Children of Parents with PD Community Group
My Mom has PD and I am her sole caregiver. I am here seeking support, advice, new treatment options, information and I thought this might help all of us "kids" who are looking to help their parent and themselves as this is a joint journey to some extent.
Hello everyone,
Hope you don't mind me asking, but I was wondering what were the first signs you noticed that things weren't right with your parents?
I'm very worried about my mum. She has always stuck her head in the sand when any problems arise, and will not go to a doctor about anything...ever. Over the last few years, and particularly the last six months, she has aged so much (she's 67). Her walking is unbelievably slow and she is stooping. She lives in a 3-storey house, and I've started letting myself in when I call, as she takes so long to get to the door (..there's always an excuse, such as 'I was just putting washing away on the top floor'). Her memory is getting worse and I've given up asking her things about the past. She frequently asks the same questions, struggles to find the right word, when we arrange to meet she's always late. Another strange thing is that, when walking along she will stay in the road whenever possible (as if avoiding going up and down curbs). And last week, when stepping up a very shallow curb, she fell on her face and ended up with a black eye, cuts and bruises.
The frustrating thing is, she simply will not acknowledge anything is wrong or different!
She also has a bad cough, excess mucus and watering eyes (she's a heavy smoker). She did have a facial twitch, which seems to have stopped now, and I sometimes see her blinking several times quickly...
There's no tremor, that I've noticed, but the slow gait and stooping shoulders have made me wonder if she may have PD.
I know she needs to be tested for a diagnosis (which I just can't imagine she would ever agree to), but it would be helpful to know if it does sound as if PD is a possible cause of these changes in her...at least I would know what I was (possibly) dealing with.
Thank you for listening to my ramblings....
Kate.
Hope you don't mind me asking, but I was wondering what were the first signs you noticed that things weren't right with your parents?
I'm very worried about my mum. She has always stuck her head in the sand when any problems arise, and will not go to a doctor about anything...ever. Over the last few years, and particularly the last six months, she has aged so much (she's 67). Her walking is unbelievably slow and she is stooping. She lives in a 3-storey house, and I've started letting myself in when I call, as she takes so long to get to the door (..there's always an excuse, such as 'I was just putting washing away on the top floor'). Her memory is getting worse and I've given up asking her things about the past. She frequently asks the same questions, struggles to find the right word, when we arrange to meet she's always late. Another strange thing is that, when walking along she will stay in the road whenever possible (as if avoiding going up and down curbs). And last week, when stepping up a very shallow curb, she fell on her face and ended up with a black eye, cuts and bruises.
The frustrating thing is, she simply will not acknowledge anything is wrong or different!
She also has a bad cough, excess mucus and watering eyes (she's a heavy smoker). She did have a facial twitch, which seems to have stopped now, and I sometimes see her blinking several times quickly...
There's no tremor, that I've noticed, but the slow gait and stooping shoulders have made me wonder if she may have PD.
I know she needs to be tested for a diagnosis (which I just can't imagine she would ever agree to), but it would be helpful to know if it does sound as if PD is a possible cause of these changes in her...at least I would know what I was (possibly) dealing with.
Thank you for listening to my ramblings....
Kate.
When he started out in 2003 I guess it was, we didn't really notice the signs, either. He'd had cancer surgery followed by radiation, and we thought the "brain fog" and fatigue and slowing down was from the after-effects of the radiation. But it was Parkinson's. After 1 year, his face took on aspects of the "Parkinson's mask" (Google it to see photos) but we were not acquainted with the phenomenon so did not know to check on anything--just thought he was down/depressed. He had no tremor whatsoever. We did, however, notice an increased clumsiness--once he fell down in the yard and we thought he had just stepped into a depression and lost balance. It was 1.5-2 years after the cancer that he was finally diagnosed with PD and it was because his dr. noted "cog wheel rigidity" when he walked. He was referred immediately to a neurologist for diagnosis. You can't get a positive diagnosis without an MRI.
My Dad was around 76 when he was diagnosed. You say your Mum is 67. It does sound a little like PD--and with the twitch and the blinking and the balance issues, there is definitely enough going on that there seems to be SOME kind of neurological problem for a neurologist to look into.
The good news is, when PD is diagnosed later in life it usually progresses very slowly, and can be managed with very low doses of meds. The bad news is, if it IS Parkinson's, it is a progressively degenerative disease from which one never recovers. If I had to do it over again, I would have tried alternative therapies for him before putting him on Sinemet, because once the person is on Sinemet some of the other therapies cannot be used. However, it's a personal decision each person makes.
Good luck with this! Just so you know, this board is not very active any more, so you might find more/better info at the main Parkinson's site here.