Expect a long conversation and a physical examination rather than a test. Parkinson's is diagnosed clinically, so the appointment focuses on your history and on watching how you move, and the answer sometimes takes more than one visit. Bring someone who has observed you, since changes in facial expression, arm swing and voice volume are often noticed by others first.
Expect a long conversation and a physical examination rather than a test. Parkinson's is diagnosed clinically, so the appointment focuses on your history and on watching how you move, and the answer sometimes takes more than one visit. Bring someone who has observed you, since changes in facial expression, arm swing and voice volume are often noticed by others first.
The history comes first and takes time: when you or others first noticed something, what changed, in what order, and whether it started on one side. Bring someone who has observed you, since changes in facial expression, arm swing and voice volume are often noticed by others first. Then the examination, which involves watching you walk, tapping fingers, opening and closing hands, checking muscle tone and looking for tremor at rest. It is observation rather than anything uncomfortable.
There is no blood test or scan that establishes Parkinson's disease. Imaging is sometimes arranged to exclude other causes rather than to confirm this one, and a normal scan does not rule it out. That can be unsatisfying to hear, and it is the honest position: the diagnosis rests on a clinician recognising a pattern, which is why seeing someone familiar with movement disorders matters more here than in many conditions.
Early Parkinson's can be subtle, and other conditions including essential tremor and drug-induced parkinsonism look similar. Sometimes the clearest evidence comes from watching how things develop over months or from the response to treatment. Being told the picture is not yet clear is a legitimate answer rather than a failure. Ask what the working diagnosis is, what else it could be, what would change it, and when you should be seen again.
Clinical Neurology Specialists has been physician-owned since 1998, when Leo Germin, M.D., FAANEM founded it. Five board-certified neurologists and four advanced practice providers see patients at the Las Vegas and Henderson offices, each with its own AANEM-accredited electrodiagnostic laboratory.
Clinical Neurology Specialists is an adult outpatient neurology practice for patients 18 and older. The practice performs no surgery and operates no imaging suite, infusion suite or interventional pain programme, and provides no emergency or inpatient care.
Physician-reviewed. Reviewed by the physicians of Clinical Neurology Specialists — board-certified neurologists, AANEM-accredited electrodiagnostic laboratories, physician-owned since 1998. Reviewed 1 August 2026. This article is general education for adults 18 and older and is not a substitute for a consultation.
Sources and further reading: MedlinePlus: Parkinson's disease; National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke; National Institute on Aging.
Adults 18 and older, at the Las Vegas and Henderson offices. Call 702-804-1212 or request an appointment online.