Parkinson's disease is a devastating and complex disease that interferes with movement more and more as time goes on. It also produces a wide range of other problems for patients. Symptoms of the disease vary somewhat, but they may include problems with swallowing and chewing, speech impairments, urinary problems or constipation, excessive sweating and other skin problems, depression and other emotional changes, and difficulties with sleep.
No one can predict which of these symptoms will affect a particular patient, and the intensity of the symptoms varies from person to person. None of these secondary symptoms is fatal, although swallowing problems can cause choking.
The progression of symptoms in PD may take 20 years or more. In some people, however, the disease progresses much more quickly. Below is one commonly used system for describing how the symptoms of PD progress.