Attention: Please take a moment to consider our terms and conditions before posting.

Parkinson's Disease

No not the tendency to wear rascal V-Necks but the actual disease….

My dad, who's 67 years old, has just been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. He's hand continuously twitches but that’s the only part of him that makes it noticeable at the moment. However, the medication he's on is making him hallucinate and now he's starting to forget what he was talking about.

Im really concerned that its the start of dementia, but all the info I've looked at says dementia doesn’t usually happen until around 10-15 years after diagnosis of Parkinson's and even then its very rare.

Does anybody else on here have relatives or friends that suffer from this and whats their experience been like?

Im hoping that these are side effects to the medication. Ultimately, i just dont wanna lose my old man.

Comments

  • Sorry to hear that mate.
  • My mum has had it for 4-5 years and suffers with a right hand tremor. She is 70 this year and other than slowing down her lifestyle and not managing stairs very well she is ok.

    She has never had an adverse reaction to her medication and is still on the minimum dose. I remember her telling me that she was quite lucky as it can take several attempts to get meds right.

    If it were me, I'd get him back to whoever prescribed them asap and have the situation reviewed.

    My mum sees a consultant once a year and a Parkinson's nurse every 6 months. The nurse can change meds if required and my mum is allowed to make additional appointments with her if required. At the very least your dad should be able to a nurse and get sorted.
  • Plaaayer said:

    Sorry to hear that mate.

    Cheers mate.

    My mum has had it for 4-5 years and suffers with a right hand tremor. She is 70 this year and other than slowing down her lifestyle and not managing stairs very well she is ok.

    She has never had an adverse reaction to her medication and is still on the minimum dose. I remember her telling me that she was quite lucky as it can take several attempts to get meds right.

    If it were me, I'd get him back to whoever prescribed them asap and have the situation reviewed.

    My mum sees a consultant once a year and a Parkinson's nurse every 6 months. The nurse can change meds if required and my mum is allowed to make additional appointments with her if required. At the very least your dad should be able to a nurse and get sorted.

    He's gotta go back to see a consultant and do more tests re his memory, they've also just changed his medication from patches to pills today. Thanks for the info Clem and how your mum is coping is a positive.
  • Hope it all ends alright mate, my gran had it and although the first few years after diagnosis were ok, it went downhill from there sadly. She ended up having to go into a care home due to the uncontrollable shaking. However i know of a few others who have it and their experiences sounded much better.
  • Unfortunately it is a degenerative disease so it doesn't get better.

    Some loss of mental function is also a symptom for some people but there is a lot of variation.

    My mum had it and used to just stop for a few seconds.

    There are lots of different drugs and my mum's were changed regularly to control different symptoms. IF you dad has suddenly hallucinating that may be the type or dose of drugs so I would suggest telling the doctor and asking for a change.

    Good luck
  • edited September 2014
    Very sorry to hear this VG.

    I have no experience of this whatsoever. However I do know Clem's mum and you should take a lot of encouragement from what he says re her sutuation.

    Stay positive, and best of luck to your Dad. Chin up mate.
  • My brother in law has it, and has managed very well, has a supportive GP and is now 66. So far he has had to swap his car for an automatic, and just had the upstairs re-organised with an upstairs loo addition. His speech is slightly slurred, which he thinks is the worst aspect, as he does a bit of public speaking. I think he has been really positive about his condition, and his positive approach has been admirable for himself. He spends a lot of time enjoying life, travelling abroad, and well just making the most of it. He gave a speech a couple of weeks ago, at his eldest son's wedding,personally I thought it was the best speech by a country mile although I am sure a few people thought he was a bit 'pissed'..... not an unreasonable assumption, as he does like one....... This can be a dreadful condition, just wanted to post that it is not always as bleak as you hear.
  • What the others say regarding the dosage of medication might just be too much. I'm on the 161 but will in touch.
  • That's a shame Gary, can't offer any advice only support. Good luck to your Dad and your family.
  • Pal of mine 65 had a few months of medication changes until they got it right.
    He made incredible mobility improvements by getting a yoga instructor to visit once a week - despite my constant teasing about it.

    Best Wishes.
  • Sponsored links:


  • Hi there,

    My father had parkinson's' disease and he had the obvious shaking symptoms from my earliest memories. It never stopped him taking me as a young lad to the park to play football with him. It was thought he had contracted something when he was in Egypt during the 2nd world war and was diagnosed early on his return.

    It DID NOT effect him mentally and I did not observe the degenerative effect that Henry refers to. He was a Bank Inspector for Martins Bank before theu merged with Barclays and then took up a position within their Trust Company. He did the Times crossword daily up to his death.

    In the late 1960's he had a pioneering brain operation which sadly had no effect at all. The consultant was none less than Dr Roger Bannister who ironically has been similarly diagnosed.

    Getting the correct dose is important.

    He lived a long life after retirement and died of prostate cancer.

    An understanding and supportive family is important and a sense of humour which shone out of my father.

    I am thinking of you.
  • Cheers guys. I never knew how common this was as its one of those things that you don't really think will effect your family, until it does.

    Really positive reading the stories and advice. Seems like it's about getting the medication right which hopefully happens soon.

    Charltonlife at its best.
  • Sorry to hear Gary.

    My grandad had it but all I remember really was the shaking (his whole body shook) and the poor balance. It was a series of strokes that finished him off though not the Parkinson's. Sorry I can't be of more help and I hope you get all the answers and support your dad needs. Best of luck.
  • Another vote for talking to the doc about changing type or dosage of medication. My godfather has Parkinson's and used to have really bad tremor and balance problems, and from what I remember it took several goes to get the best medication balance for him too. He still has to be a bit careful, but he is SO much better than he was.
  • edited September 2014
    GHF good luck to you what a great post

    vg chin up mate unfortunately what is laid out for us no one knows till it comes around, and for you not your dad the term what doesn't kill us makes us stronger is where you need to focus, I lost my old man at 55 never even got to see my daughter or my second son
    Let alone get to know my Joe

    Over the forth coming period make sure that your nearest and dearest spend brilliant and quality time together as the memories will help you all, not that it's life over when you get news like this far from it, but it will give you a strength you didn't know you possessed and an ability to focus on what's the right thing to do

    Good luck god bless life can be a right cunt sometimes but it always continues

    D
  • I have no experience of Parkinson's so can only offer my heartfelt wish that your dear Dad stays strong & that his medication is sorted very quickly. I know that you will give him all the support you can.

    As relatively healthy 60 somethings, those of my generation can feel that serious illness is something that happens to others....Once your Dad is stabilised, I'm sure that positivity will return & you can build on this as NLA rightly states by carrying on as normally as possible but with more than usual family visits & treats. He is the same person he was before the diagnosis, albeit somewhat frailer so will probably be grateful for most things around him continuing as the norm.

    As others have said, what a great place CL is. So many of us share our ups & downs, our worst moments and our best on here. And rarely are we judged. Oh that Life in reality was as forgiving & as generous.

  • ValleyGary. Good luck with this. As a healthy and active 61 year old I found your "I just dont wanna lose my old man" comment very touching. The joys of getting older I'm afraid. :-)
  • edited September 2014
    VG, really sorry to hear your news. Hubby's brother has Parkinson's but everyone's story is different. His brother uses an exercise bike every day and things like diet are important. But another vote here for more consultation with the doctor. The following link may be of help as there is a lot of useful information. http://www.pdf.org/living_pd
  • @‌ GlassHalfFull

    If Gary does come to your house please don't answer the door in your underpants. I haven't been able to touch saveloy and chips since that fateful day.
  • Sponsored links:


  • Thank you for the time and effort in the above post GHF, I've sent you a PM.
Sign In or Register to comment.

Roland Out Forever!