akathisia in parkinson's

I’ve always been a busybody. Not the dictionary definition as a meddling or prying person, but literally a busy body. I’m always doing lots of things, starting new projects, and physically moving around. So a couple of years ago when I started getting this odd feeling of not being able to get comfortable sitting still and feeling the need to move, I was a bit confused.

My previous need to move was based on more of my personality and liking to do many things. This feeling was different, it was a physical feeling of restlessness and the need to move around. There are so many little motor and non motor symptoms in Parkinson’s, it can sometimes be difficult to discern what each of them are, particularly when you have several of them. I had also never read or heard anyone else talk about this symptom other than as described as restless leg syndrome. This didn’t feel like it was only my legs, but my entire body, starting from my central core.

It seems to happen more during midday through the early afternoon and things like working on the computer or reading a book are challenging. Well I finally found a name for it, Akathisia. From what I’ve read, it seems to be different from restless leg syndrome as it’s not associated with sleep and also differs from the need to move for relief of discomfort imposed by rigidity or lack of movement. It can be a symptom, in and of itself. According to the National Library of Medicine, it’s a little-studied symptom of Parkinson’s, but interviews with some patients found that 68% of PwP experience it periodically.

Although highly annoying, it’s not so problematic for me at this point that I’m seeking medication, but it’s very helpful to have some clarity on what a symptom is, so I can better communicate it to my support system and health care professionals. I am also trying to plan my day around the times it seems to be most pronounced. Do you ever feel Akathisia?