WATERLOO -- Terry Hertges was in her 40s when she first noticed the tremor in her left hand.

Her mother had a similar movement, and doctors dismissed the symptom as a "benign familial tremor." The excessive movement was an annoyance, but Hertges didn't really become concerned until the 2008 Memorial Day weekend. She was playing video games with friends and was unable to manipulate the controller properly.

Less than a week later she was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, a chronic and progressive degenerative brain disease that impairs motor control, speech and other functions. Hertges was 51.

She asked her doctor for the names of other younger patients he had diagnosed who could offer her some guidance and support. The request was refused. Hertges knew of an existing support group in the Cedar Valley, but many of the members were more traditional Parkinson's patients and often more progressed in their disabilities. The condition usually develops after the age of 65. Only about 15 percent of those diagnosed are under 50.

Hertges heard of an early onset Parkinson's support group in Des Moines and met with one of the members.

"It felt so good to talk with someone my age," she said. She's been back to participate in the group several times, but wanted something a little closer to home, and so the Young Onset Parkinson's Support Group was founded in April with the support of Hertges' bosses at Covenant Medical Center.

Mark Pelleymounter said he attended a traditional support meeting when he was first diagnosed almost six years ago but felt he couldn't connect with the members, some of who were nearly twice his age. He much prefers the young onset group, which focuses mostly on what can be done to ease symptoms and make life easier on bad days.

"They have really served as a sounding board. What meds are you taking? Have they helped? What were the side effects?" Pelleymounter said. "I've even changed all the door handles in my house to levers because someone in the group said it was easier to open than the round knobs. I've learned a lot of simple things I can do from these people."

Dr. Ameer Hassani, a neurologist at Allen Hospital, said many of the younger patients may still be in the "honeymoon" phase of the diagnosis. He said for the first three to five years most people have marked success with the medications available to control the various symptoms.

However, by the time someone begins showing the telltale Parkinson's symptoms -- tremors, rigidity and a change in their gait and posture -- the disease already has been wearing away at their neurons for several years, Hassani said.

Pelleymounter thinks his honeymoon period is just about over. He takes 32 pills a day, and sometimes even that doesn't seem like enough. His next treatment option is deep brain stimulation, another topic that was covered in the support group.

"Right now, it is just about knowing your limitations. My wife won't let me go on a ladder anymore," he said. "But I have found some things that have helped, and some of it I learned from this group."