My Parkinson’s turned out to be caused by a spinal CSF leak, and has greatly improved since treatment. I no longer have Postural Instability, and no longer take any medication for Parkinson’s symptoms.
I didn’t really get much of a headache, which is unusual for CSF leaks. The main clue was that my symptoms improved after lying down (flat, with no pillow). It took over a year to notice this phenomenon, and then I got a referral to a neurologist with an interest in CSF leaks, who sent me for an epidural blood patch, which miraculously restored my ability to walk unaided within 24 hours.
Spinal CSF leaks lead to Spontaneous Intracranial Hypotension where the brain collapses under its own weight, leading to crush effects on the brain stem and cranial nerves.
I found an article which describes my situation, and wonder if there are others like me who perhaps haven’t noticed that symptoms are better after lying down? -
"Spontaneous Intracranial hypotension (SIH) … presents most classically with a postural headache.
However, many other symptoms have been characterized and can occur as a presenting complaint or as part of a broader syndrome, including alterations in arousal, memory, and bulbar function, and motor symptoms including bradykinesia and ataxia.
Kinetic and postural tremor has been reported as a presenting symptom of SIH,…
SIH represents a potentially reversible etiology for these symptoms."