My Mom may have Parkinsons

[tink20]

Anyone have any experience with Parkinsons disease. My mother was having some symptoms, went to a neurologist. She was thinking she had a pinch nerve or maybe she had a mild stroke. Anyway he said he thought she had Parkinsons. It is hard to diagnois. He prescribed a medicine (I forgot what it was) and said if symptoms improved, then it you probably have Parkinsons. My mother is VERY sensitive to medications. She filled the prescription, read the side effects and won't take the med. She thinks the side effects are worse than her symptoms (I agree with her) Anyway just wondering if anyone has any personal experienc. Its always helpful to hear from other that are having similar situations. My mother went to the doctor back in April, the office called to see why she hasn't been back. So I don't know what we should do? My dad is getting worried and feels helpless, because she is just ignoring the problem.

Her symptoms are, she has lost some movement in her right arm. When you walk, both your arms swing, well her right arm doesn't. There is no pain. She said both her legs feel heavy, and when she walks, its kind of a shuffle walk.

I just want to help her. My mom has always been an active person and if she looses that, I don't know if she could handle that. She is 63. We went to WDW (their 1st trip in 08' and she was fine) They want to go back, but there is no way she could do all that walking. I don't think she would do the scooter or wheelchair.

 

[Rupert B Puppenstein]

I have relatives that have been affected and the first thing I would recommend is getting a second opinion from a neurologist that she truly loves. There are so many doctors out there that see this so often that they start to ignore their patients and not check up on them. This disease (if she truly has it) is difficult for newly diagnosed people to deal with. Since it is such an unknown as far as progression goes. Some progress relatively quickly whilst others don't. I would advise finding a local support group - they may have them through your hospital, through meet-ups or through the charities devoted to fighting the disorder. That has been the biggest help for my loved ones in that they can say exactly what is on their mind and know that there are people there that don't take offense to it, that don't judge them and have been there before. Sending good thoughts to your mother and the rest of your family. This is such a difficult thing to go through, but there is hope and although it is so difficult to look on the bright side with this, it is important to try.

 

[gator75]

my grandma had parkinsons she acted the same way they put her on medications that did help the tremors but she was also very prideful and did her best to hide them. she also shuffled when she walked and her legs felt heavy, she was also in heart failure and her legs where very swollen so that meay have been some of it. i agree with the above poster find a nureologist that she loves and you both trust second and even third opinions can be very valuble and worthwhile you want what is best for her you don't want to put her on a medication that is worse then the illness or so so to say . that is what happened to my 71 year old mother i took her to a dr. a very good one or so we thought she had achilies tendonitis it took months for it to heal then towards the end he put her on a medication to help with the pain, and in the end on a recent trip to disney none the less she ened up with a blood clot in her arm from this medication it was a side effect that no one told her about i feel so bad for her she is so scared and now i'm trying to heal that. like i said though other opinions are very worthwhile.

 

[jfranklyn]

My mom was diagnosed with Parkinson's at age 45 - with the exact symptoms that you described. She died at age 70 - 25 years later. The first 15 years were really good - so don't let you're mom look at this as a death sentence because it's not.

Do your research on the meds and make sure she was given the right one, at a very minimal dose. Once you're confident of that, REALLY try and get her to take the meds. She will probably be amazed at how good she feels. Most of the side effects don't come until you've been on the drug for a long time.

However, keep in mind that there are no parkinsons meds (that I'm aware of) that slow the progression. So your mother will progress no matter whether she takes it or not. The meds become more of a comfort issue, and also keep her active. Her body will start to break down if she doesn't stay active (tight muscles, tendons, stuff like that) - but that would happen to anyone who stopped being active.

Also keep in mind that Parkinson's can look very different in different people. IN 25 years, I never saw my mother have a tremor even once. She had more of the stiffness that you describe. So you don't have to have a tremor to have Parkinson's.

Keep us posted - knowledge is power with this disease. You can't make it go away, but you can do alot with just knowing what's available.