamine. Due to the loss of dopamine, which occurs when these cells become impaired or die, we see the difficulties in movement that characterises Parkinson’s disease. People suffering from Parkinson’s also lose nerve endings. These nerve endings produce norepinephrine, a neurotransmitter of the sympathetic nervous system. The loss of this norepinephrine explains the loss of the non-motor functions of Parkinson’s like fatigue and irregular blood pressure. (National Institute on Aging, 2017)

In the movie, when Anne Hathaway (Maggie) makes her appearance, it is at a doctor’s clinic where she requires her medicine for Parkinson’s. She requests for Sinemet CR, a drug containing Levodopa. Levodopa is a chemical which gets converted to dopamine in the brain which is why it is administered to Parkinson’s patients (National Center for Biotechnology Information, 2022). Along with this, she requests for an antidepressant and another medicine to take care of the tremors, which are symptoms of Parkinson’s. It’s a very accurate portrayal because Parkinson’s patients suffer from a wide range of symptoms. Tremors, rigid muscles, slow movement, poor posture and balance, speech and writing changes and loss of automatic movements. This is a progressive degenerative disease, which means the symptoms continue to get worse over time. As time passes, the tremors, loss of movement and other symptoms get worse which is an accurate description of what Parkinson’s patients go through. (Mayo Clinic, Parkinson's disease 2022). Early-onset of Parkinson’s is relatively rare, hence she had to undergo a large number of tests in order to confirm it was Parkinson’s. This is another accurate portrayal because Parkinson’s does not have a specific test to diagnose Parkinson’s disease. The neurologist may order for scans but they do that to rule out other diseases rather than confirm Parkinson’s. The neurologist diagnoses Parkinson’s based on medical history, a neurological and physical exam and a thorough review of the signs and symptoms. (DeMaagd & Philip, 2015)

As with any major illness, along with the physical complications, there are other psychological issues that arise as well. Anxiety and depression are also symptoms often seen in patients with Parkinson's disease (Mayo Clinic, Parkinson's disease 2022). Patients suffering from Parkinson’s disease feel helpless and lack self-esteem because this diagnosis changes their life. They are now dependant on another person to take care of them. They become aware that as they grow older, they will require constant help and support and feel terrible to put their loved ones through that pain. Instead, they try and push them away. They refuse to have any meaningful relationships because they do not look as themselves someone worthy of love. They see themselves as a burden and the love they receive as a form of pity. This can add to the depression that they may be experiencing due to the biological consequences of Parkinson’s. As we can see from the movie, Maggie only wanted a casual relationship with Jamie (Jake). She refuses to open up emotionally and keeps things physical. She feels she is a burden and not worthy of love. “Well, I wouldn’t wanna be with someone who was sick, either” is a line she tells her partner, displaying her belief that she is unworthy of love.

The couple visit Chicago for a conference where Maggie comes across a support group for Parkinson’s patients. This opens her eyes and makes her feel better when she realises that there are more people in the world who are suffering from Parkinson’s as well. She finally finds people that she can relate to. It inspired her to see people live their lives and take up challenging tasks like running marathons or scuba diving. It made her realise that she is a lot more than just her diagnosis. On the other hand, at the conference, Jamie interacts with a man whose wife has stage 4 Parkinson’s. When he asks for advice, the man tells him to leave Maggie and find himself a healthy woman because taking care of a loved one with Parkinson’s can be exhausting and will destroy all the love that they share. This scene brings out the stark reality and portrays the burden of the disease not on the patient but also on their loved ones and caregivers. The strain it causes on their relationship and the damage causes. Depression and anxiety are accompanied by loneliness, poor decision-making in life choices, suppressed emotions, denial which can severely affect the psychological state of a person suffering from Parkinson’s disease. The pain and burden of taking care of a loved one can strain the relationship and cause unhappiness in both lives. 

This film has done a great job in spreading awareness about diseases like Parkinson’s. The film portrays the struggles of a Parkinson’s patient with accuracy and allows the viewers to imagine, to some extent, what a Parkinson’s patient and their loved ones go through. It spreads awareness about mental illness and also builds compassion and empathy towards everyone struggling with a mental disease in their lives. It gives hope to those who are struggling with Parkinson’s that they still are themselves and that Parkinson’s is not their life. It allows them to understand that they can receive help — physical or emotional — and that they are not alone. Although this film talks a lot about viagra, it has put forth and accurate portrayal of Parkinson’s for the world to see. There is no cure for Parkinson’s but hopefully movies like this help spread awareness leading to a cure one day. 

References

Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research (2022, January 14). Parkinson's disease. Mayo Clinic. Retrieved February 12, 2022, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/parkinsons-disease/symptoms-causes/syc-20376055 

DeMaagd, G., & Philip, A. (2015). Parkinson’s Disease and Its Management: Part 1: Disease Entity, Risk Factors, Pathophysiology, Clinical Presentation, and Diagnosis. P & T: A Peer-Reviewed Journal for Formulary Management, 40(8), 504–532.

Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. (2022, January 14). Parkinson's disease. Mayo Clinic. Retrieved February 12, 2022, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/parkinsons-disease/symptoms-causes/syc-20376055

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Parkinson's disease. National Institute on Aging. Retrieved February 12, 2022, from https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/parkinsons-disease 

National Center for Biotechnology Information (2022). PubChem Compound Summary for CID 6047, Levodopa. Retrieved February 12, 2022 from https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Levodopa.